Trade Trailblazers: A seven-week pre-apprenticeship to steer Boston teens into union trades

# What Trade Trailblazers is and why it started The construction and trades sectors face an aging workforce and rising retirements. To address that gap locally, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston (BGCB) partnered with the Rising Stars Program to launch Trade Trailblazers in summer 2026. The initiative is a seven-week pre-apprenticeship for 17- and 18-year-olds that blends hands-on training, safety credentialing, and career exploration across 15 union trades.

# Structure and curriculum The curriculum began at Madison Park Vocational High School and combined technical education with financial literacy, career readiness, and long-term planning for trade careers. Key components included:

• OSHA 10 safety training and Hot Work certification delivered by Madison Park's CTE team.
• Interactive, trade-specific workshops led by individual unions to demonstrate real work, culture, and expectations.
• A one-week Clean Energy Bootcamp provided by Franklin Cummings Tech to introduce students to work in a fast-growing sector.
• A Trade Trailblazers career-mapping capstone: each participant completed a personalized document linking interests to specific trades and outlining next steps toward training or apprenticeship.

Fourteen youth completed the first Trade Trailblazers cohort in 2026. By program completion, participants left with:

• Industry-recognized safety certifications (OSHA 10, Hot Work).
• Hands-on exposure across 15 trades.
• A clear, individualized career roadmap designed to connect them to apprenticeships or further training.

BGCB's Trades Pathway Director Matt "PK" Power-Koch described the program's practical effect: "That moment, when someone picks up a tool or learns a skill and thinks, 'I could do this,' is what Trade Trailblazers is built around." Rising Stars Executive Director David Hutchinson framed it as a response to a national skilled-labor shortage and a way to match industry need with motivated young people.

# Plans for growth and needs Organizers plan to expand the program to 20 participants in 2027. To scale, they are seeking additional funding to provide more wrap-around supports for participants and to deepen relationships with union partners and construction employers. For unions and employers, Trade Trailblazers is positioned as a recruitment pipeline that prepares candidates to start apprenticeships with stronger baseline skills and safety training.

# Contact and public materials For inquiries, the announcement lists David Hutchinson (dbhutchinson@tremcoinc.com) and Dean Tsouvalas with BGCB (dtsouvalas@bgcb.org). A video of the 2026 program is available through a public link shared by the organizers.

# Practical takeaway for readers If you represent a union, contractor, funder, or community organization in Boston, Trade Trailblazers offers a tested model for early career exposure that produces safety-certified, apprenticeship-ready candidates. If you're a young person or family exploring trade careers, the program provides credentialing, hands-on experience, and an individualized path toward paid apprenticeship opportunities.