The Lost Art of The Skilled Trades Podcast

I created The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades to spotlight the people, careers, and culture that keep America running — and to challenge outdated narratives around college, success, and what it means to do meaningful work.

The show is now streaming on all major platforms and reaches millions across  Spotify, Apply podcast, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube including students, parents, educators, employers, and tradespeople nationwide.

Want to sponsor the show? I partner with brands and organizations aligned with trades education, workforce development, and tools that make a difference on the jobsite. Let’s talk. DM me or andrew@andrewbrown.net

Podcast Host

Skilled Trades Advisory Council

The Skilled Trades Advisory Council is a group of national advocates who have aligned to address a growing national crisis - Skilled Trade Labor Is Diminishing Throughout the United States. This movement is designed to address this predicament head on. 

Inaugural members of STAC include senior leaders from across the construction, retail, facilities management, and skilled trades industries who are ready to create awareness and opportunities of the growing need for skilled trades men and women.

Our Mission: STAC aims to unite the skill trades community and inspire North America's youth to consider related careers in the professional trades.

To combat the crisis facing skilled labor in the U.S., STAC’s founding advisors work together to leverage their resources, knowledge, and networks to elevate the skilled trades as high-paying, honorable, and often heroic career paths, including electrical, plumbing, HVAC, janitorial, construction, and other essential jobs that require a rejuvenated workforce.

Founding Member

The skilled trades changed my life  now I help others discover how they can change theirs.

After 9/11, I saw tradespeople risk everything to rebuild. It opened my eyes to just how essential, undervalued, and misunderstood these careers really are. I left corporate life and built Toolfetch a company that’s served tens of thousands of tradespeople with pro-grade tools and gear.

But that was just the beginning.

Today, I run The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades a podcast, media platform, and movement to bring awareness, respect, and new opportunities to the trades. My content reaches millions of students, parents, educators, and trades professionals across LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube.

🔧 How I can help:
For Brands & Trade Organizations: Want to reach the next generation of tradespeople? I offer podcast sponsorships, custom content, and social media campaigns that put your message in front of the right audience.

For Contractors, Employers, & Trade Schools: Need to attract talent? I speak, consult, and create content that helps you connect with Gen Z and build real pathways into the trades.

For Students, Parents, & Career Changers: I break down what it really takes to get into the trades from pay, culture, and lifestyle to apprenticeships and career growth. No fluff. Just the truth.

🎙 Host of The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades
💬 Speaker & Content Creator
🛠 Founder of Toolfetch

Let’s talk: andrew@andrewbrown.net or DM me here.

Andrew Brown

You spend $30K on school. $30K on tools. 

Just to make $30K starting out as an Auto Technician.

Not many people want to sign up for that.

Kids are doing the math. And the math is broken.

I asked 75,000 auto technicians why people are leaving the industry and the comments blew up.

Fix the pay.
Flat rate is a scam.
I made more at Wendy’s.
$30K in tools and $50K a year?
Dealers charge $200/hr and techs see $25.

One person said in the comments:

Automotive is the only trade where workers absorb the risk of ownership without the rewards.

Let that sink in.

We tell young people:
 Go to school
 Buy the tools
 Get certified
 Work faster
 Beat the book time
 Destroy your body
 Pay subscriptions just to diagnose
 Accept warranty cuts
 
And maybe… just maybe… you’ll make a living someday

Meanwhile:

- Vehicles are rolling computers
- Diagnostics take hours, not minutes
- Tool debt can hit $50K–$100K+
- Flat rate punishes techs when work slows
- And entry-level pay is competing with fast food

That’s not a worker shortage.

That’s a business model problem.

And before anyone says

I made it, so they should too.

Many of the same veterans also said:

I wouldn’t do it again.
The ROI is terrible.
The pay used to be better.
This industry will collapse if it doesn’t change.

