Nearly 1 in 4 Skilled Trades Workers Is 55 or Older. What a Michigan Builders Group Said About It

On October 25, 2026, News 10 (WILX) in Lansing, Michigan, reported from Jackson that the skilled trades workforce is getting older. Its numbers came from a national report by the Alliance for America's Skilled Trades, published in September 2026. The report found that nearly 1 in 4 skilled trades workers is 55 or older. It also found that the training programs that can be counted are preparing about 55 people for every 100 workers needed. A Fort Wayne, Indiana radio station ran the story two days later under the headline "Michigan Builders Warn Skilled Labor Shortage Could Worsen Housing Crisis." That headline goes further than the quotes in the story.

This article covers what the Jackson builders group said, what the national report found, and what its numbers do and do not cover. It also covers one place where a company's workforce and its license meet in Michigan. For how Michigan licenses residential builders, start with the Michigan contractor license page.

At a glance

• Who: the executive officer of a home builders association in Jackson, Michigan, interviewed by News 10 (WILX), in a story the station published on October 25, 2026.
• What he said: "our members specifically say they could build a lot more houses if they had more of a workforce." He called the housing crisis national.
• The numbers: they come from the national report, not from Michigan data. 24% of skilled trades workers are 55 or older and 11% are under 25. Formal training programs that can be counted are preparing about 55 people for every 100 workers needed.
• The reach: the report covers 124 skilled trades occupations, not only home building, and says there is no single skilled trades shortage.
• Michigan: the report's text does not mention Michigan. Its state dashboard ranks Michigan 50th of 51 on demand pressure, a comparison among states, not a count of open jobs.
• Licensing: neither News 10 nor the report links the workforce to Michigan contractor licensing.

What the Jackson builders group said

News 10 reported that the association held a Trunk or Treat and Touch a Truck event in Jackson. Young kids could see equipment like concrete mixers and tow trucks up close, "with the goal of planting the seed for future careers in the trades."

The association's executive officer told News 10: "It's super important for us right now to expose the trades to a younger generation and hopefully backfill some of those positions."

He also said: "You're already experiencing a housing crisis nationally... our members specifically say they could build a lot more houses if they had more of a workforce. So if you start to think about a lack of jobs in the trades, it's gonna impact every community, every sector of the economy."

He described the housing crisis as national. The radio headline's word "worsen," and its sentence that a shortage "could compound the nation's housing supply challenges," are the radio station's wording, not his.

What the national report found

The report is "The State of America's Skilled Trades: A National Report," dated September 2026. The Alliance for America's Skilled Trades, a coalition of American companies supported by BlackRock, Carhartt, Ford Motor Company and Google, published it. Authors from Jobs for the Future wrote it, with data analysis by the Burning Glass Institute.

• Age: "Nearly one-quarter of skilled trades workers are age 55 or older, while only 11% are under 25." The data section puts it at 24%, from Census Bureau survey data for 2020 to 2024.
• Training: "Across formal training pathways that can be consistently counted, roughly 55 people are being prepared for every 100 workers needed nationally."
• Openings: employers will need to fill about 1.7 million skilled trades openings each year through 2035. More than 600,000 of those are net new positions. The rest replace workers who retire, change occupations or otherwise leave.

What the numbers cover

The numbers are national. The report counts 124 occupations "spanning construction, installation, maintenance and repair, production, and extraction." Carpenters, electricians, HVAC mechanics and plumbers are in it, and so are auto technicians and industrial machinery mechanics. It is not a home building count.

The 55 for every 100 counts only the formal training pathways the report could consistently measure. The report says that measure "does not capture every route into the skilled trades, particularly occupations in which workers are hired and developed directly by employers." The "workers needed" figure covers growth and replacement together. News 10's sentence says the 55 are coming through "to replace them," which is looser than the report.

The report also says: "There is no single skilled trades shortage: Needs differ sharply by occupation and place."

On the report's national Labor Shortage Index, each occupation is scored against 523 occupations, and a higher percentile means more shortage pressure. Electricians rank at the 85th percentile. Carpenters, HVAC mechanics and installers, and plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters fall between the 73rd and 75th. For carpenters, 22.4% are 55 or older and 10.5% are under 25.

What the report says about Michigan

Nothing in the text of the report mentions Michigan. Its companion dashboard, read on November 2, 2026, compares the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 51 in all. On "demand pressure," which the site describes as each state's position on "projected and realized demand, occupation mix, and wage path," Michigan is 50th of 51, tied with West Virginia. On "supply position," Michigan is 30th of 51.

