The Lost Art Of the Skilled Trades

Andrew Brown
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Welcome to The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades, the ultimate podcast dedicated to celebrating and exploring the world of skilled trades. Hosted by Andrew Brown, a passionate advocate for the trades industry, this podcast is your go-to source for knowledge, inspiration, and practical advice. Andrew brings a unique perspective shaped by years of hands-on experience, entrepreneurial success, and a deep commitment to elevating the trades. Dive into the fascinating and ever-evolving world of skilled trades, where creativity, problem-solving, and dedication come together to build the world around us. From carpentry and HVAC systems to electricians, plumbers, millwrights, and beyond, every episode uncovers the grit, determination, and artistry that define the people behind these essential professions. Andrew’s journey began with a life-changing moment on September 11, 2001, when he worked alongside tradespeople, first responders, and community helpers at Ground Zero. This experience inspired him to dedicate his life to advocating for the unsung heroes of the trades. Through his company, Andrew has helped provide tools, equipment, and resources to industry professionals worldwide. Now, through this podcast, he continues his mission to spotlight the craftsmanship, hard work, and dedication of tradespeople everywhere. Each episode features in-depth interviews with industry experts, seasoned professionals, and rising stars in the trades. From contractors and electricians to HVAC specialists, plumbers, carpenters, and more, listeners will gain insider knowledge about the skills, tools, and strategies needed to thrive in these essential fields. Andrew also speaks with educators, advocates, and business leaders who are working to inspire the next generation of tradespeople, offering a fresh perspective on the value and opportunities within the trades. At its core, The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades is more than just a podcast — it’s a celebration of a culture built on pride in craftsmanship and an unwavering commitment to excellence. In a time when traditional career paths are overemphasized, this podcast shines a light on an alternative: rewarding careers in skilled trades that offer creativity, financial stability, and the satisfaction of building something tangible. Whether you’re a seasoned trades professional, an aspiring craftsman, or simply curious about the industry, this podcast is your ultimate guide to the untold stories and secrets of success in trades like refrigeration, building, plumbing, and construction. Join Andrew Brown as he celebrates the artistry, resilience, and innovation of the skilled trades — and inspires a new generation to pick up the tools that keep our world running. About Andrew Brown Andrew Brown is a fervent advocate for the skilled trades and is dedicated to addressing and then fixing the trades shortage gap. Through platforms such as social media, podcasts, and live events, he tirelessly promotes the benefits of the trades to students, parents, and educators. Follow Andrew Brown YouTube: https://youtube.com/@andrewbrowntrades LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-brown-b1736a5/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrew.l.brown

  1. 17h ago

    Are We Building Careers in the Skilled Trades or Just Filling Jobs? | Julian Scadden

