One of the biggest challenges facing the global economy is the ongoing shortage of skilled trade workers.  Today there are 10 million manufacturing jobs around the world that remain unfulfilled due to a lack of skilled trade workers.  The same is true for the construction industry where there is a projected gap of 430,000 jobs in the U.S. in 2021 alone.  In addition, the shift to remote and hybrid learning significantly impacted career and technical education schools and classes which rely heavily on hands-on learning. To fight that skilled worker shortage, Stanley Black & Decker is launching the “Empower Makers” Global Impact Challenge, a $25 million commitment to fund vocational skills training and reskilling in the construction and manufacturing sectors.  Over the next five years Stanley Black & Decker will award up to $25 million in grants to organizations dedicated to providing economically viable jobs, empowering the world’s workforce with trade skillsets, and mitigating the talent shortage.  The program is expected to train more than 3 million skilled trade workers. For more information visit www.stanleyblackanddecker.com/social-responsibility/empower-makers.