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Defense Department expands skilled-trades program to three Midwest states

Defense Department expands skilled-trades program to three Midwest states

New Capabilities

BuildFreedom.US adds Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin as the Pentagon races to close a projected 2.5-million-worker defense skills gap.

September 29th, 2026: First Build Freedom Summit announced for October

Overview

Updated Sep 29

BuildFreedom.US started in Texas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania in July and added Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin in September. The campaign exists because the defense industrial base is short of workers — about 400,000 skilled-trade jobs sit unfilled, a figure the department projects could reach 2.5 million by 2030.

The government invested $340 million in defense workforce programs in fiscal 2026 and trained 22,000 trades and technician workers in the past year. A $10 million grant to Mike Rowe's mikeroweWORKS Foundation funds scholarships, and the first Build Freedom Summit is set for October 20-21 in Galveston, Texas.

Why it matters

If the defense industrial base can't fill skilled-trade jobs, military equipment production slows as veteran machinists and welders retire.

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Key Indicators

400,000
Unfilled defense industrial base positions
Current skilled-trade vacancies across the defense supply chain, per DOD.
2.5 million
Projected shortfall by 2030
DOD projection if proactive workforce measures are not implemented.
$10 million
Grant to mikeroweWORKS Foundation
Awarded at the July launch to fund the Work Ethic Scholarship Program.
$16 million
Scholarships awarded by mikeroweWORKS to date
Cumulative aid from the foundation's Work Ethic Scholarship Program.
6
States covered by BuildFreedom.US
The three launch states plus Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin added in September.
27,000
Wisconsin defense industrial workers
Workers across 135 facilities supporting shipbuilding, vehicles, engines, and welding.
$340 million
FY2026 IBAS workforce investment
Spending on workforce programs in fiscal 2026, per testimony to the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
22,000
Workers trained in past year
Skilled trades and technician workers produced by IBAS training programs, per House testimony.
9,000+
Scholarships from $10M grant
Work Ethic Scholarship awards the BuildFreedom.US grant is expected to fund.

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People Involved

KS
Kristin Schaaf
Director of Investment Programs, Department of Defense
Oversees the IBAS program that funds BuildFreedom.US
MR
Mike Rowe
Founder, mikeroweWORKS Foundation; former host of Dirty Jobs
Leads the foundation receiving $10 million from BuildFreedom.US
MC
Michael Cadenazzi
Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy
Leads defense industrial base policy and scaling efforts

Organizations Involved

BuildFreedom.US
BuildFreedom.US
Federal workforce program
Expanding; covers six states as of September 2026

National campaign promoting skilled-trade careers in the defense industrial base, connecting workers to scholarships, apprenticeships, training, and job openings.
Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program
Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program
Federal investment program
Primary funder of BuildFreedom.US

DOD program investing in six areas to expand the defense industrial base: critical minerals, workforce development, kinetic weapons, microelectronics, castings and forgings, and batteries.
mikeroweWORKS Foundation
mikeroweWORKS Foundation
Nonprofit
Recipient of $10 million federal grant

Nonprofit founded by Mike Rowe that supports skilled-trade careers through scholarships and public advocacy.

Timeline

July 2026 September 2026

6 events Latest: September 29th, 2026 · 1 week ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. First Build Freedom Summit announced for October

    Latest Event

    IACMI and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station set the summit for October 20-21 in Galveston, Texas, with a career expo on October 22.

  2. Expansion details reach national press

    Coverage

    Manufacturing Dive reports the expansion, detailing state-by-state defense roles and the workforce shortage driving it.

  3. Midwest expansion announced

    Expansion

    Officials add Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin, citing each state's aerospace, supply chain, and shipbuilding base.

  4. House testimony details defense workforce spending

    Testimony

    Department officials told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee that IBAS invested $340 million in workforce programs in fiscal 2026 and trained 22,000 skilled trades and technician workers in the past year.

  5. Pentagon awards $10 million to Mike Rowe foundation

    Funding

    War Department officials present the check to mikeroweWORKS for its Work Ethic Scholarship Program.

  6. BuildFreedom.US launches in three states

    Launch

    Program starts in Texas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania to steer workers into defense skilled-trade jobs.

Scenarios

1

BuildFreedom.US goes nationwide by 2027

Likely Resolves by Sep 24, 2027

Discussed by: Program officials, whose announcement said 'more states will follow as the campaign grows nationwide.'

The program doubled its footprint within three months. If the pattern holds, officials add more states through 2027, layering on Ohio's aerospace cluster (GE Aerospace, Anduril, Joby), Illinois's supply chain, and Wisconsin's shipbuilding and welding base, while the mikeroweWORKS scholarship money flows to new applicants.

2

Midterm politics stalls the expansion

Possible Resolves by Jul 1, 2027

Discussed by: Budget analysts watching the November 2026 midterm elections

BuildFreedom.US runs on discretionary IBAS appropriations. If control of Congress shifts in the November 2026 midterms, the program could face budget scrutiny — especially the $10 million grant to a celebrity-hosted foundation. A restructured or defunded program would halt state-by-state expansion.

3

Skills gap keeps widening despite the push

Uncertain Resolves by Jul 1, 2028

Discussed by: DOD projections cited by program officials

The 400,000 unfilled positions today could reach 2.5 million by 2030. Even with aggressive expansion, scholarships and training bootcamps may not keep pace with retirements across an aging defense workforce. The program grows, but the hole grows faster.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

June 1944

GI Bill of Rights (1944)

Congress passed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, offering education and training benefits to millions of returning World War II veterans — including tuition for trade schools, colleges, and apprenticeships.

Then

Roughly 8 million veterans used the benefits for education or training within a decade.

Now

Created a generation of skilled American workers and helped build the post-war middle class.

Why this matters now

A precedent for the federal government rapidly scaling a skilled workforce through targeted funding — the same lever BuildFreedom.US is trying to pull.

1961-1969

Space Race engineering buildup (1960s)

To land on the moon, NASA and its contractors deliberately grew a technical workforce, funding training programs and pulling engineers and machinists into aerospace at unprecedented scale.

Then

The Apollo program employed roughly 400,000 people at its peak.

Now

Built America's aerospace manufacturing base, which still anchors defense supply chains today.

Why this matters now

Shows the federal government can deliberately build a technical workforce for a national security goal — though the 1960s effort took years and focused on engineers, not the trades BuildFreedom.US targets.

Sources

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+1
Manufacturing Dive PR Newswire Golden Age of Gaia SamSearch Congress.gov Manufacturing USA PR Newswire