    Julian Scadden, CEO of Nexstar Network, on why the trades need a clear path from technician to business owner, not just a pitch about six figures. Everyone says the trades pay well, carry no student debt and don't need a degree. Julian wants to know why kids still aren't lining up. His answer starts with his own story: early in his plumbing apprenticeship, a service manager pulled him aside and said everyone loved how clean he kept the truck and how well he did the paperwork, but he wasn't a good plumber. Julian never planned to be one anyway. He's a high school dropout who learned business through what he calls business apprenticeship, and he asks every employer listening a hard question: if a technician told you they wanted to start their own company, would you help them or fire them? Julian is president and CEO of Nexstar Network, a member-owned organization that coaches independent plumbing, HVAC and electrical companies, and he was a Nexstar member himself before he led it. Recorded at Nexstar's conference, this conversation covers his Substack post on what comes after "become a plumber," what makes a good mentor, his open letter to the CEO of Lowe's, and why he doesn't think private equity will consolidate the trades. This episode is for trades business owners who employ technicians, technicians wondering what comes next, and anyone funding or building workforce programs who wants careers to last past the first 90 days. IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) – Become a Plumber, and Then What? The Missing Path to Ownership: Julian explains why six figures and no debt aren't pulling kids in, and why the story of ownership gets left out. (02:40) – From Technician to Owner: The Skills It Takes and Who Is Teaching Them: The service manager who told Julian he wasn't a good plumber, a contractor who built a $4 million business and lost it, and why employers have to start developing owners. (06:00) – What Makes a Good Mentor: Mentor versus sponsor, balanced accountability, and how his first mentor Ed Coleman let him make a costly mistake without letting it sink the company. (12:00) – The Letter to Lowe's: Data Center Dollars or Real Trades Careers? Julian and Andrew ask whether the money going into workforce programs is building careers or just filling seats, and why honest expectations about the work matter. (17:50) – Private Equity and the Trades: Will Consolidation Win? Why Julian reads the trend lines differently than most, why airlines can consolidate and trades can't, and what happens when buyers don't know how to operate the business. (23:00) – Who Should Join Nexstar Network and Where to Find Julian: Who is a good fit, why Nexstar is more of an accelerator than an incubator, and how to reach him. Key Takeaways Pay alone doesn't recruit people into the trades. If the pitch stops at six figures and no debt, it leaves out the career path, including the path to owning a business, that makes someone stay. A mentor walks you through your own development, while a sponsor is in rooms you aren't and says your name. The best mentors hold balanced accountability and can tell the difference between you building muscle and you sinking. Be honest about the job. Showing up at 6 a.m. when it's 20 degrees, or crawling into an attic with asbestos, is the reality, and ride-and-decide days let a new hire find out before they commit. Andrew ties this back to the first 90 days, which is where most new hires are won or lost. Private equity can't take over an industry where anyone with technical skill and a license can start a competing business tomorrow. Julian expects it to stay a challenge but not to consolidate the trades. About the Guest Julian Scadden is president and CEO of Nexstar Network, a member-owned organization for independent plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors. He was named CEO on November 1, 2020, after joining Nexstar as its first implementation coach, then leading training and events and serving as vice president of operations. He started in the trades as a plumbing apprentice and has more than two decades in home services. Julian writes on Substack about the future of the trades, including an open letter to the CEO of Lowe's about workforce funding and the path to ownership. Nexstar's mission is to help the world's best tradespeople become the world's best business people, and it only works with independently owned companies, not investment-backed ones. Keywords skilled trades, path to business ownership, trades business owner, plumbing careers, become a plumber, technician to owner, mentorship in the trades, mentor vs sponsor, balanced accountability, private equity in the trades, data center workforce, Lowe's Foundation, trades careers for Gen Z, first 90 days, retention, HVAC business, electrician business, home services, Julian Scadden, Nexstar Network RESOURCE LINKS Julian Scadden on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianscadden Nexstar Network Website: https://www.nexstarnetwork.com An Open Letter to the CEO of Lowe's (Julian's Substack): https://julianscadden.substack.com/p/an-open-letter-to-the-ceo-of-lowes SUPPORT THE SHOW If you found value in this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your support helps us keep telling the stories of the skilled trades.

    Are We Building Careers in the Skilled Trades or Just Filling Jobs? | Julian Scadden

  2. Sep 29

    Are Employers Ready for the Next Generation of Skilled Workers?

