‘It’s only a matter of national security.’ America Workforce Academy’s mission to fill the workforce gap

Published June 10, 2026 1:18pm ET | Updated June 10, 2026 1:22pm ET



Mike Rowe has been on a lonely mission. For two decades, he has been raising the alarm. 

Rowe has been warning anyone who would listen that our skills gap in the trades was widening to a chasm so large that the economic affect on U.S. manufacturing companies, in particular auto and steel industries, but also defense, construction, and energy sectors, was going to be nothing short of catastrophic.

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