SaverLife and BlackRock Foundation Launch Financial Wellness App for Skilled Trades Apprentices Nationwide
SaverLife has introduced a customized version of its award-winning financial wellness application designed to help skilled trades workers strengthen their financial stability, manage debt, improve credit, and build long-term savings. Developed with funding from The BlackRock Foundation, the SaverLife x BlackRock Future Builders app brings personalized financial guidance and practical money-management tools directly into the apprenticeship experience.
The initiative is part of BlackRock Future Builders, a workforce development effort focused on expanding opportunities for Americans pursuing careers in the skilled trades. Through the partnership, the financial wellness platform is now available to nearly 75,000 apprentices nationwide through the electrical training ALLIANCE (etA), the national training partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA).
The etA oversees standardized apprenticeship curricula, training resources, and program tools used by IBEW-NECA training centers across the United States. By integrating financial wellness resources into these existing training programs, SaverLife and The BlackRock Foundation aim to help apprentices develop healthier financial habits while preparing for long-term careers.
SaverLife Expands Financial Support for Apprentices
Skilled trades workers play an important role in the U.S. economy, supporting essential industries such as construction, electrical infrastructure, manufacturing, and energy. However, entering a skilled trade career can involve financial challenges, particularly for apprentices balancing everyday expenses with the costs and responsibilities associated with training and career development.
The new SaverLife x BlackRock Future Builders app is designed to address these challenges by giving apprentices access to financial education and tools that support their individual circumstances. The platform includes SaverLife’s Financial Navigator, which provides personalized guidance to help users understand their finances and identify practical steps toward achieving their financial goals.
Through the application, apprentices can access resources focused on managing debt, building credit, increasing savings, and developing stronger financial habits. The objective is to help workers make informed financial decisions as they progress through their training and begin building their careers.
Rather than treating financial education as a separate activity, the initiative integrates these resources into the apprenticeship journey. This approach allows apprentices to access support while developing the professional skills needed to succeed in their chosen occupations.
The program also includes cash incentives for eligible union apprentices participating in BlackRock Future Builders programs. These incentives are intended to encourage participation and reward progress as apprentices work toward completing their training and establishing healthy financial habits.
Technology and Behavioral Science Power Personalized Guidance
SaverLife’s platform combines financial health expertise, behavioral science, real-time data, and artificial intelligence to deliver financial support tailored to working Americans. The approach is designed to make financial guidance more accessible and relevant by helping users identify actions they can take in response to their financial circumstances.
The organization currently supports more than 800,000 Americans across all 50 states through its free application. According to SaverLife, the majority of its users save more after joining the platform, highlighting the potential value of tools that encourage consistent saving behavior.
The customized application for skilled trades apprentices builds on this experience by focusing on the financial needs associated with entering and progressing through a skilled trade career. Apprentices can use the available resources to develop saving routines, assess their debt-management options, and work toward greater financial security over time.
Personalized guidance can be particularly valuable for workers whose financial priorities change as they advance through an apprenticeship. Managing current expenses, preparing for emergencies, building credit, and planning for future milestones can require different approaches at different stages of a career.
By combining digital tools with behavioral insights, SaverLife aims to help apprentices turn financial knowledge into practical habits. The partnership also reflects a broader effort to make financial wellness an accessible component of workforce development rather than an issue workers must navigate entirely on their own.
BlackRock Foundation Builds on Skilled Trades Investment
The BlackRock Foundation’s support for the initiative builds on BlackRock’s broader commitment to workforce development and financial well-being. Through BlackRock Future Builders, the company is working to expand access to skilled trades careers and help more Americans pursue opportunities in industries critical to the country’s economic growth.
The initiative follows an initial $100 million philanthropic commitment to growing America’s skilled trades workforce and the launch of the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades. The alliance brings together organizations focused on expanding pathways into important industries and strengthening opportunities for workers.
As the United States continues investing in infrastructure and other essential economic sectors, demand for skilled workers remains an important consideration for employers and training organizations. However, creating career opportunities involves more than providing technical instruction. Workers also need resources that help them manage their finances and maintain stability as they develop their professional skills.
The SaverLife partnership addresses this additional dimension by connecting financial wellness support with apprenticeship programs. The approach recognizes that a worker’s ability to build a sustainable career can be influenced by financial pressures, unexpected expenses, and the ability to save consistently.
Through its investment, The BlackRock Foundation aims to help apprentices access resources that support their financial progress from the beginning of their careers. The initiative also aligns with BlackRock’s broader mission of helping more people invest better to live better.
Leadership Highlights the Connection Between Careers and Financial Security
SaverLife President and CEO Leigh Phillips said the partnership provides an opportunity to rethink how workers are prepared for future careers and supported in building lasting financial security.
Phillips explained that personalized, technology-enabled financial guidance can become an important part of workforce development. By bringing practical tools and timely support to IBEW-NECA apprentices, the initiative seeks to help workers establish savings habits and develop greater financial confidence early in their careers.
