[Composite image: DI Studio; Muhammet Yildiz/ A stockphoto/ istockphoto]
New York-based global asset manager BlackRock is making a $30 million philanthropic investment in Texas through BlackRock Future Builders, a national initiative funded by The BlackRock Foundation to strengthen skilled trades pipelines across the United States.
Over three years, the grants will be used to help train more than 12,000 Texans for high-paying electrical careers, BlackRock said, boosting the workforce needed to support Texas’ rapid growth. A National Skilled Trades Day event on May 6 hosted by Texas State Technical College in Waco unveiled the initiative.
“The scale of growth underway in Texas demands a workforce ready to build it,” Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, said in a statement. “By working alongside trusted Texas training institutions and workforce leaders, Future Builders is expanding access to skilled trades jobs that are essential to the state’s economy—helping more Texans access good-paying careers and build long-term security.”
BlackRock noted that Texas is critical to America’s infrastructure and energy buildout, fueled by the nation’s fastest population growth, rising electricity demand, and the rapid expansion of AI‑enabled industries.
Federal data shows Texas accounts for the largest share of U.S. electricity generation and is experiencing the fastest growth in power demand, making it an early indicator of national infrastructure and workforce pressures, BlackRock added. Meeting these needs will require thousands of additional licensed electricians in the years ahead. BlackRock Future Builders supports proven training pathways and local partners to help grow the state’s electrical workforce.
Growing long-term careers
Future Builders will partner with leading union and independent training providers and educational institutions, including the IBEW-NECA electrical training ALLIANCE (etA), Irving-based Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC Dallas), and Texas State Technical College. Through the initiative, the partners will make training more readily available, help more people complete training programs and get licensed, and put people on the path to long-term careers.
With funding from The BlackRock Foundation, etA will launch The ProTech Skills Institute BlackRock Foundation Electrical College, a first-of-its-kind, statewide pre-apprenticeship program, which will include a 14-day bootcamp that offers thousands of Texans jobsite readiness preparation and industry-recognized safety credentials. The program will help more participants transition into union registered apprenticeship programs while giving contractors access to workers from a statewide talent pool, addressing supply and demand challenges.
“We’re thrilled to partner with BlackRock through Future Builders to meet Texas’ surging demand for skilled electrical workers, opening doors to long-term, family-sustaining careers in one of the nation’s most essential trades,” said Todd Stafford, executive director at electrical training ALLIANCE.
Helping apprentices become journeymen
IEC Dallas’ funding from The BlackRock Foundation will grow the independent electrical workforce pipeline in North Texas—one of the country’s fastest growing regions for commercial construction. This partnership will introduce a BlackRock SafeSTART pre-apprenticeship program for thousands of local workers, providing 80-hours of safety training and hands-on lab experience as well as direct access to IEC’s registered apprenticeship program. IEC Dallas will also use the funding to offer a journeyman exam prep course, helping eligible apprentices unlock higher earning potential to increase the number of journeymen statewide.
Founded in 1957, IEC Dallas is a nonprofit trade association and training center based in Irving that supports independent electrical contractors by offering a U.S. Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship program, continuing education, and license preparation for electricians.
“IEC Dallas is excited to partner with BlackRock through the Future Builders program to strengthen Texas’ electrical workforce,” Erin Stewart, executive director and CEO of IEC Dallas, said in a statement. “The results are showing successful outcomes. These programs are increasing licensed Journeyman electricians while our SafeSTART Pre-Apprenticeship Program is training and equipping individuals with industry recognized safety certifications.”
“We’re delivering job-ready apprentice electricians, resulting in a real impact for contractors and the future of our industry,” Stewart added.
College-based pathway
The BlackRock Foundation’s grant to TSTC will go toward the establishment, development, and implementation of a new Associate of Applied Science in Electrical Technology program, creating a college-based pathway that prepares students to test for their journeyman license. TSTC’s new Construction Technologies Center in Waco can help boost training capacity beyond traditional apprenticeship routes. Funds also will help TSTC students prepare for licensing exams through advanced simulation labs, expanded instructor capacity, and targeted financial support.
“TSTC is proud to join forces with BlackRock to address the critical skilled trades workforce gap in Texas. This partnership will enable us to expand hands-on training and provide more Texans with the tools and opportunities they need to succeed in high-demand careers,” said Mike Reeser, Chancellor & CEO of Texas State Technical College. “Together, we’re investing in the future of our students, our communities, and the economic vitality of our state.”
Financial education for ‘lasting economic mobility’
In addition to technical training, Future Builders said it will integrate financial education and digital tools into apprenticeship programs to help workers utilize rising wages for lasting financial stability. Through a grant to Dallas College, a new financial education course tailored specifically to electricians will be developed with input from industry and piloted with apprentices across Texas.
The effort builds on work that BlackRock has done for more than three decades, helping millions of Texans save and invest for retirement. Launching Future Builders in Texas deepens that commitment by combining strong career pathways with financial education tools that improve economic mobility and long-term financial wellbeing.
“Dallas College and Dallas College Foundation are proud to partner with BlackRock through Future Builders to ensure Texans entering the skilled trades are prepared not only for great careers, but for long‑term financial success,” said Dr. Justin Lonon, Chancellor of Dallas College. “By embedding financial education directly into apprenticeship pathways for electricians, we are helping workers turn increased earning power into lasting economic mobility, strengthening families, communities, and the future of Texas’ workforce.”
Don’t miss what’s next. Subscribe to Dallas Innovates.
Track Dallas-Fort Worth’s business and innovation landscape with our curated news in your inbox Tuesday-Thursday.
R E A D N E X T
-
North Texas has plenty to see, hear, and watch. Here are our editors’ picks. Plus, you’ll find more selections to “save the date.”
-
You’ll find deadlines coming up for a new accelerator program; and many more opportunities.
-
Dallas’ third poet laureate Kristoddie Woods steps in alongside youth poet laureate Cadence Diggs, a 17-year-old Booker T. Washington High School student, for a two-year term.
-
The premium flexible workspace brand aims to bring founders, executives, and high-growth teams into a shared professional community.
-
Dallas Innovates and our partners at the Dallas Regional Chamber spotlight the names you need to know in Dallas-Fort Worth’s AI economy.
-
The new office is designed to simplify how organizations work with SMU—whether through research partnerships, workforce development, or student engagement.
-
“The old human-in-the-loop rules really don’t work as well when you’re looking at ubiquitous, automated AI agents that are acting 24/7 as digital workers.” Danny Tobey, M.D., J.D. Chair, AI and Data Analytics DLA Piper …speaking at Convergence AI Dallas on March 31 We’re moving “from an era of chatbot AI, where there is always a human at the receiving end of recommendations, to agentic and physical AI,” a world, Danny Tobey said, where AI “takes actions and makes decisions on behalf of humans” and “does so in ways that don’t always stop for human intervention, permission and understanding.” Companies…
-
Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation CEO Steve Miff shares approach to transparency in its prediction models.
-
Nine student and alumni teams made the finals in three tracks: undergraduate, graduate student, and alumni. Winning ideas ranged from AI sales coaching to radiation mapping and noninvasive brain drug delivery as the university’s entrepreneurship push continues to scale.
-
Cuban didn’t hold back at Convergence AI Dallas, where his onstage conversation with Alex Kantrowitz delivered blunt advice and unfiltered insights.