Blog

Stop for a moment and consider this: You can get a four-year college degree and still not have the skills that will land you a job in your chosen field. It doesn’t matter what industry. Employers are scrambling to find people who can demonstrate competence in what are known as “soft skills.” This...

I keep throwing around the term “skilled trades,” and some of you might be thinking: don’t all jobs require skills? To some extent that’s true. But some skills can be acquired pretty easily. The working world is filled with jobs that can be learned well enough for a new hire to perform productively...

If a career in the trades as a plumber, electrician, or an HVAC tech sounds interesting, you’ve probably started thinking about the education you’ll need as you prepare for your apprenticeship. Apprenticeships are designed to cover a variety of subjects, including math. In fact, much of what you’ll...

Message To White House: We Need More Plumbers Several months ago I wrote about a movement afoot to boost apprenticeship training. This was highlighted by President Trump signing an Executive Order directing the Departments of Labor and Education to look at new ways to jump start apprenticeship in high...

They are becoming ever more sophisticated. Peek inside a plumber’s toolbox and you’ll likely find a number of hand tools common to every trade. These include hammers, saws, screwdrivers, pliers, files, chisels, levels, tape measures, flashlights, caulkers, etc. You also would be certain to find more...

Service plumbers work with their brains as well as the tools.   Almost every home owner has a few essentials tools on hand to cope with plumbing emergencies. Most bathrooms will have a plunger nearby to take care of a clogged toilet or slow drain, and many home owners have a pipe wrench on hand...

Plumbers protect the health of our nation.   The plumbing trade is worth exploring by anyone interested in a job that will never become obsolete or be outsourced to another country. A favorite slogan of the plumbing trade is: “Plumbers protect the health of our nation.” In a very real sense...