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Speaker 1: Fifty five KRZ the talk station. It's seven o six
Speaker 1: a fifty five krc DE talk station. A very happy
Speaker 1: Monday to you. I'm excited to talk with Nick Smiley.
Speaker 1: He's the executive director of the Tools Program. Because Nick,
Speaker 1: welcome to fifty fifty five KRS Morning Show. There are
Speaker 1: job opportunities, are actually career opportunities out there in the trades.
Speaker 1: Aren't there tons of them?
Speaker 2: Brian, how are you doing?
Speaker 1: I'm doing great. Great to have you on the program
Speaker 1: to talk about the Tools Program and the uh the
Speaker 1: March Madness kind of fundrais of the kickoff for people
Speaker 1: to enjoy and learn about Tools Program and also have
Speaker 1: a great time. Before we get to the details on that,
Speaker 1: let my listeners know about the Tools Program and what
Speaker 1: you're all about.
Speaker 2: Absolutely so. The Tools Program was founded approximately five and
Speaker 2: a half six years ago. I think we're in our
Speaker 2: six school year now. The main focus of the program
Speaker 2: is skill trade career exposure for K through twelve. We
Speaker 2: do have an eighth grade math and science project where
Speaker 2: we come in take over the eighth grade math class
Speaker 2: for a day, give the teacher a break, teach about
Speaker 2: maths and science skills. And then our main focus is
Speaker 2: really helping students transition from high school into the skilled
Speaker 2: trades industry. We'll want to make sure we open every door,
Speaker 2: make the opportunities available to them, and then provide resources
Speaker 2: such as scholarships for transition money and tool packages as well. Well.
Speaker 1: I think it's fantastic concept. And you know, as I've noted,
Speaker 1: and you can correct me if I'm wrong, if I've
Speaker 1: got a misconception on this. These are jobs that artificial
Speaker 1: intelligence can't take away.
Speaker 2: Oh, you show me a computer that's going to finish
Speaker 2: your drywall after it frames up your wall, and I
Speaker 2: think we're heading a bad direction that we can see
Speaker 2: that happening. Absolutely, none of these jobs are going to
Speaker 2: be out source. You know, we were during the Big
Speaker 2: CAF back in the day. We were essential workers so
Speaker 2: to speak. So definitely something that if you're looking for
Speaker 2: a long term career, build a family, support that family,
Speaker 2: this is the place for you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And the word career is important. It's not just
Speaker 1: a job. I mean you can actually feed a family
Speaker 1: and live a comfortable life. On the salaries of these
Speaker 1: job pays. These are not you know, minimum wage type jobs.
Speaker 2: Definitely. Currently we actually ranked ninth in the country out
Speaker 2: of all safety states. Are current average salaries for skilled
Speaker 2: trades men and women in Ohio is sixty two and
Speaker 2: a half thousand.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: The funny thing is I go to a lot of schools.
Speaker 2: I speak at a lot of high schools, and whenever
Speaker 2: I get to that part of the presentation, you can
Speaker 2: see that the teachers kind of perk up and look
Speaker 2: and say a little that's a little more than we made.
Speaker 2: So that might be a good path for your kids well,
Speaker 2: and always good to have their buy in.
Speaker 1: That's funny observation. But to the point, this isn't limited
Speaker 1: to just people graduating from high school. I mean other people, like,
Speaker 1: for example, if you're thirty or forty years old and
Speaker 1: you're interested in changing your life, you can pursue a
Speaker 1: job in the trades. It's not too late, correct, Oh.
Speaker 2: Not too late at all. I'm always a good time
Speaker 2: to make a change. A lot of skills that come
Speaker 2: from other industries are transferable, so we've got a lot
Speaker 2: of people that get into our industry and never realizing
Speaker 2: that building something with your hands. At the end of
Speaker 2: the day, being back, you know, being able to look
Speaker 2: at that and say that's what I did today. It's
Speaker 2: very gratifying feeling. So we have a lot of people
Speaker 2: that transition from other industries into our industry all the time.
Speaker 1: That's great, and you know it is really really rewarding.
Speaker 1: I you know, jack of all trades, master and none I.
Speaker 1: But when you don't have an extra money to hire
Speaker 1: someone in the trades, like when you're in one hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty five year old house and you start out
Speaker 1: with your new wife, like me in Chicago. I used
Speaker 1: to go to the library and get books out and
Speaker 1: learn how to do things around the house, just teach myself.
Speaker 1: And you know, when you've completed a project and every
Speaker 1: time you walk into a room like I did that,
Speaker 1: it really is. It is a rewarding thing. And I've
Speaker 1: talked to folks who you know, worked high iron and
Speaker 1: did some steel projects, and every time they drove by
Speaker 1: a building, it just overwhelming sense of pride that you
Speaker 1: know what, if it wasn't for me, that wouldn't be there.
Speaker 2: That's the truth. For me. There's a lot of buildings.