    Jon Ward, CEO of Ward Vessel and Exchanger, on why welders quit in the first 90 days, how a "people first" culture actually gets built, and why your best welder is rarely your best mentor. Jon asks a question most shop owners avoid: if a million young people raised their hands tomorrow and said they wanted to work in the skilled trades, would employers actually be ready for them? His answer is blunt. A lot of companies say they'd hire 20 or 40 people tomorrow if they could find them, but most have no system to actually bring that many people on without losing them in the first three months. Ward Vessel and Exchanger builds pressure vessels and heat exchangers that end up in everything from Gorilla Glue to GLP-1 drug manufacturing, and Jon's spent years rebuilding how his company onboards, mentors, and retains welders in two very different labor markets, Charlotte and Houston. Jon Ward has run Ward Vessel and Exchanger, a family manufacturing business founded in 1982, since taking over leadership of the company. He's built a formal apprenticeship program with NC Works, runs the business on EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System), and was named to the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees in 2026. He also hosts his own podcast, Forged in Focus. This episode is for anyone building or fixing an onboarding process, any shop owner losing skilled people to bigger paychecks at data center jobs, and anyone who's ever wondered whether their most talented person should actually be the one training the new hires. Jon walks through his three core values, what a real apprenticeship partnership with a workforce agency looks like, and the mastery chart his team is rolling out to make skill progression visible to every welder on the floor. IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) – Why the First 90 Days Make or Break a New Hire: Jon explains why the old "pair them with a lead guy and let them figure it out" model fails, and what changes when leadership actually gets involved early. (03:00) – The Three Core Values Behind a People-First Culture: Passionate, consistent, and selfless, Jon breaks down how Ward hires to these values, fires to them, and built a "people first" ethos around a line he heard on a stage years ago: culture over customers. (05:00) – Building an Apprenticeship Program With NC Works: How a one-year, state-funded apprenticeship partnership in Mecklenburg County works in practice, and what Jon learned running it with his first apprentice. (10:00) – What Ward Vessel and Exchanger Actually Builds (and Why Welders Matter): From hair care products to GLP-1 drug manufacturing equipment, Jon explains the products welders touch every day without anyone realizing it, and why 320,000 more welders are needed by 2029. (19:00) – Why Your Best Welder Isn't Always Your Best Mentor: Jon tells the story of his most productive fabricator ever, a guy who could do a 1,000-hour project in 500 hours and still turned down every promotion to shop foreman. (42:00) – Competing With the Data Center Boom for Tomorrow's Welders: Why data center construction is pulling skilled workers away with big money, and what a shop can offer that a relocation-required job can't. Key Takeaways New hires aren't going to be productive in the first 90 days, and treating that as a reality to plan around instead of a problem to rush through is what separates companies that retain people from ones that don't. The best technical performer on a team is often the worst fit for mentoring someone new, patience and a genuine desire to take on someone else's problems matter more than raw skill. A state-funded apprenticeship program can shift a meaningful chunk of a new hire's salary during training, but it only works with a real system behind it, not just goodwill and good intentions. Shops competing for welders against data center construction jobs can win on stability (no travel, no relocation, steady hours) even when they can't win on raw pay. About the Guest Jon Ward is President and CEO of Ward Vessel and Exchanger, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based manufacturer of ASME Code pressure vessels and heat exchangers with a second facility in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1982 as a family business, the company builds equipment used across consumer products, industrial manufacturing, and pharmaceutical production. Jon is a 1994 UNC Charlotte engineering graduate, was appointed to the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees in 2026, and was named among the Charlotte Business Journal's Most Admired CEOs the same year. Jon has spent the last several years rebuilding Ward's onboarding, mentorship, and apprenticeship systems around a "people first" ethos built on three values: passionate, consistent, and selfless. He runs the company on EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) and hosts his own podcast, Forged in Focus, where he talks with manufacturing leaders about the future of the industry. Keywords skilled trades, first 90 days onboarding, welder shortage, apprenticeship program, mentorship in the trades, employee retention, welding careers, manufacturing careers, NC Works apprenticeship, EOS Entrepreneurial Operating System, trade school vs college, data center construction jobs, Jon Ward, Ward Vessel and Exchanger, pressure vessels, heat exchangers, American Welding Society, Fabtech RESOURCE LINKS Jon Ward on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jongward Ward Vessel and Exchanger Website: https://wardvesselandexchanger.com Forged in Focus (Jon's podcast): available on Spotify and YouTube SUPPORT THE SHOW If you found value in this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your support helps us keep telling the stories of the skilled trades.

    Are Employers Ready for the Next Generation of Skilled Workers?

  3. Sep 15

    The AI Data Center Boom Is Hiring Tradespeople, Is It Building Careers?

    The AI and data center boom is creating a wave of new trade jobs for electricians, HVAC techs, and welders. Host Andrew Brown asks the real question: are we filling projects, or building tradespeople? Every headline right now says the same thing: massive money pouring into new data centers, new energy infrastructure, new construction. That means a hiring wave for electricians, HVAC techs, pipefitters, and welders. But Andrew argues there's a difference between teaching someone the three tasks a specific project needs and actually training them in the trade, and most companies aren't paying attention to which one they're doing. This episode connects directly to Andrew's First 90 Days framework: the reason a 22-year-old lasts 45 days on a data center job and then leaves isn't usually pay. It's that nobody owned Day 27, nobody checked in once the newness wore off, and nobody showed them where the job actually leads. If you're hiring into this boom right now, whether you're staffing a data center project or just trying to bring new people into your trade, this episode is a direct, practical challenge: look at the last person you hired and ask what you're actually preparing them for, the project or their career. IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) – Intro: The AI and Data Center Boom: Why money, projects, and demand are flooding into the trades right now, and why that's genuinely good news. (01:09) – Filling Projects vs. Building Tradespeople: The core question of the episode, are new hires becoming electricians, or becoming really good at two or three tasks one project needs. (03:20) – Who Owns Day 27? The First 90 Days Connection: Day one is easy, HR and safety own it. Nobody owns the day the newness wears off, and that's when people actually decide to stay or leave. (05:58) – Being Honest About Pay, Hours, and What the Work Really Looks Like: Six-figure trade jobs are real, but overselling the number without the overtime, nights, and travel behind it creates an expectations problem that turns into a retention problem. (07:49) – Showing New Hires the Career Path, Not Just the Task: What it looks like to show someone the route from apprentice to journeyman to foreman to owning their own business, instead of just this week's assignment. (10:16) – The Challenge to Employers: Project or Career?: A direct question for anyone hiring right now, would the person you just hired still have value if the work changed tomorrow? Key Takeaways Getting someone through the front door isn't the win, it's the start, the real return comes when they stay, get better, and eventually train the next person. Nobody owns Day 27. HR and safety own Day 1, but almost no company has a clear answer for who checks in once the newness wears off. Overselling six-figure trade pay without explaining the overtime, travel, or hours behind it creates an expectations problem that becomes a retention problem. Training someone for a data center project isn't the same as training them for the electrical trade, one ends when the project does, the other doesn't. About the Host Andrew Brown is a keynote speaker, workforce strategist, and host of The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades. Before this, he spent 23 years running , a national B2B industrial tool supply company, giving him a real operator's view of the trades, not an outside consultant's. His work centers on one idea: skilled-trades companies don't have a hiring problem, they have a First 90 Days problem. He helps organizations figure out not just how to get people into the trades, but how to keep them once they arrive and develop them into long-term skilled professionals. Keywords AI data centers, skilled trades careers, electrician training, HVAC technician, data center construction jobs, apprenticeship, first 90 days, day 27, workforce retention, career pathway, workforce shortage, Gen Z trades, Andrew Brown RESOURCE LINKS Andrew Brown, Speaking & Workforce Strategy: andrewbrownspeaker.com The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades: andrewbrown.net SUPPORT THE SHOW If you found value in this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your support helps us keep telling the stories of the skilled trades.

