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In this episode of Scholarship America’s Book Talk, President & CEO Mike Nylund sits down with Jason Altmire and Riley Burr, authors of Trade Up: Why the Future Belongs to Skilled Trades and How Career Education Is Transforming the Workforce (Sunbury Press, 2026).
Jason is President & CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) and a former U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania. Riley is CECU’s Vice President of Policy and Research. Together, they explore the paradox at the heart of America’s labor market — record numbers of unemployed college graduates alongside millions of unfilled trade jobs — and make the case for why the four-year degree is no longer the only path to a successful career. They discuss the rise of Gen Z’s “tool belt generation,” the ROI of trade school over four-year programs, and how scholarship sponsors can design funding that actually serves the non-traditional students most likely to pursue career education.
Mike Nylund
Moderator, President & CEO
Jason Altmire
Co-Author, President & CEO
Career Education Colleges and Universities
Riley Burr
Co-Author, Vice President of Policy and Research
Career Education Colleges and Universities
Please note that the following transcript has been edited for clarity.
Mike Nylund
Welcome to Scholarship America’s Book Talk, where we sit down with authors to discuss big ideas that are really impacting the next generation of workers and leaders. My name is Mike Nylund, I’m the President and CEO of Scholarship America.
As the nation’s largest scholarship administrator, we have a unique perspective on the intersection of higher education, workforce development, and private sector investment, because we work primarily with the private sector. One of the major trends we’ve noticed is this increasingly urgent need to support students as they work towards trade careers. I’ve been doing this work for over two decades, and that drum has been beating for a while — about the last 15 years — but what we’re noticing in the last couple of years is that beat is getting really loud.
Across both the public and private sectors, there’s a significant new level of investment taking place in infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy, and the rapid expansion of AI data centers. All of that is resulting in accelerated, record growth. At the same time, there’s a serious shortfall of trained workers in the United States. Forbes reported recently that millions of trade jobs remain unfilled, including half a million in manufacturing alone.
The good news is that more and more families and students are realizing that a traditional four-year degree is no longer the only path. The National Student Clearinghouse reported three years of double-digit enrollment growth in vocational-focused two-year schools. And according to Thumbtack, 55% of Gen Z respondents say they are considering a career in the skilled trades. But to keep that momentum going, we need to ensure those students have the tools they need — scholarships, apprentice retention grants, and emergency aid — to get into the workforce successfully. We’re proud to administer nearly $20 million in scholarships each year supporting 10,000 students going into trade and technical schools, but those numbers need to be much greater.
To explore how that support fits into the broader conversation around trade education, I’m so excited to welcome authors Jason Altmire and Riley Burr. Jason is the President and CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities, CECU, and a former U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania. Riley Burr is CECU’s Vice President of Policy and Research and Executive Director of CECU’s Research Foundation. Their new book is Trade Up: Why the Future Belongs to Skilled Trades and How Career Education Is Transforming the Workforce, out via Sunbury Press on April 28th. Jason, Riley, welcome — thank you for being here.
Jason Altmire
Thank you, Mike, for having us.
Riley Burr
Thanks for having us — excited to be here.
Mike Nylund
In the book, you spotlight the rise of what you call the tool belt generation. Who are these students, and what is drawing them to skilled trades and career-focused education instead of the traditional four-year college?
Riley Burr
The tool belt generation is actually a term coined by the Wall Street Journal, and we liked it so much we made it a chapter of the book. The tool belt generation is Gen Z — and as Mike mentioned, 55% are considering a career in the trades. They’re increasingly choosing a different path than the four-year university, which is what every generation before them has essentially done since the mid-20th century, when people were told the four-year degree would lead to success and the middle-class dream.
Gen Z is probably the most chronically online generation — they average about seven hours of screen time a day — but they’re not just playing games. They’re taking in a tremendous amount of information online, from news, peers, and influencers. That has built a very particular set of preferences that sets them up almost perfectly for the skilled trades. A third of Gen Z has said they are not interested in higher education at all, and most cited concern about the value and cost of a four-year degree. They watched millennials — the most educated generation in history — take the longest to achieve economic self-sufficiency. A study from Jobber found that 52% of millennials working in the 2010s were working in a field that didn’t even require the degree they’d spent so much time and money earning.
So Gen Z has benefited from watching the pitfalls of millennials. They no longer want to go to a four-year school just for the sake of it. One of their biggest priorities is a sense of purpose — they want to get skills, get a job, and use those skills every single day. Add the student debt crisis, and they’re naturally skeptical of the four-year degree. It works out quite well that they’re turning to the trades, because they also express a preference for flexibility, hands-on work, and independence — all of which a trade career delivers.
The data backs this up. Skilled trades pathways offer strong career prospects, lower barriers to entry, high earning potential, and — maybe most importantly — greater insulation from AI. Generative AI is being trained to do the administrative and entry-level tasks that recent graduates would typically fill, and we’re seeing high unemployment among four-year degree holders as a result. Blue-collar trades, by contrast, tend to be far more AI-proof. It’s much more difficult for current technology to take over these roles, and the need to build and power AI infrastructure — data centers especially — is actually creating more demand for trade workers.
