Megan Kendall had an atypical route to the skilled trades. She grew up in the well-to-do suburb of Highland Park, Texas, and graduated from Penn State University. As the Deputy Director of Education for the trade school, ForgeNow, she enjoys working with over 100 tradesmen daily, stressing that not only are tradesmen undervalued, but they are an extremely smart group of mostly men and women. She has been involved in lowering the certification time for HVAC, Electricians, and Plumbers to a 7-week course — something that could take aspiring apprentices and tradesmen years to complete through night school.
HVAC students at ForgeNow start green, then within seven weeks, they come out qualified as an entry service technician, which, for HVAC, is a step above an installer. ForgeNow equips their students with the knowledge, the hard skills, and the soft skills to be a successful tradesman that can grow and rise through the ranks.
Megan believes the effects and fallout of the skilled trades deficit and shortage of laborers will be seen for years unless more young men and women start getting into the trades.
ForgeNow was founded for two reasons: to help bolster the nation’s shrinking supply of skilled technicians in the traditional infrastructure trades, and to launch careers by training the future technicians in the most immersive, hands-on, and efficient way possible. Every month, with a graduation rate of 85%, ForgeNow averages 50 graduates who go on to have a career in the trades. Many of their students come from the military, transitioning from active duty into civilian life.
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