09/09/2026
Here's something that might surprise people who know me as a huge FSU fan: I went to trade school right out of high school in 1991 (ouch, that was a minute ago). Early versions of Excel and Word were just showing up in offices, email was starting to catch on, and I trained on all of it while studying court reporting. I never finished the program, but I took those skills, landed an office job, and put myself through college. I still use them every day. Some days I lean on my trade skills more than my hard-earned undergrad and graduate degrees.
Trade Jobs Matter is a new nonprofit spreading the word that learning a trade is a real option. College isn't the only path. Give their page a follow and help me grow their audience.
Hello, and welcome to Trade Jobs Matter.
We are a nonprofit based in Polk County, Florida, founded in 2019. Our work is closing the gap between high school students and the skilled trades careers waiting for them.
Here is what we believe. Students are not making bad choices about the trades. They are making uninformed ones. Ask a high schooler what an electrician does all day, or what a welder earns, or how someone becomes an HVAC tech, and most of them cannot tell you. Not because they are not interested. Because nobody ever told them.
So we get everyone in one room. Employers talk about who they are hiring and what the pay actually looks like. Working tradespeople tell their own stories. Educators walk through certification and apprenticeship pathways. Students and parents leave with real connections, not brochures.
HVAC, plumbing, electrical, welding, mechanics, hair styling, public service. These are careers, not fallbacks.
This page is brand new and we are glad you found it. Follow us to see what we are building, and share this with someone who works a trade or is raising a kid who might.
Which trade did you start in? Tell us in the comments. We would like to know who is here.