One story Jason and I kept coming back to while researching the book is Jacob Palmer. He started at a four-year school, had all the extracurriculars, could have made it work — but he didn’t like it. And that’s a big message of the book: trade school is not a backup option, it is a perfectly viable option on its own. He left, got an apprenticeship with an electrical contractor, started his own business, and was making six figures by age 23. He’s just one example of how Gen Z is using the information available to them to better their lives.
Mike Nylund
It’s interesting, and I just think about my own day-to-day life. Right now we’re working with organizations that are trying to reskill employees being displaced by AI automation — and every day I drive past a manufacturer that can’t hire enough welders. That contradiction is exactly what I’m living.
Jason Altmire
Mike, if you were to ask for one sentence to describe what we explore in this book, it is that paradox. How is it possible that we have record numbers of college graduates who cannot find jobs in their chosen field of study, and at the same time, record numbers of employers who cannot find enough skilled workers for in-demand jobs? That’s what this book is about.
Mike Nylund
There’s still a perception among many families and parents that trade school means some kind of narrow or limited career path. What does career-focused education actually include in 2026, and what makes these programs effective at preparing students for in-demand jobs?
Jason Altmire
This is a question we got a lot while researching the book. I’ve personally visited over 200 trade schools, and we put a chapter in the book specifically to describe what it’s actually like to go to one — how you get in, what happens when you’re there, the coursework, and what you’ll be exposed to based on your chosen profession.
For decades, we pushed the narrative that the four-year path was the preferred path, and that choosing a vocational career was a substandard option — a fallback. Thankfully, we’re no longer in that position. The Lightcast research firm has data showing 2.9 million vacancies annually for skilled trades. The sum total of all of America’s education and training production — trade schools, apprenticeships, unions, high school vocational programs, employer training — is 1.25 million. That leaves a gap of 1.7 million unfilled positions every year. Electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, welders, high-wire linemen, underwater construction — everything in between.
Social media has finally started to make a real difference here. There are so many accounts now that show the excitement of these careers, people like Jacob Palmer who are active online and telling the story of what a trade career can be — the wages, the lifestyle. You have people like Mike Rowe, who’s been beating this drum for 15 years. And now with data centers, AI, chip manufacturing for semiconductors, and the full modernization of the electrical grid, people can see the opportunity. It has led to a fundamental shift in how the trades are perceived, and that’s nothing but good.
Mike Nylund
How can scholarships for trade school students help more people enroll and complete their training? And what should scholarship sponsors know about designing programs that actually work for career education?
Riley Burr
It’s first important to understand the type of student being served by a trade school. They are more often than not non-traditional — older students, students already working, sometimes caregivers. About 60% of students at career colleges come from low-income backgrounds, meaning an annual income of less than $30,000. They need significant financial support just to enroll, let alone continue.
Scholarships geared toward trade programs can be particularly powerful because of how quickly they deliver a return on investment. Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce does a return on investment study every few years, and the 2025 data found that the programs with the best ROI over the first 10 years after graduation were trade school and associate degree programs. These students spent less time in the classroom and more time building careers.
One school visit that still stands out to me: the president mentioned that most of their students were single or expectant mothers who realized their high school diploma wasn’t going to be enough to provide for their child. That school had a job placement rate of roughly 90% — and 75% of their students were taking out loans to attend. Creating scholarship availability for students in programs with those placement rates and those returns on investment is extraordinarily powerful.
When it comes to what sponsors should know about designing effective scholarships, the most important thing is being intentional about the students you’re serving and what you want them to get out of it. Scholarships are most effective when they include some kind of targeted incentive. A sponsor could say: here is a scholarship for this specific trade program, because we need employees with this skill. That closes their own workforce gap while helping students. At CECU, we recently launched a Scholarship to Careers pathway where donors can give on a general basis or target by industry or region — and it often comes back to them in the form of workforce-ready employees.
Jason Altmire
On the topic of cost and program comparisons: union apprenticeships, for example, are highly competitive. The Steam Fitters Union in Philadelphia last year had 609 applications for 85 spots. Those 85 will do well — but what happens to the other 500? The average community college trade program has about 30 students. For a single mom with transportation constraints, inflexible hours, and a need for evening and weekend options, that setting probably won’t work. That’s where trade schools come in.
If you go to a graduation ceremony at a traditional university, you’ll hear people yell, ‘That’s my kid.’ You go to our graduation ceremonies at a trade school, and you’ll hear, ‘That’s my mom.’ These are people who worked incredibly hard, needed flexibility, and were upskilling, reskilling, or changing careers after a divorce, a layoff, or a job displaced by AI. They’re juggling a job or two on the side, raising a family, and going to school at the same time. That’s the population scholarship programs would be helping.
Mike Nylund
One of the things we’ve learned through research — and I mentioned it earlier — is the need for emergency aid. If you’re a single mom trying to raise kids and get a skilled trade credential, and something happens to your daycare or your vehicle, $300, $400, $500 in quick emergency aid will get someone over that hump and get them to completion. As a mission-based nonprofit, one of the things we can do is tell that story — about how important emergency aid is, particularly for low-income students and low-income mothers.
