Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs, was the celebrity contestant on the television game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire today.  He will continue to play on tomorrow’s episode.

Like many game shows, from time to time Millionaire invites celebrities to come on the show and play for charities of their choice.  Rowe is playing for the non-profit he set up, the mikeroweWORKS Foundation.  The mission of the foundation is “to promote the skilled trades in areas of public awareness, reducing stigmas, education, career planning and job opportunities”.  Here is what Rowe says on his website about the reasons he started the foundation:

“I established this foundation to give something back, and challenge the prevailing definition of a ‘good job’.  For decades, we have put a premium on a four-year degree, and told an entire generation that Trade Schools and skilled labor are ‘alternatives’ to ‘higher education’.  That attitude is warping expectations, wrecking opportunity, and destroying our country.”   Read more » about Mike Rowe Plays “Millionaire” for Skilled Trades Foundation

As a workforce development professional in the construction industry, I am always excited to hear about new initiatives that support the skilled trades.

In 2009, Senator Wendell Mitchell and Senator Del Marsh co-sponsored Act 220 in the Alabama legislature that resulted in the creation of the Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute.  The creation of the ACRI is significant for a couple of reasons.  It is funded through a fee levied on employers based on wages paid to skilled construction workers on commercial and industrial jobs across the state, and it represents a united effort from the private and public sector.

The ACRI’s Go Build Alabama campaign is a full out effort to inform and educate the citizens of Alabama about the opportunities for great careers in construction.  The campaign kicked off on Labor Day of 2010 and featured spokesperson Mike Rowe who is the creator, executive producer and host of the popular Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs.  The Go Build Alabama website offers information on the industry outlook, profiles of the various trades, links to training and apprenticeship opportunities, and a sign up page where readers can get assistance in navigating entry into the construction industry.   Read more » about Go Build Alabama Program Sets Example To Follow

You might know him from the Discovery channel program, Dirty Jobs or more recently as the spokesman for Ford on the Super Bowl ads, but did you know that Mike Rowe has a construction industry website meant to entertain and inform?  It is a creative way to see more of what the industry has to offer including 112 job profiles, videos of skilled tradesmen talking about their work, job listings and much more.  For example, in his introduction to the “Work Is Not The Enemy” section, he talks about the image of skilled labor and how the attitude toward those who make things in their jobs has changed.  Read more » about Mike Rowe Construction Job Site