Ford chief executive Jim Farley told reporters that U.S. ambitions to scale AI infrastructure and manufacturing are constrained by a shortage of blue-collar workers—construction, factory, and data-center technicians. He flagged current shortfalls of hundreds of thousands of workers and warned that without targeted training and recruitment, reshoring and AI build-outs will stall. Farley’s comments put workforce development squarely on higher education’s agenda: community colleges, technical programs, and apprenticeship pipelines will be central to producing the technicians and tradespeople demanded by data centers and advanced manufacturing. Colleges and state workforce agencies will likely see pressure to expand short-term credentialing, ergonomics and safety training, and industry-validated certifications; employers may deepen partnerships with regional colleges to accelerate hiring and on-the-job training.