John Phillips, president and chief executive officer of AE Electrical Solutions in Frankfort, Kentucky, has built more than just a successful business—he’s built a talent pipeline. A longtime advocate for employer-led workforce solutions, Phillips has helped shape how local students access careers in the skilled trades, using the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) framework to align provider training with real hiring needs.
Like many employers in the construction industry, Phillips has faced significant workforce challenges over the past decade. With fewer young people entering the trades and a wave of retirements from experienced electricians, AE Electrical Solutions needed a plan—not just to fill job openings, but to ensure the long-term sustainability of Kentucky’s workforce. “We needed to raise up a new generation of people who understand there is a viable career path in the skilled trades,” Phillips explained.
Phillips saw an opportunity in TPM to be more than reactive. In 2017, he began working with the Kentucky Chamber Foundation to implement the TPM framework and support initiatives like Bus to Business®, which introduces students to local career opportunities through employer-led site visits. But Phillips knew awareness alone wasn’t enough—students needed clearer pathways into the trades, and educators needed better insight into what those careers looked like.
To address this, Phillips partnered with the Kentucky Chamber to co-design the Educators Guide to the Construction Industry. This initiative invited close to 40 Kentucky school principals, teachers, and instructors to collaborate directly with employers, gaining firsthand knowledge of industry needs. Phillips worked closely with local education leaders to map out electrical career pathways, identify alignment with technical training programs, and co-create criteria for student success.
As a result, the effort helped demystify the construction industry for educators and encouraged them to introduce more students to trade career options. “Through TPM, we’re able to provide a career for people who may otherwise be leaving their communities,” Phillips said. “It gives individual chambers of commerce a tool to tie the businesses in their community to the talent that’s in their community.”
The results have been meaningful—not just for AE Electrical Solutions, but for the broader Frankfort region. More students are now exploring trade careers earlier. More educators are building relationships with local employers. And AE Electrical Solutions has successfully hired students directly from these newly formed pipelines. “TPM has helped our company fill workforce gaps while empowering high school students with the knowledge they need for their electrical careers,” Phillips said.
Beyond his role at AE Electrical, Phillips continues to shape Kentucky’s workforce strategy statewide. In 2023, he was appointed to the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, where he lends his voice to efforts that strengthen the state’s business climate and talent infrastructure.
John Phillips exemplifies the role of the employer as a workforce innovator—someone who doesn’t just adapt to change but helps create the systems that make change possible. By embedding TPM into how AE Electrical Solutions approaches hiring, training, and community engagement, Phillips has helped ensure that workforce development in Kentucky is not only employer-led, but easy for learners to navigate and succeed.
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