Here’s the truth no one wants to say out loud:

⚠️ You cannot build the future of the auto industry on:

Broken pay models
Tool debt
Warranty theft
Burnout
And loyalty that only goes one direction

If you’re a:
Dealer principal
Shop owner
Manufacturer
Training provider
Industry leader

You have to answer this:

Why would a gen zer choose this path today over plumbing, electrical, aviation, or industrial maintenance?

Because right now… many are choosing to walk away.

👇 If you’re a tech, shop owner, educator, or student

What actually has to change for this industry to survive?

#skilledtrades ##jointhetrades #bluecollar #STAC

I help skilled trades companies hire Gen Z with in-the-field media. Founder, Trades Media | Host, The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades

Union apprentices today are on track to retire with $2M in their 401(k)
 
And a $5k–$6k pension check every month.

That’s straight from Tom Bigley Director of Plumbing Services for the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry.

Live at my booth at the PHCC connect show last month. 

Tom has spent 40+ years watching young apprentices build more long-term wealth than most people with degrees:

$1M-$2M in their 401(k)
$5k–$6k pension check every month
Healthcare from day one
Zero student debt
Paid training
Job security and upward mobility

And yet… almost nobody tells young people this.

Instead, we push them toward debt-heavy paths while ignoring the career track.

That quietly delivers seven-figure retirements without sacrificing 30 years of life or stability.

Tom said it best:

“The benefits outweigh the wages and young people never hear that part.”

They should.

Full video on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/exfvs_Qn
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/epXgh3hF
Apple podcast: https://lnkd.in/ezh5p3Kp

This one’s worth sharing.

#skilledtrades #jointhetrades #bluecollar #STAC Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors -National Association

Helping Companies & Schools Attract Gen Z into the Skilled Trades | Podcast Host | Keynote Speaker

550,000 plumbers are needed by 2027

No one wants to wait 2–4 weeks for a plumber.

And one brand isn’t waiting for someone else to fix it.

We talk a lot about the skilled trades shortage, but here’s the reality:

For every 5 plumbers who retire, only 1–2 are entering the field.

Most companies acknowledge the crisis.

Very few take responsibility for solving it.

But during my conversation at the PHCC Connect show with Vinny Arnese from American Standard (LIXIL)

Vinny shared:

We’re one of the largest plumbing manufacturers in the world.
 
We feel the responsibility to do something.

And they did.

A group inside LIXIL came together and built the Trade Up Program 

A nationwide initiative built around one simple but powerful idea:

It’s okay to trade up your career, no matter what age you are.

High school students.
Union apprentices.
Adults in their 30s, 40s, even 50s starting over.

American Standard is meeting them where they are in classrooms, training centers, trade schools, and community events across the country.

They’re not just selling plumbing supplies & toilets.

They’re building the future workforce of the plumbing industry.

They’re helping people find purpose, stability, and a path into a trade that protects public health every single day.

As Vinny said during our interview:

If we’re going to talk about the shortage, we need to actually do something about it.

And American Standard is.

This is the kind of industry leadership we need right now not just conversations, but action.

If more companies followed their lead, the skilled trades wouldn’t be facing a shortage…

Watch the episode on the Lost Art of The Skilled Trades

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/e7DA8_Ab
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/ehpkb_ZS
Apple podcast: https://lnkd.in/erDc32fw

I bring my podcast studio to events nationwide. If you want your conference featured -> www.tradesmedia.net or andrew@tradesmedia.net

#skilledtrades #jointhetrades #bluecollar #STAC

Here's how to reach Gen z in the trades.

Have an event coming up -> andrew@andrewbrown.net 

#skilledtrades #jointhetrades #bluecollar #STAC

Welders are upset about their wages.

Every day I get comments like:

How can I support a family on $20/hour
Entry-level job requiring 3–5 years experience at $20/hr? Come on.
Why is everyone acting like welders are getting rich.

