Philadelphia needs welders. A Trump administration proposal would eliminate the agency helping to train them.

As President Donald Trump’s administration calls for a nationwide shipbuilding boom that would see the military’s fleet better compete with geopolitical rivals, Philadelphia’s shipyard aims to expand production and hire hundreds of local welders.

The recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” suggests eliminating the federal agency making that goal possible.

A tuition-free, grant-funded training program for trade workers at local community colleges is helping Hanwha — the Korean company that purchased the South Philadelphia shipyard last year — recruit would-be welders who will help the facility double its workforce in coming years, managers say.

The program from former President Joe Biden’s administration, dubbed the Good Jobs Challenge, is part of the Economic Development Administration’s sweeping initiative to train the nation’s workforce in high-demand, critical industries and bolster regional economies.

If the White House succeeds in its stated goal of defunding the EDA, however, the future of such workforce development programs is uncertain.

The proposal comes as Philadelphia faces a growing shortage of welders, and local workforce leaders say cuts could leave the city’s next generation of trade workers behind.

“We are concerned,” said Patrick Clancy, president and CEO of Philadelphia Works, the region’s top workforce board. “The Trump administration needs to realize if we want to bring all this stuff back into the United States around manufacturing, we need skilled people.”

For Amy McErlean, the Good Jobs Challenge came at a pivotal time.

At 39, the Secane native was facing dwindling job prospects, cutting grass and taking other odd jobs to make ends meet.

At Delaware County Community College, McErlean discovered that she could become a certified welder for free.

The 10-week program was sponsored by some of the nearly $297,000 in grants that flowed from Philadelphia Works and, ultimately, the Economic Development Administration.

“It’s very hard for anyone to get ahead today,” McErlean said. “I was appreciative to get a trade underneath my belt.”

In 2022, Philadelphia Works was awarded around $23 million from the EDA for Good Jobs Challenge programs throughout the region. Community colleges in Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Chester Counties are also participating, offering tuition-free training in fields from nursing and life sciences to energy and infrastructure.

While defunding calls have put Philadelphia Works on alert, the White House has not targeted the Good Jobs Challenge specifically, and cohorts are expected to graduate from the program this year. Funding is earmarked through 2026, according to Clancy.

Still, the Good Jobs Challenge is an example of the type of development program Clancy worries could disappear if the Economic Development Administration is eliminated.

The $500 million initiative, though large in scope, prioritizes grants for programs that engage job-seekers from underserved backgrounds, including racial minorities and women, who may face barriers to employment, according to the agency.

Those goals are not far off from some of the Trump administration’s recent criticisms.

A White House budget memo in April claims the Economic Development Administration has become “hijacked by ideological interests,” citing spending on programs focused on climate and racial equity.

The memo also points to rising costs and unspent balances left over from the Biden administration, which funded the Good Jobs Challenge through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, and an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the agency.

The threats come even as Trump attempts to rebalance the economy in favor of trade workers.

In April, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies — including the Department of Commerce, which houses the EDA — to prepare the workforce for the “reshoring and reindustrialization” of the U.S. economy.

The president’s omnibus bill further earmarks $29 billion to invest in the nation’s shipbuilding capacity, and Trump has called for an increase in grants for apprenticeships in technology and other sectors.

The White House and its Office of Management and Budget, as well as the Commerce Department and the Economic Development Administration, did not respond to requests for comment.

Supporters of the White House proposal include Tad DeHaven, a Harrisburg-based member of the libertarian Cato Institute who has long advocated for eliminating the EDA.

DeHaven believes local governments, rather than Washington officials, should fund workforce development programs.

“Someone living in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, is naturally less concerned about a $500 million federal grant going to X, Y, Z when it’s not coming out of their state and local tax bill,” DeHaven said. “The fundamental issue is about the role and responsibility of the federal government.”

As the shipyard aims to take on what it expects will be a cascade of defense and repair work for the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine, Hanwha is looking to increase production from its current rate of 1½ ships per year to around eight by 2027.

In turn, Hanwha wants to bolster its welding staff by 240 workers in 2026. By the end of the decade, the shipyard hopes to hire as many as 500 new welders each year, according to Megan Heileman, a training manager in the shipyard’s welding department.

“There’s lots of federal, even regional money going around in order to compete with foreign nations,” Heileman said. “China is a big one, then Russia.”

In addition to recruiting from local high schools, Hanwha’s robust on-site apprenticeship program is helping it toward that goal.

But Good Jobs Challenge graduates will play a role, too, as McErlean learned when Hanwha recruiters visited her cohort at Delaware County Community College this spring.

The experience ultimately led McElrean to apply for a shipyard position, she said.

“I would be surprised and disappointed if there were cuts,” said Mike Giantomaso, Hanwha Philly Shipyard’s human resources manager. “This is such a good program, and it’s really changing people’s lives.”

The shipyard is not the only employer looking to benefit from the program.

Clancy, with Philadelphia Works, said welding trainees are needed citywide to fill vacant jobs within agencies from SEPTA and Amtrak to the U.S. Postal Service.

At the sports complex, where the Sixers and Comcast Spectacor plan to construct a state-of-the-art arena by 2031, welders will be in particular demand, according to Clancy — if there are enough available.

“A lot of the welders are beginning to age out,” Clancy said, adding that a large share are above age 55.

Without enough Philadelphia-area welding recruits at Hanwha, the company likely would hire workers from other states who traverse the country in search of job opportunities, according to Giantomaso.

If the company ultimately cannot find enough workers, he added, lucrative contracts could end up going to other shipyards.

Sensing the potential impact of the Economic Development Administration’s loss, some lawmakers have begun to speak out.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democrat whose district covers much of Montgomery County, said her chief concern is the loss of millions in grants the agency directs to Pennsylvania each year.

Between 2018 and 2024, the EDA invested around $240 million into the state, according to the agency’s figures, creating more than 18,000 jobs and spurring $1.1 billion in private investment.

“Why does this administration constantly want to cut off advanced development in our workforce, in valuable, good-paying jobs that you don’t need a college degree for?” Dean said. “I don’t understand it, except that it is an ignorance within the administration.”

Conservatives have long tried to dissolve the agency over its 60-year existence; that includes Trump, who tried to eliminate it during his first term but was stalled by Democratic and Republican lawmakers hesitant to slash funding for their home districts.

This time around, Dean believes Trump’s proposal could face less pushback within his party.

“I’m hearing deafening silence from Republican members on this,” the lawmaker said.

Congress has until Sept. 30 to fund the Economic Development Administration; in mid-July, the House appeared to flout the administration’s request when it floated a $256 million budget for the agency, though the proposal is far from final.

“It definitely could change,” said Alexis D’Amato, whose advocacy group Small Business Majority tracks threats to the agency. “As we saw during the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ process, enough pressure from the White House or others in leadership can flip votes.”

Meanwhile, should the Trump administration succeed, there’s no guarantee officials in Harrisburg would supplant lost workforce funding.

“I’ve talked to [Gov.] Josh Shapiro multiple times,” Dean said. “The state can’t pick up the tab for every one of these things this administration doesn’t want to do anymore.”