press release
September 4, 2020
Carhartt Spotlights Opportunities in Skilled Trade Jobs this Labor Day with Hard Hat Installation in Nashville
Since 1889, Carhartt has been defined by the ideals of its founder Hamilton Carhartt, who believed in quality ā not just for products, but also quality of life for workers. At a time of fluctuating employment and career changes, this Labor Day, Carhartt is calling attention to the number of job opportunities across the U.S. in skilled trades ā an estimated 1.67 million in June alone, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Today, Carhartt unveiled a larger-than-life installation of 1,670 hard hats to represent 1.67 million job openings across construction, manufacturing, mining, logging, transportation, trade, and utilities. Built in the shape of the United States, the installation was unveiled at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Nashville ā a city hard at work as one of Americaās construction megacities with three dozen cranes currently up across Nashville skies as of August 2020.
āOur company was built on the philosophy that we should be thankful for labor every day, not just on Labor Day,ā said Mark Valade, Chief Executive Officer at Carhartt. āWe know that to build a better world, we need more men and women in the skilled trades. To ensure the future success of Americaās workforce, we are highlighting and investing in the incredible work our long-standing partner SkillsUSA performs to provide trade and technical school students across the nation with a blueprint for workplace readiness.ā
In honor of the hard work people in the skilled trades put in every day, from sunup to sundown, Carhartt is donating all of its online sales on www.Carhartt.com from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EDT on Labor Day to SkillsUSA to help train the workforce of the future. As an Official Sponsor of SkillsUSA since 2000, Carhartt has proudly supported SkillsUSAās role in helping thousands of hardworking people every year find a rewarding path into the skilled trades ā a commitment that will continue well into the future.
āWe couldnāt be more thankful to have a partner like Carhartt that firmly believes in our mission to build Americaās next skilled workforce,ā said Chelle Travis, Executive Director at SkillsUSA. āThe pandemic has shed a new light on the importance of essential workers which includes the men and women in the skilled trades. There are jobs to be had in these fields and we want to make it as accessible as possible for anyone looking for a new career.ā
Centered around the belief that labor should be celebrated every day, Carhartt also launched its āEvery Day is Labor Dayā TV commercial and social video that recognizes those who work from dawn to dusk. The creative spot utilizes the voice of American film director, Peter Berg, who has donated his working fee to SkillsUSA.
To extend gratitude for workers even further, Carhartt has also committed to giving its own hard working, essential employees a dayās rest by closing all retail stores and U.S. manufacturing facilities for the third year in a row on Labor Day.
For more information on Carharttās Labor Day campaign and how to support the donation to SkillsUSA, please visit www.Carhartt.com/labor-day.
ABOUT CARHARTT, INC.
Established in 1889, Carhartt is a global premium workwear brand with a rich heritage of developing rugged products for workers on and off the job. Headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, with more than 5,500 associates worldwide, Carhartt is family-owned and managed by the descendants of the company's founder, Hamilton Carhartt. For more information, visit www.carhartt.com.
ABOUT SKILLSUSA
SkillsUSA is a nonprofit partnership of education and industry founded in 1965 to strengthen our nationās skilled workforce. Driven by employer demand, SkillsUSA helps students develop necessary personal and workplace skills along with technical skills grounded in academics. This SkillsUSA Framework empowers every student to succeed at work and in life, while helping to close the skills gap in which millions of positions go unfilled. Through SkillsUSAās championships program and curricula, employers have long ensured schools are teaching relevant technical skills, and with SkillsUSAās new credentialing process, they can now assess how ready potential employees are for the job. SkillsUSA has more than 372,000 annual paid members nationwide in high schools, colleges and middle schools, covering over 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, and is recognized by the U.S. departments of Education and Labor as integral to career and technical education. With the addition of our alumni, membership is 434,141. We have served nearly 14 million members since 1965. For more information: www.skillsusa.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Carhartt.com, Sr. Public Relations Manager, Amy Hellebuyck, (313) 749-6322 ahellebuyck@carhartt.com
Zeno Group, Wes Richter, (312) 826-3582, Richter@zenogroup.com