Mike Bloomberg

The idea that a four-year college degree is the only pathway to a career flies in the face of history — and it gets the future wrong, too.

Today I saw that first-hand, when Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley and I met with career and technical education students at Breithaupt Career and Technical Center in Detroit. We talked about the welding and auto tech skills they're learning and their plans to build careers in the skilled trades – where there are millions of open jobs.

To help more Detroit students gain hands-on training, industry-recognized credentials, and clearer pathways to in-demand skilled trades careers, we are co-investing $5 million with Ford in Detroit Public Schools Community District Foundation. And to create more opportunities like these for the next generation of American workers, Bloomberg Philanthropies is launching a $90 million first-of-its-kind initiative to help high school students across the country learn skilled trades, earn certifications, and move into Registered Apprenticeships and high-wage jobs after graduation. By bringing together educators, employers, local leaders, unions, and others to develop coursework and training programs, we can help connect newly trained graduates with high-wage, family-sustaining careers in fields with growing labor needs.

Congratulations to PAC NYC Artistic Director Bill Rauch and Zhailon Levingston on winning Best Direction of a Musical at the Tony Awards for Cats: The Jellicle Ball. They did an amazing job bringing the Cats revival to life, first at PAC NYC and then on Broadway. Well-deserved!

For almost 50 years, St. Francis Friends of the Poor has done life-changing work helping New Yorkers facing complex challenges. My friend Mark Lebow has been there since the beginning, and has been instrumental in helping them do so much for so many. I was glad to join in honoring his dedication and commitment.

As The Walt Disney Company CEO, Bob Iger has done more to transform media and culture around the world than almost anyone. At the same time, he's stayed deeply committed to his hometown as a leading supporter of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and the revitalization of Lower Manhattan — and an early advocate for including a performance space, which ultimately became PAC NYC, in the Ground Zero rebuilding. I was glad to join 2025's Icon of Culture Diane von Furstenberg, Robin Roberts, and the PAC NYC community to announce he will be the 2026 Icon of Culture, and we look forward to honoring Bob at the PAC NYC Icons of Culture Gala in October.