College isn’t the only path to a successful career. With hundreds of thousands of skilled trade jobs currently unfilled, a new free program from The Home Depot is helping middle and high school students discover careers in plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, and more.
We Are Austin welcomed Chris Waits and Erin Eisen to introduce Skills Explorers, a hands-on program designed to give young people an early look at career opportunities they may not have considered.
Watch the full video above to learn how Skills Explorers works and how families, educators and youth organizations can participate for free.Introducing students to another career path
Waits says the skilled trades gap has developed over decades as college became the primary path many students were encouraged to pursue and hands-on learning opportunities became less common in schools.
“While that is a great path, it is not the only way to be successful,” Waits said.
According to Waits, there are currently about 300,000 open skilled trade jobs, and the gap could grow significantly as experienced plumbers, electricians, and other professionals retire.
“For every five of them that retire, there’s only two young people coming in behind them,” he said.
What is Skills Explorers?
The Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation created Skills Explorers to introduce younger students to the trades before they’re making major decisions about life after high school.
The free online curriculum includes facilitator guides, videos, and hands-on activities exploring areas including painting, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work.
“We can create as many training programs as we want, but if youth aren’t interested in those careers, we’re never really going to solve the problem,” Eisen said.
The program was developed with Scouting America, drawing inspiration from its merit badge model, and piloted with Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Building confidence through hands-on learning
Waits, an Eagle Scout himself, says hands-on experiences can expose young people to interests they may never have connected with a future career.
“They start developing some confidence, and they also develop a lot of curiosity and learn things,” he said.
Skills Explorers is available to educators, parents, homeschool families, after-school programs, mentors, and other organizations working with young people.
The broader goal is ambitious: 15 million introductions to skilled trades by 2032.
Visit PathToPro.com to access the free program and learn more.