    The AI Data Center Boom Is Hiring Tradespeople, Is It Building Careers?

  4. Sep 8

    Inside IUPAT: Glazing Careers, Mentorship, and the Trade Nobody Talks About

    Travis Nevins of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades explains what a glazier actually does, and why this skilled trade career is everywhere you look and almost nobody can name it. Every skyscraper facade, every mall handrail, every office glass partition, that's glazing. Travis has spent 25 years in the trade, and he opens by pointing out something most people never notice: glazing surrounds us constantly, yet it's one of the least recognized paths into the skilled trades. Travis Nevins is the Deputy Director of Organizing at IUPAT. He spent five years as a glazier apprentice in New York, became a journey-level glazier, taught safety and upgrading courses for years, and now works to bring more people into the trade nationally. This episode is for anyone weighing a skilled trade career, a parent looking for real alternatives to the college-only path, or anyone curious what happens after you say yes to an apprenticeship. Travis walks through the actual apprenticeship timeline, what separates people who thrive from people who burn out, and the one trait he says matters more than technical skill. IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) – What Is a Glazier? The Trade Hiding in Plain Sight: Travis explains glazing, from residential windows to skyscraper curtain walls, and why so few people know the trade exists. (05:00) – Getting In: No Experience Needed, Just the Right Attitude: You don't need to know how to read a tape measure to start an apprenticeship, Travis explains what actually matters on day one. (10:00) – Mentorship: Why the Best Mechanic Isn't Always the Best Mentor: Travis breaks down what makes a good mentor, and it's rarely the most technically skilled person on the crew. (13:00) – Apprentice to Journey Worker: Pay, Progression, and the 8,000-Hour Mark: A typical apprenticeship runs three to four years with steady 5% raises every six months, and Travis ties it back to the 10,000-hour rule. (18:00) – What Makes People Stay (and What Burns Them Out): Inconsistent work and long commutes push people out, Travis explains how to set realistic expectations before someone signs up. (25:00) – The Ladder Story, How Glazing's Changed, and How to Get Started: Travis, who's afraid of heights, shares the story of forcing himself back up a 65-foot ladder, plus how safety culture and technology have transformed the trade. Key Takeaways Glazing is one of the most visible trades in the world and one of the least understood, most people who work with glass, aluminum, and facade systems never set out to become a glazier, they simply never heard of it as an option. Attitude predicts success in a glazing apprenticeship more reliably than prior experience or technical aptitude, employers and mentors consistently choose a positive, coachable person over a more skilled but difficult one. A typical IUPAT glazing apprenticeship runs three to four years and roughly 8,000 hours, with earn-while-you-learn pay that increases on a steady, predictable schedule. The biggest reasons apprentices leave the trade are inconsistent work and the reality of travel, not the physical demands of the job itself, setting honest expectations up front matters more than recruiting harder. About the Guest Travis Nevins is the Deputy Director of Organizing at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT). He spent five years as a New York State registered glazier apprentice before becoming a journey-level glazier at IUPAT District Council 4, Local 677, where he later taught health, safety, and journey-person upgrading courses. He spent seven years on staff at District Council 4 before moving to IUPAT's International Union in 2021. Travis now works to bring more people into the glazing trade and IUPAT's other core trades, including commercial and industrial painting, drywall finishing, and floor covering, across a network of 105 training centers in the US and Canada. Keywords glazier, glazing trade, skilled trades career, glazier apprenticeship, apprenticeship program, journey worker, IUPAT apprenticeship, construction trades career, blue collar career, commercial glazing, curtain wall, facade installation, construction safety, trade school alternative, Travis Nevins, IUPAT, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades RESOURCE LINKS Travis Nevins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-nevins-43107b202/ IUPAT Website: https://www.iupat.org SUPPORT THE SHOW If you found value in this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your support helps us keep telling the stories of the skilled trades.