Speaker 2: One of my favorite that I like to tell the
Speaker 2: students about is the Robling building, utiful blue and white
Speaker 2: twisted building right there across the bridge, well ground up. Yeah,
Speaker 2: definitely a sense of pride for the people that work
Speaker 2: on it. When you do have kids. Fair warning to anybody,
Speaker 2: they're gonna get sick of hearing that, they're gonna get
Speaker 2: sick of driving by everything on seventy five and dead goes.
Speaker 2: I built that, I built that, I built that, you know,
Speaker 2: So definitely works for us on the pride side. Keeps
Speaker 2: your kids in line, lets them know that you actually
Speaker 2: do know what you're talking about.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no question about it. Well, you know. And it's
Speaker 1: it's all all trades. I mean, they're just like any
Speaker 1: it's plumbing, it's electric, it's HVAC. I mean there's a
Speaker 1: whole there's a whole, huge number of areas.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Ohio Valley Construction Education Foundation, which is ABC's education wing,
Speaker 2: actually added multiple over the past five six years. We've
Speaker 2: got everything. Some craft labor is now a class you
Speaker 2: can take all. Like you said, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, you
Speaker 2: name it, it's pretty much covered. I think one thing
Speaker 2: that's very popular right now is we've seen a big
Speaker 2: uptick in electricians. So with all the high schools I
Speaker 2: go to, the Tools Program now has forty participating schools
Speaker 2: from Van Wert down in northern Kentucky, and in every
Speaker 2: one of those high schools, never fails three or four
Speaker 2: of the kids booming to get into that electric industry.
Speaker 2: So right now it seems like electrician is the most popular.
Speaker 2: Maybe two years ago it was plumbers.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. And I had one of my plumb type
Speaker 1: plumbing folks over the house and he was a journeyman
Speaker 1: and he had an apprentice with him. And apprentice a
Speaker 1: young man. I said, hey, just starting out. He was, yeah,
Speaker 1: And the journeyman's smid. He goes, this is an absolutely
Speaker 1: fantastic job. He said, I'm doing really well. I got
Speaker 1: a family and we're all comfortable, and you know, I
Speaker 1: love the job. I love getting up to work and
Speaker 1: talking to people and solving their problems. And the apprentice
Speaker 1: was really excited about his future career. So it's true
Speaker 1: there are multiple opportunities out there in these trades. I
Speaker 1: understand you're doing. The Tools Program is doing a sort
Speaker 1: of a fundraiser kickoff thing.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Our second largest fundraiser of the year. It's going
Speaker 2: to be at Top Golf. It's this Thursday, March twentieth.
Speaker 2: Still have some tickets available if some people want to
Speaker 2: get involved. Not only is it a wonderful event in
Speaker 2: terms of all you can eat, all you can drink,
Speaker 2: lots of prizes, We've got the Top Contender competition going on.
Speaker 2: It is Top Golf, so while the weather might not
Speaker 2: be perfect every day, they still have heat and it
Speaker 2: is covered so rain or shine, we're always there. But
Speaker 2: it's a great event. All proceeds going to our Scholarships Foundation,
Speaker 2: making sure that we can keep providing those transitional funds
Speaker 2: for these students as they leave high school and head
Speaker 2: into the skilled trades industry.
Speaker 1: So who are you hoping will attend this? Are you
Speaker 1: looking for organizations that are in the trades, just like
Speaker 1: run of the mill folks like me who have really
Speaker 1: no connection with the trades. Who's invited?
Speaker 2: Well, don't see this with a good time, Brian, because
Speaker 2: we will definitely put you on the list. If you're
Speaker 2: going to you're gonna be there for us. We will
Speaker 2: definitely get you on the list. But it's truly open
Speaker 2: to anyone. The idea behind it is mainly if you
Speaker 2: are a company that's interested in something like the Tools
Speaker 2: program getting apart, you know, becoming a part of this
Speaker 2: wonderful program that we have, it'd be great for you.
Speaker 2: If you're an educator looking to bring some skill trade
Speaker 2: career exposure to your school, get connected with some companies
Speaker 2: who are willing to provide some of those resources as well.
Speaker 2: It's good for you and just anybody that's looking to
Speaker 2: have a great time. It's always a great time at
Speaker 2: the event. Top Golf does an amazing job at getting
Speaker 2: us all set up, so it's pretty pretty easy deal
Speaker 2: for me as the organizer. But everybody seems to have
Speaker 2: a great time. And like I said before, we've got
Speaker 2: lots surprises to give away, so we just want everybody
Speaker 2: to come out and have a great time, leave with
Speaker 2: something nice and all for a great cause.
Speaker 1: Well, and let me repeat something that I thought you
Speaker 1: heard open bar and barbecue, so you wow.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean when you're in the skilled trades industry,
Speaker 2: I gotta be honest. I was thinking of fahiita bar
Speaker 2: and I asked a couple of guys and then like, hey,
Speaker 2: we're construction guys. We don't want fijiitas. We want barbecue.
Speaker 2: So we went back to the barbecue. Menun it's been
Speaker 2: popular for the past three years, and can't deviate from
Speaker 2: what works, can we?
