Are We Building Careers in the Skilled Trades or Just Filling Jobs?

Julian Scadden, CEO of Nexstar Network, on why the trades need a clear path from technician to business owner, not just a pitch about six figures. Everyone says the trades pay well, carry no student debt and don't need a degree. Julian wants to know why kids still aren't lining up. His answer starts with his own story: early in his plumbing apprenticeship, a service manager pulled him aside and said everyone loved how clean he kept the truck and how well he did the paperwork, but he wasn't a good plumber. Julian never planned to be one anyway. He's a high school dropout who learned business through what he calls business apprenticeship, and he asks every employer listening a hard question: if a technician told you they wanted to start their own company, would you help them or fire them? Julian is president and CEO of Nexstar Network, a member-owned organization that coaches independent plumbing, HVAC and electrical companies, and he was a Nexstar member himself before he led it. Recorded at Nexstar's conference, this conversation covers his Substack post on what comes after "become a plumber," what makes a good mentor, his open letter to the CEO of Lowe's, and why he doesn't think private equity will consolidate the trades. This episode is for trades business owners who employ technicians, technicians wondering what comes next, and anyone funding or building workforce programs who wants careers to last past the first 90 days. IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) – Become a Plumber, and Then What? The Missing Path to Ownership: Julian explains why six figures and no debt aren't pulling kids in, and why the story of ownership gets left out. (02:40) – From Technician to Owner: The Skills It Takes and Who Is Teaching Them: The service manager who told Julian he wasn't a good plumber, a contractor who built a $4 million business and lost it, and why employers have to start developing owners. (06:00) – What Makes a Good Mentor: Mentor versus sponsor, balanced accountability, and how his first mentor Ed Coleman let him make a costly mistake without letting it sink the company. (12:00) – The Letter to Lowe's: Data Center Dollars or Real Trades Careers? Julian and Andrew ask whether the money going into workforce programs is building careers or just filling seats, and why honest expectations about the work matter. (17:50) – Private Equity and the Trades: Will Consolidation Win? Why Julian reads the trend lines differently than most, why airlines can consolidate and trades can't, and what happens when buyers don't know how to operate the business. (23:00) – Who Should Join Nexstar Network and Where to Find Julian: Who is a good fit, why Nexstar is more of an accelerator than an incubator, and how to reach him. Key Takeaways Pay alone doesn't recruit people into the trades. If the pitch stops at six figures and no debt, it leaves out the career path, including the path to owning a business, that makes someone stay. A mentor walks you through your own development, while a sponsor is in rooms you aren't and says your name. The best mentors hold balanced accountability and can tell the difference between you building muscle and you sinking. Be honest about the job. Showing up at 6 a.m. when it's 20 degrees, or crawling into an attic with asbestos, is the reality, and ride-and-decide days let a new hire find out before they commit. Andrew ties this back to the first 90 days, which is where most new hires are won or lost. Private equity can't take over an industry where anyone with technical skill and a license can start a competing business tomorrow. Julian expects it to stay a challenge but not to consolidate the trades. About the Guest Julian Scadden is president and CEO of Nexstar Network, a member-owned organization for independent plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors. He was named CEO on Nov

Are We Building Careers in the Skilled Trades or Just Filling Jobs? | Julian Scadden