In this bonus episode of DRIVE, Ford CEO Jim Farley continues his conversation with Mike Rowe about the “essential economy” and why America is increasingly vulnerable due to shortages of construction, industrial, emergency services, and skilled trade workers. Rowe explains how COVID re-highlighted essential workers, how his MikeRoweWORKS foundation began amid the 2009 recession despite millions of open jobs, and why shortages become real to people only when repairs and services fail. Mike and Jim discuss the need to rebuild respect for skilled work through trade schools, scholarships, apprenticeships, and company-led training. DRIVE with Jim Farley is produced by Jesse Baker and Eric Nuzum of Magnificent Noise. Our production staff includes Sabrina Farhi and Kristen Mueller with help from Lori Arpin, Angela Brewer, Max Owen-Dunow, Anne Roberts, Samantha Singhal, Darnell Macon, Brandon Kennedy, and Mark Truby. Follow Jim: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Jim.FarleyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimfarley98/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jimfarley98LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-farley/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jimfarley.bsky.socialTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/jimfarley98Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices