Lifting Futures is the GE Aerospace Foundation’s flagship workforce skills program, designed to help train the advanced manufacturing workforce needed across the aerospace industry.
Lifting Futures is a philanthropic effort that aims to train 10,000 workers with the skills needed to help support growing demand across the aerospace and manufacturing industries by 2030.
The workforce challenge is particularly acute in aerospace, driven by waves of coming retirements and four times as many new workers entering aerospace who need advanced skills training compared to manufacturing overall, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Our 5 inaugural communities demonstrate strong potential, existing momentum, and an ability to scale impact quickly with additional courses, equipment, and resources to increase graduation and job placement.
The five communities selected for the initial round of Lifting Futures grants have strong labor demand, a pipeline of potential new workers, and capable partner training institutions. The GE Aerospace Foundation convened education, industry, and government leaders to collaboratively shape the programs for their community.
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Demand for skilled workers in aerospace and manufacturing continues to rise.
Waves of coming retirements are reshaping the workforce. New workers entering the field need advanced training in engineering, research and development, automation, equipment maintenance, repair and overhaul, safety, and quality control — all to help support growing demand across the industries.
The opportunity is clear: employers need talent, workers need pathways, and communities need the systems that connect the two.
Lifting Futures builds on GE Aerospace and the GE Aerospace Foundation’s lessons learned from supporting local skills training programs, building new workforce skills partnerships, and reaching into new communities.
The program is designed to help close the advanced manufacturing labor gap, strengthen communities, and generate new knowledge about how to secure the future of advanced manufacturing. Program investments will help increase access to community-based skills training and certification and will emphasize:
- Efforts to reduce barriers to entry for training institutions and programs.
- Capacity expansion initiatives, including additional classrooms and equipment, that enable training programs to enroll more students.
- Activities to increase the resources and services students need to increase graduation and job placement rates from training programs.
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Since GE Aerospace became a standalone company, GE Aerospace Foundation has supported more than 20 workforce programs, reaching nearly 10,000 individuals. In addition, GE Aerospace has a long history of training current and future employees with apprenticeships and other training programs, including 10 years of machining in West Jefferson, NC, and over 50 years of powerplant apprenticeships at Rutland, VT. In 2025, about 3,000 GE Aerospace workers were engaged in apprenticeships and other training programs.
FHI 360 is a global organization that mobilizes research, resources and relationships so people everywhere have access to the opportunities they need to lead full and healthy lives. For more than 50 years, FHI 360 has worked in partnership with employers to expand economic opportunity through access to training, certification, and supportive resources to drive economic growth and address critical workforce shortages. FHI 360 serves as the global implementing partner for Lifting Futures.