    Inside IUPAT: Glazing Careers, Mentorship, and the Trade Nobody Talks About

  5. Sep 1

    What Actually Makes an Apprenticeship Program Work

    Andreas Brockmann of United Grinding built an apprenticeship program that now gets 400 applicants for 5 spots — and it starts apprentices with hand tools, not machines. Three years ago, United Grinding had 15 candidates for 4 apprenticeship positions. This year, they had over 400 applicants for 5 spots. Andreas Brockmann, the Apprenticeship Coordinator who built the program from scratch, says the shift didn't come from a hiring gimmick — it came from treating apprentices like real employees from day one: full benefits, a $19.50 starting wage, 15 days of vacation, and a four-year path to becoming a mechatronic technician. Andreas reached out to Andrew after disagreeing with a LinkedIn post, making a simple but pointed argument: an 18-year-old can't walk into industry already knowing how to be a professional — companies have a responsibility to develop them. That conversation became this episode. Andreas unpacks exactly how United Grinding recruits, trains, and mentors apprentices in Miamisburg, Ohio — from six months on hand tools before anyone touches a machine, to bringing parents into the very first interview, to why CEO buy-in makes or breaks the whole thing. This episode is for manufacturing leaders, HR and workforce development professionals, and trades employers who keep saying "young people don't want to work" — and are ready to hear a different explanation, and a real blueprint for fixing it. IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) – Meet Andreas Brockmann: Why a LinkedIn disagreement turned into this conversation about who's really responsible for developing young talent. (02:00) – The 10% rule: Why United Grinding dedicates roughly 10% of its workforce to apprentices, and what that investment actually returns. (09:00) – From 15 candidates to 400: How the program grew every year since it launched three years ago. (10:00) – Hand tools before machines: Why apprentices spend six months on a workbench with files and chisels before they ever touch a drill press or CNC machine. (15:00) – Getting the whole company bought in: Why apprenticeship programs die without the CEO "200% behind it," and how United Grinding builds and vets mentors. (29:00) – Bringing parents into the process — and why Andreas believes the skilled trades talent gap is "our fault, not theirs." Key Takeaways Companies, not young workers, are responsible for closing the skilled trades talent gap — and treating apprentices like full employees from day one changes who applies and who stays. Apprenticeship programs only survive difficult years if the CEO and leadership are fully bought in from the start; programs get cut first when budgets tighten, and that's the worst time to cut them. Starting apprentices on hand tools for six months before machines builds fundamentals, patience, and pride in the work before productivity even becomes the goal. Bringing parents and family into the recruiting process — not just the applicant — builds the home support system that determines whether an apprentice actually finishes the program. About the Guest Andreas Brockmann is the Apprenticeship Coordinator at United Grinding North America in Miamisburg, Ohio, where he built the company's four-year apprenticeship program from the ground up. An engineer by training with decades of manufacturing and workforce development experience, Andreas has grown the program from 15 applicants for 4 positions to over 400 applicants for 5 spots in just three years. He works directly with local high schools, career centers, and even middle schools to build a talent pipeline for precision manufacturing careers, and regularly collaborates with other Ohio manufacturers on workforce-sharing and apprenticeship best practices. Keywords apprenticeship program, skilled trades apprenticeship, manufacturing apprenticeship, mechatronics technician, CNC apprenticeship, workforce development, Gen Z in the trades, apprentice mentorship, career pathways in manufacturing, tuition reimbursement, Andreas Brockmann, United Grinding, United Grinding North America, Miamisburg Ohio, manufacturing careers, industry 4.0, workforce shortage RESOURCE LINKS Andreas Brockmann on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasbrockmann/ United Grinding Apprenticeship Program: https://www.grinding.com/en/about-us/our-team/apprenticeship-program/ WORK WITH ANDREW Keynotes, workshops, podcast activations, and workforce storytelling for the skilled trades. andrewbrownspeaker.com

