Bradford White Corporation, an industry-renowned manufacturer of water heaters, boilers, and storage tanks, has partnered with Explore The Trades for the second year in a row, as they continue to bridge the technical talent gap by raising awareness of career opportunities in the skilled trades and support the next generation of industry professionals.
Explore The Trades, founded in 2005, is a non-profit organization that raises awareness about the trades with students in kindergarten through 12th grade throughout the United States and Canada.
Industry Forward® program
Expansion includes a Spanish translation of the poster kits and a series for ages 5-11
Through educational resources, the organization’s mission is to give educators, students, and parents a foundational understanding of the plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical trades.
Through a grant from its Industry Forward® charitable giving program, Bradford White Corporation is donating USD 17,000 to Explore The Trades to support the organization’s expansion of its poster kit program, which has delivered more than 3,500 kits to North American classrooms since July 2021.
The expansion includes a Spanish translation of the poster kits, as well as an infographic series aimed at ages 5-11.
Awareness of the trades
"We’ve already reached more than 700,000 students through our poster kit program — and we’re thankful for that — but widespread awareness of the trades is slow-going," said Kate Cinnamo, Executive Director at Explore The Trades.
Kate Cinnamo adds, "This expansion will give us the opportunity to connect with Spanish-speaking and English as a second language learners, which is so important with the K-12 Hispanic student population in the United States growing to nearly 30%."
Importance of the skilled trades
Bradford White partners with nonprofit corps and technical schools to educate people
Kate Cinnamo continues: "Bradford White’s support helps us reach this new audience, as well as introduce young learners to the trades in a simple, friendly way."
Through Industry Forward®, Bradford White partners with non-profit organizations and technical schools to educate individuals and families on the importance of the skilled trades and the role that industry professionals provide in the health, safety, sanitation, and infrastructure of their communities through strategic grant funding that supports workforce development training and education programs and industry career opportunities, events, and partnerships.
Career and financial opportunities
"We’re grateful for the top-of-mind awareness Explore The Trades is bringing to skilled labor, and we’re proud to be able to help them expand their reach," said Rebecca Owens, Senior Communications Manager for Bradford White.
She adds, "Introducing the career and financial opportunities that exist within the skilled trades to today’s youth is a vital component when it comes to staffing these essential positions in the future. We applaud organizations like Explore The Trades for ensuring that introduction is happening."