LONDONDERRY, NH – Bring Back The Trades, with support from multiple local organizations, hosted the first trades expo at Londonderry High School on Saturday. More than 50 vendors and exhibitors engaged with hundreds of students, job-seekers, and families during the event.
Bring Back the Trades is a nonprofit based in Rye that is dedicated to empowering the next generation of tradespeople. The goal of the Skills Expo was to highlight the critical role of skilled trades in the workforce and connect young workers with the opportunities for careers in high-demand, high-skilled trades.
The group began as a scholarship fund for vocational training. It has evolved into a resource for guiding young people into the trades and promoting hands-on careers. They partner with educators, community leaders, and trade businesses to enhance the perception within the education system of this alternative to college-only career path options.
The expo is part of their program to build the future workforce in the trades. “Much like when you have parents who need help navigating their first-generation college student through that process, we help introduce families to careers in the trades that they may not necessarily have experience with,” said Shan Bruyne, Administrative Director of the Group
F.W. Webb was the principal sponsor of the event, which was hosted by the Londonderry Police Department, Londonderry High School, and the Londonderry Rotary Club
Captain Patrick Cheetham is the Londonderry engagement officer and one of the organizers of the event. “I’m a member of Rotary. Shana presented at a Rotary meeting, so I immediately called her after the meeting and said, We’ve got to do this in Londonderry,” said Cheetham
He reached out to Katie Sullivan, who is a vice principal of the high school, to connect with the education community, and the three planned the event.
Sullivan offered an analysis of career options for high school graduates and why she believes the trades are a viable option.
“In the past, I would say 60 to 80% of our kids usually went on to colleges. About 10% went on to the services, another 5 or 10 went into the trades, but we’re seeing a shift in that. We’re seeing a lot of kids wanting to go into the trades over college, and it’s working out well for them. I mean, as an educator, I know that I hire only my alumni who are electricians, plumbers, carpenters, all that stuff. So, it’s nice seeing them at the trades event tonight, I think there are 10 companies here who are all Londonderry High School alumni, which is great to see,” said Sullivan.
Optiline Enterprises is a Nashua-based commercial drywall contractor and another principal sponsor of the Skills Expo. Their booth included a mock-up of a wall assembly for attendees to practice the skills of mudding and taping drywall. Kevin Jordan, Marketing Communications director for the company, manned the booth with his team. Optiline operates in multiple states and has more than 250 tradespeople in the field.
We are happy to support this Expo. We’ve made our way in the trades. It’s a really important thing to be out here showing folks that there’s a different sort of path in life,. Around Boston, especially, I think people get conditioned to only look forward to a four-year college university, a very sort of traditional white-collar career path. We’re glad to be a great example of what you can do in the trades,” said Jordan.
The high school parking lot was filled with heavy equipment and specialty construction vehicles. The outdoor demonstration area was covered in a makeshift tent of tarps to protect from the rain and wind. Despite the weather, a steady crowd streamed through and engaged with the exhibitors, which was a good indicator of interest in the trades.
“Londoderry High School’s in a great spot. We’re promoting the trades. We’re promoting kids going to college. We’re promoting kids going into the service. And I think we’re doing a great job of making every child find their way after high school,” said Vice Principal Sullivan