    What Actually Makes an Apprenticeship Program Work

  6. Aug 26

    The 700,000 Mechanic Shortage No One's Talking About

    Aircraft mechanic Joshua Borel of Chennault Aviation breaks down why the industry faces a 700,000-person shortage over the next 15 years — and how A&P techs build six-figure careers. Joshua Borel didn't set out to work on airplanes for a living, but as Director of Maintenance at Chennault Aviation, he's now responsible for a fleet that ranges from a 1962 Piper to customer aircraft flown by first-time solo students. His rule is simple: you can't pull over at the next cloud. Once you're airborne, there are no second chances, so the work has to be right the first time — every time. Joshua's path started in the Air Force as a C-5 crew chief before he went through A&P school and worked his way up to leading maintenance for a flight school, a Part 135 charter operation, and a Part 147 A&P academy. Along the way, he's coached students to first-place finishes in national maintenance competitions and helped train the next generation of aircraft mechanics from the ground up. In this episode, Joshua walks through what it actually takes to become an aircraft maintenance technician: the schooling, the FAA testing, the starting wages, and the surprising ceiling on how far the career can go. He also unpacks a shortage most people outside the industry have never heard about — and why fixing it matters for anyone who's ever stepped on a plane. IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) – No Second Chances: What sets an aircraft mechanic apart from a general mechanic is integrity — once a plane is in the air, there's no fixing a mistake mid-flight. (08:00) – Breaking Into the Trade: How to shadow a shop, what an 18-month A&P program looks like, and what the FAA's oral and practical DME exam actually tests. (13:00) – The Pay Ceiling Isn't Real: Aircraft mechanics start around $20–25 an hour, but Joshua explains how adding certifications and experience can lead to six-figure, even C-suite, aviation careers. (15:00) – The 700,000 Mechanic Shortage: Why the U.S. government doesn't classify A&P as a skilled trade, and how that gap leaves students facing $40,000–$70,000 in school costs without the funding help other trades get. (17:00) – Not Rocket Science: An A&P license qualifies mechanics to legally work on Falcon 9, Artemis, and Blue Origin spacecraft — no advanced degree required. (19:00) – Mentorship That Pays It Forward: What separates a mentor worth going back to from one you avoid, and how Joshua's own mentors shaped his career. Key Takeaways Integrity is the defining trait of an aircraft mechanic — the job has zero tolerance for "I'll fix it later" because there's no pulling over once you're in the air. Getting started in aircraft maintenance typically means an 18-month A&P program followed by FAA oral and practical testing, with entry-level pay around $20–25 an hour and no real ceiling on where the career can lead. The aviation industry needs over 700,000 new mechanics in the next 15–20 years, and the shortage is made worse because A&P isn't federally recognized as a skilled trade — cutting students off from funding help for their $40,000–$70,000 schooling. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to work on a rocket — an A&P license is the same certification that qualifies mechanics to legally maintain Falcon 9, Artemis, and Blue Origin spacecraft. About the Guest Joshua Borel is the Director of Maintenance at Chennault Aviation in Conroe, Texas, where he oversees maintenance across a Part 61 flight school, a Part 135 charter operation, and a Part 147 A&P training academy. He got his start in the Air Force as a C-5 crew chief before earning his A&P license and working his way up through the ranks at Chennault, where he's spent the last eight years. Joshua now coaches Chennault's aviation maintenance competition team — the same competition he competed in as a student — and is helping lead efforts to close the industry's growing workforce shortage through expanded scholarship access and new flight and maintenance school locations. Keywords aircraft mechanic, A&P mechanic, aircraft maintenance technician, airframe and powerplant, aviation maintenance career, A&P school, FAA certification, aircraft mechanic salary, aviation workforce shortage, skilled trades career, aviation career pathway, avionics, general aviation, Piper aircraft, aerospace careers, Joshua Borel, Chennault Aviation, Chennault Aviation Academy, 69th DRS Flying Tigers, Boeing, SpaceX RESOURCE LINKS Chennault Aviation Website: https://caacxo.com/ 69th DRS Flying Tigers Scholarships: https://69thdrsscholarships.org/ SUPPORT THE SHOW If you found value in this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your support helps us keep telling the stories of the skilled trades.

    The 700,000 Mechanic Shortage No One's Talking About

  7. Aug 11

    You Don't Have a Hiring Problem. You Have a First 90 Days Problem.

