Detroit Summit Spotlights Skilled Trades and Michigan LIFT at Restored Michigan Central

More than 700 leaders, educators and tradespeople gathered at Michigan Central Station for the second ACCELERATE the Essential Economy summit to push workforce training and boost Michigan manufacturing competitiveness through initiatives including Michigan LIFT.

On Sept. 30, 2026, over 700 business and policy leaders, educators, skilled-trades professionals and young people convened at Michigan Central Station in Detroit for the second annual ACCELERATE the Essential Economy. The gathering emphasized the urgent need to train the next generation of skilled trades workers and to strengthen pathways into manufacturing careers.

The choice of Michigan Central underscored the conference’s message: the station’s restoration involved more than 3,000 tradespeople, a tangible example of the workforce and skills the region needs. Organizers, including Ford, tied that restoration story to broader efforts to shore up supply chains and supplier innovation across Michigan.

Ford highlighted Michigan LIFT, a collaborative effort launched with JPMorganChase, the State of Michigan, Michigan Central and Newlab, as a central mechanism to bolster manufacturing competitiveness, supply-chain resilience and support innovative Michigan suppliers. For Michigan auto and trades enthusiasts, the summit made clear the state’s focus on building training pipelines and public-private partnerships to sustain regional manufacturing capacity.

Next steps detailed at the event center on expanding training programs and aligning industry partners, though specific program timelines and outcomes were not disclosed in the recap.