How Big Picture Learning, union training centers, and workforce development partnerships are helping students discover meaningful, rewarding careers in the skilled trades.
For generations, young people have been handed one narrow definition of success: graduate from high school, attend a four-year college, earn a degree, then enter the workforce.
But success does not follow one path.
Across America, millions of young people are looking for careers that match their interests, their abilities, and their ambitions. For students who enjoy working with their hands, solving real-world problems, building tangible projects, embracing technology, and seeing the direct results of their work, the skilled trades offer extraordinary opportunities.
The ULA Network recently visited the Carpenters Training Center in Edison, New Jersey, where we spoke with Charlie Plant, Program Director at Big Picture Learning, about an innovative effort to build stronger connections between education, hands-on learning, workforce development, and careers in the unionized skilled trades.
Our conversation kept returning to one powerful idea: What if we started preparing young people for the workforce by giving them real chances to experience real work?
As Charlie explained, Big Picture Learning is working with union partners to develop an integrated pathway that can begin as early as middle school and continue through high school, graduation, apprenticeship, and ultimately a fulfilling career.
The goal is not to push every student toward the same destination. It is to help young people discover what genuinely interests them, then give them the chance to explore careers that fit their talents and goals.
For students who love building, creating, repairing, designing, problem-solving, or working with their hands, the skilled trades should not sit in the "secondary option" box. They can be a deliberate, and highly rewarding, first choice.
Charlie described this as the intersection of human development and workforce development. In practice, that means:
That is a win for students. A win for families. A win for organized labor. And a win for our economy.
One of the most important messages from our talk with Charlie was simple but powerful:
There is no dichotomy between working with your hands and working with your mind.
Charlie brings a rare perspective to this. His own journey includes decades as a house painter and business owner, plus years as a high school principal and advanced academic study. His story challenges an outdated belief that intellectual ability and skilled hands-on work sit on opposite ends of the educational spectrum.
They do not.
Today's carpenters, electricians, bricklayers, operating engineers, plumbers, ironworkers, laborers, painters, welders, and other skilled professionals use math, technology, engineering principles, critical thinking, communication, precision, creativity, and problem-solving every single day. We have seen this firsthand, from high school carpentry classrooms to advanced union apprenticeships.
Construction technology keeps transforming the industry, including:
As we covered in our look at how hands-on training is strengthening construction in NYC, the modern skilled trades professional is part craftsperson, part technician, part problem-solver, and part lifelong learner.
During the interview, the ULA Network highlighted something we have witnessed across our work with the unionized building and construction trades: union training centers are truly universities of the skilled trades. We saw it up close in our feature inside a union carpenters training center.
Walk into a world-class union training facility and you may find apprentices learning:
These facilities pair structured education with real-world experience. Through registered apprenticeship programs, individuals can often earn while they learn, developing valuable skills while working toward careers that may provide:
For many young people, this is an important alternative to taking on heavy college debt without a clear career destination. We broke down what that can look like in building wealth on a union wage.
The message is not that college is wrong. College remains the right choice for millions of students. The message is that every student deserves to know all of their options. A four-year university should be celebrated when it fits a student's goals. So should a union apprenticeship, a vocational program, a community college pathway, a technical career, or an entrepreneurship opportunity. Some pathways even bring apprenticeships and higher education together.
True educational opportunity means giving young people access to information, exposure, experience, mentorship, and the freedom to choose the path that is right for them.
During our conversation, Charlie raised an important question: If so many young people will enter the workforce right after high school, how are we preparing them for it?
His answer was simple: You let them work.
That idea sits at the center of the Big Picture Learning model. Students benefit from experiences beyond the traditional classroom, including mentorship, internships, career exploration, and the chance to learn directly from professionals.
Imagine a middle school student discovering an interest in architecture, construction, electrical work, welding, engineering, or carpentry. Now imagine that same student getting to:
The pattern is clear:
The need for these partnerships is growing fast.
As experienced tradespeople retire, the construction industry must keep developing a skilled workforce capable of building America's infrastructure, housing, schools, hospitals, energy systems, transportation networks, data centers, and communities. The latest national apprenticeship data shows just how central this pipeline has become.
This is more than a labor shortage conversation. It is a chance to rethink how education and workforce development work together. Everyone has a role to play, including:
That collaboration already spans classrooms, union halls, and federal partners like the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Education. When these organizations work together, students gain earlier exposure to careers, understand the training required, connect with mentors, and make more informed decisions about their futures.
We should not wait until graduation to ask a young person, "What do you want to do with your life?" We should help students explore that question throughout their educational journey.
At the ULA Network, we believe strong career pathways can be built around four essential stages:
Education → Exposure → Experience → Employment
This is how we inspire the next generation while strengthening the future workforce. If you want to help a young person take the first step, they can explore building trade apprenticeships through North America's Building Trades Unions or start local with New York State registered apprenticeship opportunities.
In our video interview from the Carpenters Training Center in Edison, New Jersey, Charlie Plant shares his perspective on Big Picture Learning's work to connect education with meaningful career opportunities, and explains why hands-on learning plays such an important role in helping young people discover their potential.
The conversation explores the value of skilled trades careers, the importance of workforce development, and why schools should give students the chance to experience real work and learn directly from mentors and professionals.
We encourage educators, parents, students, union leaders, workforce development professionals, community organizations, and policymakers to watch and share this conversation.
The future of education should not be about steering every young person toward the same destination. It should be about helping every student discover their strengths, understand their options, and build a pathway toward a fulfilling life.
All of these paths can lead to success.
The ULA Network is proud to showcase the people, programs, partnerships, and training opportunities helping to connect the next generation with rewarding careers and brighter futures. By bringing together education, organized labor, workforce development, technology, and community partnerships, we can give young people more than information about careers. We can give them the chance to experience what is possible.
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Want to help build the next generation of skilled trades careers? Learn more about career pathways and workforce development through the ULA Network, read more of our interviews and news, and sign up for the ULA Network newsletter to follow the people building the future.