The Associated General Contractors of America's Education and Research Foundation is accepting applications for its 2026–27 Workforce Development Scholarship cycle as the construction industry confronts what workforce analysts describe as a deepening skilled-trades crisis with no near-term resolution in sight.
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The scholarship, which awards up to $1,000 per academic year and is renewable for a second year, is aimed squarely at students pursuing associate degrees, technical training, certificates, or registered apprenticeship programs in construction-related disciplines. Applications close June 1, 2026, at 5 p.m. EDT.
The timing of the scholarship cycle carries added urgency. The Associated Builders and Contractors estimates the industry needs 349,000 net new workers in 2026 and 456,000 in 2027, with approximately 1.9 million additional workers needed over the next decade to keep pace with projected demand.
Ninety-two percent of construction firms report difficulty hiring qualified hourly craft workers, according to the AGC's own 2026 workforce survey — a figure that underscores why scholarship programs targeting early-career tradespeople carry direct business consequences for contractors and project owners alike.
Nearly 40% of skilled construction workers are now over the age of 45, and in the electrical trades, nearly one in five workers is older than 55. Apprenticeship pipelines, which can take five to seven years to produce fully skilled workers, are struggling to fill that gap fast enough.
The AGC Foundation's eligibility criteria are broad by design. Any applicant planning to attend a technical school or approved craft training program in any discipline of construction may apply — including high school seniors, active military members, and current postsecondary students, whether full-time or part-time.
Approved programs span a wide range of accreditation standards, including ABET, ACCE, NCCER, IACET, ANSI, COE, and federally or state-registered apprenticeship programs. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or documented permanent residents and must intend to enroll in at least one course during the Fall 2026 semester (August–December 2026).
Students pursuing a four-year bachelor's degree are directed to a separate undergraduate scholarship application.
The application is submitted entirely online through the AGC Foundation's portal. Required materials include academic transcripts — official or unofficial, provided the institution name and student name are clearly visible — along with a personal recommendation submitted electronically by a teacher or employment supervisor. Recommendations sent by email or mail will not be accepted.
Evaluators will weigh appearance, completeness, spelling, and grammar as part of the review, making presentation a factor alongside academic qualifications.
Scholarship recipients are notified in August, with award checks sent directly to recipients in late September rather than to their educational institutions.
To qualify for a second-year renewal, recipients must demonstrate continued enrollment and maintain at least a 2.5 GPA or its equivalent, submitting transcripts and upcoming class schedules at the conclusion of each academic period. Recipients will not receive reminders — failure to provide documentation results in non-renewal.
For construction owners and general contractors, scholarship programs like this one represent an upstream workforce investment with tangible downstream returns. Labor costs are rising sharply in high-demand regions, with some markets reporting wage increases of 9% to 11% for specialized trades, and subcontractor availability is tightening, prompting owners to reevaluate project planning strategies.
Deloitte estimates the economic cost of the labor gap at $124 billion in lost construction output if left unaddressed. Projects do not get cancelled because of labor shortages — they get delayed, stretched, and repriced, with downstream costs hitting every stakeholder from the general contractor to the building owner.
Owners and contractors with workforce development programs, local college partnerships, or pre-apprenticeship pipelines may want to actively direct eligible employees and recruits toward this scholarship cycle as part of broader retention and talent-building strategies.
The 2026–27 Workforce Development Scholarship program is currently open. The application portal is accessible at https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/109007-Agc-Education-And-Research-Foundation. For eligibility questions, contact AGC Foundation Program Director Paige Packard at paige.packard@agc.org or (703) 837-5387.
The application deadline is June 1, 2026, at 5 p.m. EDT.
Source: AGC