This is the reality across my social media feeds welders, fabricators, fitters, all saying the same thing:

We love the work. We can’t survive on the pay.

That’s exactly why I went to FABTECH with the American Welding Society.

Not just to keynote on How to Reach Gen Z in the Trades.

Not just to tell a feel-good story.

But to have the hard conversation the one people usually avoid.

And on the Weld Wednesday Podcast with AWS’s Jason Becker…
we went there.

Wages
Mentorship
Training
Gen z and more.

People were crowding around the booth listening in.

Because this isn't content.

This is the future of the industry.

Listen here give me your feedback https://lnkd.in/eeTTnKBA

Drop a comment after you listen what’s the REAL fix?

Lets go!

Lets start a conversation on how to fix the shortage ->andrewbrown.net

#skilledtrades #jointhetrades #bluecollar #STAC

Plumbing careers are a lucrative Plan A

Not plan b.

What do you think?

#skilledtrades #jointhetrades #bluecollar #STAC

People are losing their jobs in tech due to AI.

After my keynote speech a young adult asked me a question.

He asked tech is laying off many people right now should I consider a trades path.

Here’s what i told him. ☝️

Looking for a keynote speaker on how to reah Gen z? 

Lets talk > andrew@andrewbrown.net 

#skilledtrades #jointhetrades #bluecollar #STAC

Redemption Engineering

Senior Construction Manager supporting transportation projects in the greater Indianapolis area.

Senior Construction Project Manager

MACC Estimating Group

Estimating Services for Design & Engineering projects.   We proof the Design to the Development Budget from Concept to Construction Documents, with the context of a Commercial General Contractor.  Advocates for Architects.

Construction Estimator @ MACC Estimating Group

Klein Construction

Project Manager

General Growth Properties

Under the direction of the Senior VP of Design & Construction, the Sr. Director of Project Estimating, shall exercise his/her Leadership, Estimating and Project Management skills along with a thorough knowledge of estimating software systems to oversee, coordinate and assist in the development of all project Cost Estimates.  Create a corporate database in concert with our estimates and developing our teams to address all pricing requests generated by our Leasing, Tenant Coordination and Development departments.  These activities shall include the coordination and collaboration with Development, Design, Construction, Leasing, Tenant Coordination, Asset Management, National Operations and the International departments, along with outside vendors.

Senior Director Estimating & Project Control

Responsible for creating a new department from ground (WinEstimator Software) up for all conceptual and hard bid estimating functions.  Assisted Development in cost analysis during specific phases of project and design development to insure financial objectives were maintained.  Estimated cost and schedule impact for large scale change orders and created a new database (using Modelogix Database Software) for all new construction projects.

Director of Estimating & Project Control

Brookfield Retail Properties 

Charged with Estimating, Bidding, Scheculing, Procurement and Construction Manage of multiple projects throughout the Continential United States & Hawaii.  Responsible for profit and loss as well as schecule for these projects.

Senior Director of Construction

Brookfield Properties

Walsh Construction

Securing new clients to design & build their new facilities throughout the Continental United States.  Taking them from cradle to grave on the development and construction of their projects.  Profit & Loss responsibility as well as securing the client for future business.

Contract Manager

Head of Special Projects Group, procurement of construction projects including profit and loss responsibility.  Group included senior project managers, project managers, project engineers, superintendents and field personnel.  Build projects in business parks throughout the continental United States and had a host of repeat clients including Target, Home Depot, Edy's Grand Ice Cream, Mopar, Holy Cross Hospital, Walmart & Sam's Club.  Initial yearly volume was $7 million and final year's volume nearing $50 million.

Project Executive

Estimating and Project Management in the large Commercial Construction and Development Arena.  Upper level management espertise for 25+ years.  Proven  motivator and extensive leadership skills with team orientated departments.  Half Full and positive reinforcement focus.

Specialties: Executive Management for Development and Construction industries.  Union arbitration experience, Registered Professional Engineer certification.

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