Troops To Trades

There is a lot of discussion going on in this state and many others about students learning trades as an alternative to a traditional college degree. In a chance meeting at the Grove Park, Jake and I struck up a conversation with a gentleman from Minnesota who was telling us about a charitable organization that he started several years ago.  He had just come from a fundraiser in DC, where they raised over $250,000 for the organization Troops To Trades. 

As the NC Chamber tells us in Closing the Skills Gap  , "For communities across North Carolina, attracting, training and retaining workforce is a top concern. North Carolina’s job creators continue to face a significant disconnect between their talent needs and the real-life skillsets possessed by graduates. Both specific skill shortages and soft skill barriers are constant themes of the discussion. Even as unemployment numbers improve, employers across the state continue to struggle filling open positions with qualified talent.The Department of Commerce’s Labor and Economic Analysis Division recently released its 2016 Employer Needs Survey. After collecting 1,900 surveys, more than a third of businesses surveyed expressed difficulty in filling positions. Finding candidates with the right work experience, education and technical skills were the top reasons cited. Businesses in construction and manufacturing expressed the most difficulty. The survey also found that these difficulties were true in both urban and rural parts of the state."

This organization called Troops To Trades has a basic premise that connects work with veterans and puts them through training to work in trades such as HVAC, plumbing and other important skilled trades.  They organize the apprenticeships and help them to work the trade schools and their GI bill to supplement income while training and apprenticing, making it viable to actually live on the wage earned while learning.  The contacts in the organization are well-versed in assisting the veterans with placing them in trades that don’t conflict with a physical disability, help them with obtaining the certification, job placement and much more. 

These are folks/businesses dedicated to not only serving the veteran but also helping our economy while providing skilled laborers for jobs that are unable to be filled easily.  

I love when folks use their connections and resources to meet multiple needs. Check out the website and share with a veteran or a business-owner you know, who might like to be  a part of this organization!  Well done Troops To Trades!