Mike Rowe warns AI will hit white-collar workers hardest — welders are safe for now
mikeroweWORKS Foundation CEO warns 'AI is coming for the coders'
Mike Rowe: 'We have to think differently about the way we train the next generation of skilled workers'
CEO of mikeroweWorks Foundation Mike Rowe joins 'Varney & Co.' to discuss people shifting from white collar to blue collar employment and the launching of an initiative in Texas to promote skilled trades.
As artificial intelligence shakes up white-collar workplaces, Mike Rowe is warning of a quieter but significant blue-collar shift that could reshape how Americans view work, pay and job security.
"AI is coming for the coders. It’s not yet coming for the welders, and that basic understanding has taken root," Rowe said Tuesday on FOX Business' "Varney & Co."
According to the "Dirty Jobs" host, employers across industries are scrambling to fill skilled trade positions, revealing a labor gap widened by decades of emphasis on four-year college degrees.
SKILLED WORKERS ARE IN DEMAND, THESE TRADE JOBS PAY THE MOST
Mike Rowe, chief executive officer of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, at Ford Pro Accelerate in Detroit, Mich. on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"The automotive industry needs over 100,000 skilled workers immediately… Larry Fink at BlackRock talks about four to 500,000 electricians needed in his portfolio of companies alone," Rowe said.
"The data center push, shipbuilding, the U.S. maritime industrial base is looking for 400,000 skilled workers alone. It goes way beyond just the construction industry."
MIKE ROWE REVEALS WHICH ESSENTIAL JOBS AI CAN'T TOUCH – AND WHY AMERICANS SHOULD PAY ATTENTION
A job seeker attends a Veteran Employment and Resource Fair in Long Beach, Calif. on Jan. 9, 2024. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Rowe’s warning mirrors a "Wall Street Journal" report published last week, which found many white-collar professionals feeling increasingly "stuck," facing layoffs, stagnant wages and repeated rejections, while demand for skilled trade labor continues to surge.
That report also highlighted the same driving force behind the shift: the rapid advance of artificial intelligence.
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Mike Rowe says ‘classic trade jobs’ are the best bet in the age of AI
mikeroweWorks Foundation CEO Mike Rowe joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping America’s workforce and why classic trade jobs offer the most security.
"Certainly nobody has a crystal ball, but it seems pretty clear, and I haven't talked to anybody that disagrees with the idea that the category of jobs or the cohort of workers least likely to be disrupted by AI is going to be welders and electricians and steam fitters and pipe fitters, and energy workers and so forth," Rowe said.