    Employee retention doesn't start with recruiting it starts with the first 90 days. Host Andrew Brown breaks down what construction and manufacturing leaders do differently to keep new hires from quietly walking out the door. After more than a hundred interviews for The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades, Andrew set out to learn how companies recruit better. Instead, he kept hearing the same thing from guests across every trade, every state, every generation: nobody stays because of a great application process. They stay because of a person — a foreman, a mentor, a superintendent — who noticed them in the first few weeks on the job. This episode pulls together the pattern hiding in plain sight across dozens of conversations, including moments with welder Nate Bowman, workforce leader Glenda Rahn, Zekelman Industries CEO Barry Zekelman, and NCCER President and CEO Boyd Worsham. Each one, without knowing it, described the same three leadership behaviors that determine whether a new hire builds a career with your company or quietly starts looking elsewhere. If you lead a crew, run a shop, or manage new hires in any skilled trade, this episode gives you three practical moves to make this week — no bigger recruiting budget or new software required. IN THIS EPISODE (00:01) – The WTF moment: Why leaders get blindsided when a good employee quits without warning, and why the instinct to "recruit better" misses the real problem. (02:03) – The pattern behind 100+ interviews: How Andrew kept asking about recruiting and kept hearing about mentors instead, including Nate Bowman's welding helmet story and what it reveals about belonging. (09:32) – Pattern 1, Expectations: Glenda Rahn on why the "work ethic" problem is really a clarity problem, and what a 22-year-old project engineer told Andrew he actually wants from a leader. (14:35) – Pattern 2, Where leadership disappears: Barry Zekelman on walking the floor, the difference between orientation and onboarding, and why every leader needs to answer "who owns day 27?" (16:42) – Pattern 3, Confidence: Boyd Worsham's story about the instructor who taught him "the business of construction," not just the trade. (23:34) – The 3-part challenge: make success visible, check in before there's a problem, and give people a chance to succeed. Key Takeaways New hires decide whether they belong within the first 90 days — and that decision, not the recruiting process, is what determines whether they stay long term. Clear expectations beat motivation every time. Telling a new employee exactly what success looks like at day 7, 30, and 90 removes the uncertainty that causes early turnover. Onboarding is a relationship, not a one-day event. Leaders who put short check-ins on the calendar at day 14, 30, and 60 catch small problems before they become resignation letters. Confidence is built through experience, not given through speeches. Leaders who hand new employees real responsibility before they feel fully ready create the evidence that keeps people committed to a career, not just a job. About This Episode Andrew Brown hosts The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades, where he's interviewed hundreds of contractors, CEOs, foremen, apprentices, and workforce leaders across construction, manufacturing, and the skilled trades. This episode is a synthesis, not a single interview — it draws on recurring moments from guests including welder Nate Bowman, workforce development leader Glenda Rahn, Zekelman Industries CEO Barry Zekelman, and NCCER President and CEO Boyd Worsham. Their stories, told independently and without ever meeting each other, kept describing the same leadership behaviors — proof that the biggest opportunity in the skilled trades isn't just recruiting more people, it's leading the people who already said yes. Keywords employee onboarding, first 90 days, new hire retention, construction leadership, skilled trades retention, onboarding vs orientation, employee expectations, workforce retention, apprenticeship mentorship, construction workforce development, Andrew Brown, Nate Bowman, Glenda Rahn, Barry Zekelman, Zekelman Industries, Boyd Worsham, NCCER, The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades, manufacturing leadership, Gen Z workforce, foreman mentorship, employee belonging, workplace culture RESOURCE LINKS Andrew Brown: www.andrewbrownspeaker.com SUPPORT THE SHOW If you found value in this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your support helps us keep telling the stories of the skilled trades.

    You Don't Have a Hiring Problem. You Have a First 90 Days Problem.

