College Costs Blow My Mind

Way back close to the Stone Age, I financed my own way through college. As a military veteran, I was assisted by a monthly stipend of $170 a month from the G.I. Bill, coupled with free tuition thanks to my veteran’s status at a state

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Trade Scholarships Are Waiting For You

In these blogs I’ve hammered home how expensive college is these days and cautioned about the burdens of student loan debt. Trade schools are much less expensive than college, but a good one may still set you back thousands of dollars a year. Even modest

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Trades Talk – December 2023

December 2023 Thank You for Your Support on Giving Tuesday! Thank you to all our donors who supported our #TradesTuesday campaign for Giving Tuesday! A total of $4,027.80 was raised by 15 donors. Help us continue making a difference by making a donation before the

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Trades Talk – November 2023

November 2023 Explore The Trades Celebrates Grant Awards Kicking off a season of thanksgiving, Explore The Trades is grateful for two recent grant awards from Bradford White Water Heaters and SandCastle Foundation. SandCastle Foundation, a private family foundation in Minnesota, awarded a $10,000 grant to

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Trade Work Is Brain Work

You often hear homeowners complain about a trade worker who charged them a lot of money for a taskthat might have taken only a few minutes. What they need to realize is that they aren’t paying for the act of turning a wrench or screwdriver.

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Housing & The Trades

The housing market is one of the most important sectors of the American economy, both in terms of newly built houses and renovation or repair of existing homes. Most estimates place housing at between 15-18% of overall GDP – i.e., Gross Domestic Product, or the

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Champion Of The Industry: Bradford White Water Heaters

To combat public perception and help advance the skilled trades, Bradford White Corporation, an industry-leading manufacturer of water heaters, boilers, and storage tanks, developed their signature charitable giving program, Industry Forward®. The program provides grants to eligible organizations and serves to advance public awareness of

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Trades Talk – October 2023

October 2023 “Explore The Trades Skills Lab, Built by Ferguson” InitiativeApplications Now Open! Since 2021, over 1,100 students at 14 schools throughout the United States have started their trades education through the Skills Lab initiative. Explore The Trades and Ferguson are thrilled to continue this

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Avoid The Clash Of Generations

One of the reasons it’s such a good time to enter a skilled trade is because the existing work force is rapidly aging. The average trade worker Is over 50 years old and approaching retirement. Employers are desperate to recruit enough replacements.   That’s the

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