Those are comparisons among states, not counts of open jobs, and the dashboard can change. They do not say what the Jackson builders see at their own jobsites. They do mean the report itself does not single Michigan out, and this article does not say Michigan has a labor shortage.

Where a workforce and a license meet in Michigan

Neither News 10 nor the report says anything about Michigan contractor licensing, and this article does not claim workers and licenses are linked. But a company's crew is only one limit on the work it can take. Its license is another.

Michigan licenses residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors at the state level through the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). The Michigan Compiled Laws, Article 24 of the Occupational Code, define the two:

• One definition of a residential builder is a person engaged in the construction of a residential structure who, for compensation, "undertakes with another or offers to undertake" the "erection, construction, replacement, repair, alteration, or addition to, subtraction from, improvement, wrecking of, or demolition of, a residential structure."
• A residential maintenance and alteration contractor is a person who "Undertakes with another for the repair, alteration, or addition to, subtraction from, improvement of, wrecking of, or demolition of a residential structure, or building of a garage, or laying of concrete on residential property."

Our Michigan contractor license page says: "Any residential construction, repair, alteration, or improvement job with an aggregate contract price of $600 or more requires the license." It adds: "The Residential Builder license is the broad credential covering new construction and remodeling. The Maintenance and Alteration license is narrower, limited to repair, alteration, and maintenance work, and does not cover new residential construction."

It also says: "Commercial general contracting has no state license, so commercial work is governed by local permitting instead." In Michigan the credential is the Residential Builder license, not a general contractor license.

The statute lists exemptions (MCL 339.2403). They include:

• An owner working on a structure for the owner's own use and occupancy.
• A person whose total contract price for a project is under $600. That exemption does not apply to work that is only part of a larger operation, or that is split into smaller contracts to evade the act.
• A person who works only under contract with a licensed residential builder or maintenance and alteration contractor.

Whether one applies to a specific job is a question for LARA or a Michigan construction attorney.

For companies that want to take on different work in Michigan

A company is licensed through a qualifying officer. Under MCL 339.2405, the company designates one of its officers, partners or members, or its managing agent, as the qualifying officer. That person also holds an individual license and is responsible for supervising the construction operations. If the qualifying officer stops being the qualifying officer, the license is suspended, though LARA may allow a reasonable time, on request, to qualify a new one.

Our Michigan page lists 60 hours of LARA approved prelicensure education and the state exam, which PSI Services gives after LARA approves the application. It also says a NASCLA card does not satisfy any part of the Michigan exam requirement.

A qualifying agent qualifies a company. The Licensing Company places a licensed qualifying agent with your company as a full time W-2 employee and prepares the qualifier filing with LARA. Contractor qualifier services explains how that works. Not a promise, the board decides. For Michigan's license classes, exam and qualifier rules, see the Michigan contractor license page.

Frequently asked questions

What did the Jackson builders group say? Its executive officer told News 10 that the association's members "could build a lot more houses if they had more of a workforce." He also said it is important to introduce the trades to a younger generation. The association held a Trunk or Treat and Touch a Truck event for children.

Does the national report say Michigan has a labor shortage? No. The text of the report does not mention Michigan, and its dashboard ranks Michigan 50th of 51 on demand pressure. The report's numbers are national.

What does "55 for every 100" mean? Across the formal training pathways that can be consistently counted, about 55 people are being prepared for every 100 workers needed nationally. The report says it does not capture every route into the trades, particularly occupations where employers hire and develop workers directly.

Is this a home building number? No. The report covers 124 skilled trades occupations in construction, installation, maintenance and repair, production and extraction.

Does the report say anything about licensing in Michigan? No. The licensing section above is general education about Michigan's rules.

Do I need a license for residential work in Michigan? Michigan requires a Residential Builder or Maintenance and Alteration license for residential contracts of $600 or more in labor and materials, unless an exemption applies. LARA's Bureau of Construction Codes issues it.

This article is general education, not legal advice. LARA or a Michigan construction attorney can confirm how the law applies to a specific job.

Marshall Schofield, one of the nation's leading contractor exam prep instructors, has helped thousands upon thousands of contractors get licensed. Jeremiah Jaskulski is a licensed contractor who has lived the licensing process across multiple states. Together they founded The Licensing Company, and they help contractors get licensed the right way in Michigan and nationwide. Sources: News 10 (WILX), October 25, 2026, The State of America's Skilled Trades: A National Report, September 2026, the report's state dashboard, WOWO, October 27, 2026, Michigan LARA, Residential Builders, and the Michigan Compiled Laws, MCL 339.2401.