  8. Aug 4

    Fixing Helicopters for a Living: How Miyah Spade Started in Aircraft Maintenance

    Aircraft maintenance apprentice Miyah Spade of Canadian Helicopters breaks down what it really takes to keep planes and helicopters safely in the air — and why almost nobody knows this trade exists. Miyah just walked off the floor of an international aerospace maintenance skills competition in Orlando, where her team was the only one to fully complete their event — removing and reinstalling a 150-pound aircraft slide under a strict manual, timed, and inspected to the letter. She talks about what it takes to hold that much information under pressure, and introduces the "Dirty Dozen" — the twelve human factors, like distraction, pressure, and complacency, that aviation maintenance crews are trained to watch for on every real job, not just in competition. Miyah is an aircraft maintenance apprentice studying at Centennial College and working with Canadian Helicopters. She didn't grow up wrenching on dirt bikes or cars — she found her way in through a high school welding and auto shop class, then chose aircraft maintenance over auto body repair because, in her words, "it has a nice ring to it." Since then she's worked on everything from small Cessnas and Pipers to airliners and helicopters, including hands-on time in an overhaul shop tearing apart a helicopter's main rotor head after a real accident. If you're weighing a trade you've never heard of, wondering how to break into aviation without a four-year degree, or trying to figure out how to stand out when resumes get lost in a pile, this conversation is for you. IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) – Cold Open: A "Dirty Dozen" teaser and a first look at Miyah Spade, aircraft maintenance apprentice at Canadian Helicopters. (01:07) – Only Team to Finish: Recapping the skills competition event Miyah just completed — removing and reinstalling a 150-pound aircraft slide under strict, line-by-line inspection. (02:57) – The Dirty Dozen: The twelve human factors — pressure, distraction, complacency — that aviation maintenance crews are trained to watch for every time they sign off on a real aircraft. (03:48) – From Welding to Wings: How a high school auto shop and welding class led Miyah away from cars and into aircraft maintenance. (07:09) – Choosing Helicopters: Why Miyah picked helicopters over big airliners — camping in the bush under a tarp, and landing a job with Canadian Helicopters. (13:30) – Like a Detective: Tearing apart a helicopter's main rotor head after a real accident, and why talking to people beats sending resumes when breaking into the trade. Key Takeaways Aircraft maintenance is a skilled trade almost nobody knows about, even though every flight's safety depends on the mechanics working behind the scenes, not just the pilot. Aviation safety culture is built around the "Dirty Dozen" — pressure, distraction, and complacency are treated as real, named threats, not just workplace buzzwords. You don't need a childhood spent under the hood of a car to succeed in this trade — Miyah came from art and a single high school shop class, not a family of mechanics. Networking beats resumes in aircraft maintenance hiring — cold applications get lost in the pile, but a phone call or a walk-in conversation with a director of maintenance can open doors a resume never will. About the Guest Miyah Spade is an aircraft maintenance apprentice studying at Centennial College and working with Canadian Helicopters. Across her apprenticeship she's worked on small training aircraft, airliners, and helicopters, and spent a summer in Canadian Helicopters' overhaul shop and technical records department getting exposure to nearly every side of the operation. She competed at an international aerospace maintenance skills competition, was part of the only team to fully complete her event, and now advocates for getting more trade exposure in front of students who don't know aircraft maintenance is even an option. Keywords aircraft maintenance technician, aircraft maintenance engineer, helicopter mechanic, aviation maintenance apprentice, AME apprenticeship, aviation maintenance career, skilled trades in aviation, aircraft mechanic training, Centennial College aviation program, Miyah Spade, Canadian Helicopters, Aerospace Maintenance Competition, women in skilled trades, Sikorsky helicopters RESOURCE LINKS Miyah Spade on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/miyahspade Canadian Helicopters Website: https://www.canadianhelicopters.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW If you found value in this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your support helps us keep telling the stories of the skilled trades.

    Fixing Helicopters for a Living: How Miyah Spade Started in Aircraft Maintenance
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4.7
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15 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades, the ultimate podcast dedicated to celebrating and exploring the world of skilled trades. Hosted by Andrew Brown, a passionate advocate for the trades industry, this podcast is your go-to source for knowledge, inspiration, and practical advice. Andrew brings a unique perspective shaped by years of hands-on experience, entrepreneurial success, and a deep commitment to elevating the trades. Dive into the fascinating and ever-evolving world of skilled trades, where creativity, problem-solving, and dedication come together to build the world around us. From carpentry and HVAC systems to electricians, plumbers, millwrights, and beyond, every episode uncovers the grit, determination, and artistry that define the people behind these essential professions. Andrew’s journey began with a life-changing moment on September 11, 2001, when he worked alongside tradespeople, first responders, and community helpers at Ground Zero. This experience inspired him to dedicate his life to advocating for the unsung heroes of the trades. Through his company, Andrew has helped provide tools, equipment, and resources to industry professionals worldwide. Now, through this podcast, he continues his mission to spotlight the craftsmanship, hard work, and dedication of tradespeople everywhere. Each episode features in-depth interviews with industry experts, seasoned professionals, and rising stars in the trades. From contractors and electricians to HVAC specialists, plumbers, carpenters, and more, listeners will gain insider knowledge about the skills, tools, and strategies needed to thrive in these essential fields. Andrew also speaks with educators, advocates, and business leaders who are working to inspire the next generation of tradespeople, offering a fresh perspective on the value and opportunities within the trades. At its core, The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades is more than just a podcast — it’s a celebration of a culture built on pride in craftsmanship and an unwavering commitment to excellence. In a time when traditional career paths are overemphasized, this podcast shines a light on an alternative: rewarding careers in skilled trades that offer creativity, financial stability, and the satisfaction of building something tangible. Whether you’re a seasoned trades professional, an aspiring craftsman, or simply curious about the industry, this podcast is your ultimate guide to the untold stories and secrets of success in trades like refrigeration, building, plumbing, and construction. Join Andrew Brown as he celebrates the artistry, resilience, and innovation of the skilled trades — and inspires a new generation to pick up the tools that keep our world running. About Andrew Brown Andrew Brown is a fervent advocate for the skilled trades and is dedicated to addressing and then fixing the trades shortage gap. Through platforms such as social media, podcasts, and live events, he tirelessly promotes the benefits of the trades to students, parents, and educators. Follow Andrew Brown YouTube: https://youtube.com/@andrewbrowntrades LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-brown-b1736a5/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrew.l.brown

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