Hampton Roads Has 5,000 New Trade Jobs Coming. Where Are the Workers?
In March 2026, Groundworks — a Virginia Beach-based foundation and water management company — announced plans to add 5,000 skilled trades jobs over the next five years. That's not a typo. Five thousand jobs. In Hampton Roads. In trades.
The catch? The company made that announcement while simultaneously acknowledging that finding skilled tradespeople is already one of their biggest challenges. "The skilled trades across America have been declining over the last 20 years," Groundworks founder Matt Malone said. "It's very difficult to find skilled tradespeople across America, and especially here in Hampton Roads."
This is the paradox the trades are living right now. Demand is surging. Infrastructure is aging. Companies are expanding. And the pipeline of qualified workers isn't keeping up.
Virginia's CTE programs are doing their part. Every spring, thousands of high school seniors graduate with legitimate, board-approved industry certifications in welding, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, automotive, and construction trades. These graduates are qualified. They're ready to work. Employers like Groundworks need them yesterday.
But here's the part that doesn't make the news. A significant number of those graduates can't start work immediately — not because they failed their certification, not because they lack skills, but because they can't afford the professional tools their employer requires on day one.
A starter tool kit runs from several hundred to over $1,500 depending on the trade. There is no financial aid for tools. It's cash up front or you wait — and waiting means losing the job offer to someone who could afford to show up equipped.
That's a solvable problem. That's exactly what the Virginia Blue-Collar Tool Foundation was built to solve. We buy the tools directly, match them to the graduate's trade, and put them in their hands before their first day. All-volunteer. In-kind only. No overhead theater.
Hampton Roads has 5,000 jobs coming. We're going to make sure the graduates who earned the right to work those jobs can actually show up and work them.
