GET STARTED
If you or someone you know wants to learn more about how to start a trade career – whether in the field, management, tech, or the many other types of jobs that are available, here are some resources that can help you get started.
There are several pathways to a trade job, depending on the industry and type of work you are interested in. In addition to field work, trades also hire marketing, management, IT, software, logistics, and other personnel.
Apprenticeships are a primary way to enter a trade. When you enter a four- or five-year apprenticeship, you agree to work in an on-the-job training program and attend specialized classes. As an apprentice, you earn a good salary while learning your trade — a salary that increases as your skills and knowledge increase. You’ll pay little to no tuition costs or fees, and receive books, tablets and other educational material free of charge. You train in the classroom, on the job site and online, while learning from instructors who have hands-on experience in the industry. Then, you put everything you learn to work right away — your career begins with your apprenticeship, and you graduate without student loan debt.
Those interested in hands-on work can start by visiting some of the helpful links below.
EPISODES FROM CLEAR THE AIR
Clear the Air gives contractors updates on some of the hot topics that are influencing the industry and fosters discussions between some of the industry’s most critical movers and shakers.
In this chapter of SMACNA’s Emerging Leaders series, Devon Madon of Madon Sheet Metal reveals her inspiring path from academia to entrepreneurship, showing how her time in a family business gave her the skills and confidence to launch her own family-run sheet metal company.
In this edition of SMACNA’s podcast series on Emerging Leaders, Ernie Menold, President of Ernest D. Menold, Inc., shares his career path in the sheet metal world. He talks with host Seth Lennon about his early role in the trade, his decision to pursue a different career path, and why he returned to sheet metal.
REAL STORIES FROM TRADESPEOPLE
Hear from people who have turned to the trades for rewarding jobs that helped them find their forever careers and meet their life goals.