Speaker 1: No, you can't, and a lot of these You help
Speaker 1: these young people find employment opportunities, correct, I mean you
Speaker 1: hook the people who are pursuing the trades as a
Speaker 1: new career with employers who are searching for them.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So the program as a whole, if we're thinking
Speaker 2: of the perfect prime example, Okay, we talk to a
Speaker 2: student in high school, we kind of get connected with
Speaker 2: them somewhere between their freshmen and junior year. Those are
Speaker 2: the meet and greets that I go out and have
Speaker 2: with all the schools that participate in the program once
Speaker 2: or twice a year. Once we spark that interest, we're
Speaker 2: looking to get that junior to have a summer job
Speaker 2: between their junior and senior year. Make sure that they
Speaker 2: like whatever trade they're thinking about, you know, try to
Speaker 2: get it the electrician. Want to get him out on
Speaker 2: that job shadow see see if that's what he likes.
Speaker 2: If he likes that and he works through the summer,
Speaker 2: the perfect plan is that student then comes back to
Speaker 2: high school their senior year. That company has now hired them,
Speaker 2: so they are either co opting or they're just already
Speaker 2: employed waiting to graduate. That year we have them apply
Speaker 2: for our scholarship. Nine times out of ten student wins
Speaker 2: a scholarship, they're already placed they graduate. So now we've
Speaker 2: given them direct placement. We've given them a scholarship of
Speaker 2: five to twenty five hundred dollars for transition money that
Speaker 2: can be used for whatever they need, whether it's a
Speaker 2: down payment for a car, clothing, tools, anything like that.
Speaker 2: And then the pure focus of the program is once
Speaker 2: they get out of high school, we've got them direct place,
Speaker 2: We've got them a toolkit, we've got them a scholarship.
Speaker 2: I like to tell any student, once we get you
Speaker 2: into the industry, if you figure out that it's not
Speaker 2: for you, that's just what it is. It's just not
Speaker 2: for you. Because we've opened every door, we've made it
Speaker 2: as simple as possible, and we just want to make
Speaker 2: sure that we're sparking that interest. So every time I'm
Speaker 2: on your show, I can't can't. I was going to
Speaker 2: say this at the end, but I want to kind
Speaker 2: of plug you out. I got to thank you and Joe.
Speaker 2: You guys have an amazing platform you guys have us
Speaker 2: on the support that you've given us and allowed us
Speaker 2: to be on your platform, promote our program, promote the
Speaker 2: great things we're doing. It's amazing. I'm Brian. We couldn't
Speaker 2: do it without you guys, And I just want you
Speaker 2: to know that every time I'm on your show never fails.
Speaker 2: A grandpa, a mom, a dad, somebody reaches out to
Speaker 2: me because they heard me talking. And every single time
Speaker 2: that's happened, we've got their grandson or son or daughter place.
Speaker 1: That's awesome. That's exactly why I love having you on
Speaker 1: the show because think about what you just said. You
Speaker 1: got some a kid just out of high school already
Speaker 1: making money, employed in something that he already hears, she
Speaker 1: already has familiarity with. Because of this introductory component, they're
Speaker 1: making money as opposed to heading over and sitting in
Speaker 1: music appreciation class and a four year college degree. That's
Speaker 1: digging them a giant hole in the ground in dat
Speaker 1: I mean, fast forward four years. They probably got a
Speaker 1: big bank account, savings account, maybe they're already participating in
Speaker 1: the retirement funding. They're working every single day, and somebody
Speaker 1: else is coming out with a sheepskin from a university
Speaker 1: with a music appreciation degree or like my degree, political
Speaker 1: science degree and kind of puzzling at what am I
Speaker 1: gonna do? Gonna be a barista at Starbucks. I just
Speaker 1: love the program. I love the concept. I can't thank
Speaker 1: you enough for what you're doing. And I'll recommend my
Speaker 1: listeners go to toolsprogram dot org where they can get all
Speaker 1: the details about this event and get registered for it.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be a great time, and it lasts a
Speaker 1: long time. It starts at noon, it goes all the
Speaker 1: way to five point thirty.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's the first day of the March Madness Tournament.
Speaker 2: It's kind of eploy there, right. You can come and
Speaker 2: get all your golfing and all your drinking and eating
Speaker 2: in and then get that phone out and start making
Speaker 2: those parlays.
Speaker 1: Nick Smiley Tools Program, I hope you have a wildly
Speaker 1: successful event. And for folks out there, parents, grandparents, whoever
Speaker 1: has connection with the young people. Hell, the young people
Speaker 1: might be listening, get in touch with the Tools program
Speaker 1: dot org and you'll hit the ground running. Nick, keep
Speaker 1: up the great work man. You know you always got
Speaker 1: an opportunity to be here on the fifty five KRC
Speaker 1: Morning Show.
Speaker 2: Thanks, Brian. I appreciate it man more than you know.
Speaker 1: It's my pleasure absolutely. Uh seven seventeen. Right now, guess
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