BlackRock Global Head of Corporate Affairs John Kelly also emphasized the relationship between skilled trades employment and long-term economic opportunity.
According to Kelly, skilled trades careers can provide family-supporting wages and create opportunities for millions of Americans. However, he noted that access to employment should also translate into opportunities to build lasting financial security. Integrating financial tools into apprenticeship programs can help workers begin working toward financial success from their first paycheck and throughout their careers.
These perspectives underscore the partnership’s central objective: combining career development with financial wellness resources to help workers benefit more fully from the opportunities available through skilled trades employment.
Retirement Research Highlights the Need for Financial Resources
Research from BlackRock’s Read on Retirement initiative further illustrates the demand for financial guidance among skilled trades workers. According to the findings cited by the organizations, 60% of surveyed respondents said they should be saving more for retirement.
The finding points to a challenge that extends beyond immediate expenses. Workers may earn income and receive employment benefits while still facing uncertainty about whether they are saving enough to support their long-term needs.
For apprentices beginning their careers, developing consistent saving habits early may help establish a foundation for future financial planning. Resources that encourage emergency savings, support informed financial decisions, and explain longer-term goals can help workers approach these responsibilities with greater confidence.
The SaverLife application is intended to support these efforts by providing accessible financial guidance and tools that users can incorporate into their everyday routines. The platform’s focus on practical actions may help apprentices identify achievable steps toward improving their financial position.
Although financial education alone cannot eliminate every economic challenge workers face, integrating it into existing workforce programs can make resources easier to access and use. The collaboration between SaverLife and The BlackRock Foundation seeks to bring these resources closer to apprentices as they navigate the early stages of their careers.
IBEW and NECA Emphasize the Importance of Financial Wellness
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers sees financial stability as an important part of helping apprentices and their families benefit from skilled trades careers.
IBEW International President Kenneth W. Cooper said an apprenticeship offers more than employment, providing a pathway to a career with competitive wages, benefits, and retirement opportunities. He also highlighted the distinction between earning a good living and developing the financial skills needed to build wealth.
By making financial wellness tools available to apprentices, the partnership aims to help workers make better use of their earnings and work toward stronger financial futures for themselves and their families.
The National Electrical Contractors Association also emphasized the relationship between workers’ financial well-being and the long-term strength of the electrical industry.
NECA CEO David Long said a strong workforce depends on more than technical expertise. Financial stability can also influence workers’ ability to remain focused, continue their training, and develop into experienced professionals who contribute to the industry over time.
Long noted that providing apprentices with resources to manage their finances can support both individual workers and the contractors who depend on a skilled, reliable workforce. NECA views the SaverLife and BlackRock Foundation partnership as an investment in apprentices and the industry’s future.
These comments reflect a shared recognition among labor and industry organizations that supporting apprentices involves addressing both professional development and the practical challenges workers encounter outside the workplace.
Electrical Training Alliance Integrates Financial Guidance Into Apprenticeships
The electrical training ALLIANCE plays a central role in making the customized SaverLife application available to apprentices nationwide. Through its work with IBEW and NECA training centers, the organization supports standardized education and training programs for people preparing for electrical careers.
Executive Director Todd Stafford said preparing the next generation of electricians requires more than technical instruction. Apprentices also need support and resources that help them remain on track and take full advantage of the opportunities their careers can provide.
Stafford highlighted the value of incorporating personalized financial guidance and savings tools into the apprenticeship experience. By making these resources available alongside professional training, the partnership aims to help apprentices build both occupational skills and financial resilience from the beginning.
Integrating financial wellness into established training programs can also make it easier to reach workers who may not otherwise seek out financial education independently. Through the etA network, the initiative has the potential to connect a large national apprentice population with resources designed around their needs.
A Broader Approach to Workforce Development
The launch of the SaverLife x BlackRock Future Builders app reflects a broader approach to workforce development that combines career preparation, financial education, and practical support. As employers and industry organizations work to develop the next generation of skilled trades professionals, financial stability is increasingly recognized as an important element of long-term career success.
For apprentices, the ability to manage debt, build credit, establish emergency savings, and prepare for retirement can contribute to a stronger financial foundation. Access to digital resources and incentives may also encourage consistent engagement with these goals as workers progress through their training.
For training organizations and employers, helping apprentices manage financial challenges may complement efforts to develop a skilled workforce and support program completion. The partnership brings together a financial wellness organization, a philanthropic foundation, and established labor and industry training organizations to address these connected needs.
With the application now available to nearly 75,000 apprentices nationwide through the electrical training ALLIANCE, SaverLife and The BlackRock Foundation are expanding access to personalized financial support within the skilled trades sector.
The initiative demonstrates how technology-enabled financial guidance can complement workforce training by helping workers focus not only on building successful careers but also on developing the financial habits needed to support their futures. Through continued collaboration, the organizations aim to help skilled trades apprentices pursue economic opportunity while working toward greater financial confidence and resilience.
Source link: https://www.businesswire.com