Mike Nylund
For a company, foundation, or individual who wants to invest in America’s skilled workforce: what is one thing they can do this year to make a measurable difference for students on a career education pathway?
Jason Altmire
Find programs that are serving the type of student for whom education would not be an option without that support. These are folks who generally come from underserved, low-income backgrounds. They are hardworking, they are juggling a lot, and they want to improve their employment prospects and make things better for their family. That’s what these scholarships do.
I would add to what Mike mentioned: wraparound services — childcare, transportation — are very important to this population. And there’s really no limit to how you can design a scholarship. For Gen Z, this is becoming an increasingly popular path. We’re going to need all hands on deck to solve this problem, and there are students of all generations getting into the trades.
Mike Nylund
That went by quickly, but I really appreciate the conversation. Jason and Riley, thank you so much for your time today. The book — Trade Up: Why the Future Belongs to Skilled Trades and How Career Education Is Transforming the Workforce — is available now on Sunbury Press, wherever you buy books, ebooks, or audiobooks.
And if you’re interested in learning more about this topic, join us for Scholarship America’s upcoming webinar: Bridging the Skills Gap: Investing in Trade Schools and Career Readiness. It will be moderated by Casey Welch, Vice President of Career Focus Initiatives at Pearson, and will bring together corporate and nonprofit professionals to go deeper on how scholarships, grants, and emergency aid can keep students on track toward trade careers. That webinar is Thursday, May 7th, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and it’s free for all to attend. Jason, Riley — thank you for the great conversation, and we’ll see you next time on Scholarship America’s Book Talk.
If this chat has inspired you to uplift students and apprentices in trades, get in touch. Our team can help you design and administer a flexible scholarship program with ease.
The tool belt generation is a term coined by the Wall Street Journal to describe Gen Z’s growing shift toward skilled trades and career-focused education. Unlike previous generations, Gen Z is increasingly skeptical of the four-year degree — having watched millennials take on significant debt for degrees that didn’t always lead to careers in their field of study. With a preference for hands-on work, flexibility, purpose-driven careers, and greater insulation from AI-driven job displacement, Gen Z is well-positioned to meet the surging demand for skilled trade workers.
According to the Lightcast research firm, there are 2.9 million skilled trade job vacancies annually in the United States, but the combined output of all education and training pipelines — trade schools, apprenticeships, unions, community colleges, and employer training programs — produces only about 1.25 million trained workers per year. That leaves a structural gap of roughly 1.7 million unfilled positions every year, spanning electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, welders, and many other trades in high demand.
In many cases, yes — and often sooner. Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce found in its 2025 return on investment study that trade school and associate degree programs delivered the strongest ROI over the first 10 years after graduation, outperforming many four-year degree programs. Because trade students spend less time in the classroom and enter the workforce faster, they begin earning and building financial stability earlier. Many skilled trades also offer strong union wages, benefits, and long-term job security.
Trade school students are more often non-traditional learners — adults who are already working, single parents, caregivers, career changers, and people who have been displaced from previous jobs due to automation or economic shifts. Approximately 60% come from low-income backgrounds, with annual incomes under $30,000. Many are balancing coursework with jobs and family responsibilities, which makes flexibility, evening and weekend scheduling, and wraparound support like childcare and transportation assistance especially important.
Scholarships reduce or eliminate the financial barrier to enrollment and completion for students who might otherwise not be able to attend. Because trade programs often have high job placement rates and deliver a fast return on investment, scholarship dollars can have an outsized impact. Emergency aid funds — small grants of $300 to $500 for unexpected expenses like car repairs or childcare disruptions — are particularly effective at helping non-traditional students stay enrolled and reach graduation rather than dropping out due to a short-term financial crisis.
The most effective trade school scholarships are intentional and targeted. Sponsors should consider which specific trades or regions they most want to support, and design eligibility criteria accordingly. Scholarships tied to particular programs or industries can help close a sponsor’s own workforce gap while serving students directly. Beyond tuition, sponsors should consider wrapping in emergency aid funds and support for non-academic costs like tools, personal protective equipment, transportation, and childcare — resources that make the difference between a student completing their program or dropping out.
Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is a national association representing accredited, private-sector colleges and universities that offer career-focused education programs. CECU advocates for policy that supports students pursuing vocational and technical credentials, conducts research on workforce outcomes, and recently launched a Scholarship to Careers pathway that allows donors to direct funding toward specific industries or regions. CECU is led by Jason Altmire, former U.S. Congressman and co-author of Trade Up.
Trade Up: Why the Future Belongs to Skilled Trades and How Career Education Is Transforming the Workforce, by Jason Altmire and Riley Burr, makes the case that career and trade education is not a fallback option — it is a high-value, in-demand pathway to economic security and career fulfillment. The book explores the workforce paradox driving America’s skilled labor shortage, profiles the students and graduates reshaping the labor market, and offers a roadmap for students, families, employers, and policymakers looking to invest in career-focused education. It is available via Sunbury Press wherever books are sold.
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