Behind the Build: The Skilled Trades Story With Brad Boyd and Jimmy Legado

Closing the Skilled Trades Gap: An Inside Perspective and Call to Action

The public’s numbers reflect this concern, with 75% of U.S. employers reporting having trouble hiring skilled talent in 2023 – the highest report in 17 years (ManpowerGroup). Rowe has also noted that for every five skilled trades workers who retire, only two replace them.

By 2030, the U.S. could be short about 2.1 million skilled trade workers, costing the economy up to $1 trillion every year (Steele).

How This Relates to Organizations Like THS

In an interview with Georgia Apartment Association Foundation (GAAF) board member Jimmy Legado, we spoke about how the skilled trades gap is affecting the multifamily industry. Legado explains how, because of the current imbalance, the costs of keeping tradesmen on the job are unusually high. Companies must rely on both highly experienced “master” tradespeople and newer workers, which significantly increases costs.

Simply put, it’s getting harder not only to afford tradesmen but also to keep the more experienced ones.

Plumbing: The Perfect Starting Point

Recently, the GAAF launched a new virtual reality training program for plumbers, providing hands-on learning without the risks of the real world.

“People always have the idea that you’re working with only toilet-related plumbing issues versus new construction or other cool things like tankless water heaters,” Legado said of the matter. “So, that’s always going to happen because of society and how the media portrays plumbing.”

This makes plumbing the perfect place for the GAAF to start reforming how people think about the trades, especially given the hidden gem of a career plumbing really is.

In Legado’s words, “There are plumbers who make more than $250K. It’s a really good trade because you’re always going to need plumbing.”

Rowe has repeatedly addressed the enduring need for the trades amid the growing use of AI today. Rowe said in a 2025 interview at the Energy & Innovation Summit that, “AI is coming for the coders. They’re not coming for the welders, they’re not coming for the plumbers, they’re not coming for the steamfitters or the pipefitters… the electricians (Powers).” AI may be slowly transforming office jobs, but skilled trades still depend on hands-on skills that can’t be automated.

The value of being a tradesman has never been higher, and across the country, companies like THS are beginning to rethink how we talk about careers, education, and what it means to build a successful future. At AJET Plumbing, a sister company of THS, that shift is already underway.

Brad Boyd, the General Manager of AJET Plumbing, discovered the truth behind the trades accidentally and never looked back. “The trades kind of found me.” He said of his beginnings. “Ultimately, I learned a marketable skill and just never got out of it.”

That “marketable skill” became the foundation for a lifelong career that evolved from hands-on plumbing work to sales, management, and eventually leadership.

“I started as a know-nothing trainee… just kind of learning the ropes. And here I am 20 years later, still doing it.” His experience highlights one of the biggest misconceptions about the trades- that they lack growth or opportunity.

According to Boyd, the upward mobility in the trades is one of the most valuable parts of his career. “Within four years, you can have your license… and that license is every bit as valuable as a college degree,” he said.

At AJET, that growth mindset has translated into real business success. By focusing on multifamily housing rather than standard residential housing, the company has scaled significantly, proving that trades’ careers aren’t just stable, but also essential and profitable.

Many plumbers earn near or above six figures without a college education, often matching or exceeding entry-level salaries of degree-based careers and without the six-figure student debt.

Hearing all the benefits of plumbing and the great need for it, one can next ask: Who are the trades for? Boyd notices the work itself offers something many careers don’t: tangible problem-solving. “I like fixing broken things. I like solving problems… for anybody who’s like that, the trades are great.”

The Skilled Trades Gap: What’s Really Happening

Changing the Narrative and the Future

There are signs of progress. Boyd noted growing interest in the trades within the last year.

Huff’s trade school is not alone – National Student Clearing House Research Center found that there’s been a 19% increase in enrollment in trade schools and a 12% increase in high vocational public two-year schools in general since 2020 (Holsapple et al.).

In response to why he thinks the slight changes in the last year have occurred, Boyd stated, “I think that people are starting to see the higher education industry for what it is… an industry.”

Both Boyd and Rowe addressed the absurdity of student loan debt today and how often it is completely avoidable and unnecessary for many to find success.

In the words of Mike Rowe in a 2018 interview with The Washington Times, “We’re lending money we don’t have to kids who can’t pay it back to educate them for jobs that don’t exist anymore, and that’s crazy (Quimby).”

The current total of student loan debt is $1.78 trillion, having risen every year except 2023 (Hanson and Checked). Rowe, Boyd, and Legado suggest the education system could encourage people to try out the trades before these young adults have to sign up for thousands of dollars in student debt just to enter a market where regular jobs are scarce as they are.

The first step to addressing the problem is raising awareness. Voices like Mike Rowe’s, Legado’s, the GAA’s, Huff’s, Morgan’s, Boyd’s, and now THS’s are making a difference. Although the stigma around joining the trades is improving, the actions taken to address the imbalance are still lacking.

According to a 2025 study conducted by The Harris Poll’s Corporate Strategy & Reputation Practice surveying 2,203 adults in the U.S, 91% agree trade jobs are just as important to society as white-collar jobs, 63% strongly agree skilled trades are respected, and 90% agree skilled trades offer a faster and more affordable path to a good career. Yet, 90% say most people don’t realize how well-paying skilled trades can be, and 86% agree skilled trades careers are overlooked in schools today (Kang).

“It’s only fair if all the options are presented,” Boyd said.

As some of the few already working to make amends for the education system’s role in today’s skills gap, Legado and the GAA have seen the benefits of making Boyd’s sentiments a reality firsthand in their VR training programs, among other classes. Legado explained that it’s a useful tool for allowing people to try plumbing and get a feel for it before making a major decision. “It’s good for guys and girls to get a deep dive without having full commitment to an actual company yet,” Legado said.

Boyd emphasized that the trades are often presented by the education system as a fallback plan and should be presented as a viable, valuable option considered before college. “We need to reform how kids are being taught about college… and make sure all options are presented.” Boyd reiterated.

This aligns closely with Mike Rowe’s original call to action: to change the conversation, challenge assumptions, and recognize the value of skilled work.

Legado’s own mission is a call for more people to join in, not only on the GAAF’s board but also by showing up at job fairs, high schools, and anywhere where kids can hear the truth about the trades. Solutions could include stronger partnerships with high schools, more exposure to trades at a younger age, and a cultural shift in how success is defined.

At AJET and beyond, that conversation is no longer theoretical – it’s happening in real time.

Stories like Brad’s prove that there is more than one path to success, and trades offer not just jobs but meaningful, sustainable careers.

As the industry continues to evolve, one thing is clear: closing the skilled trades gap will require awareness, intention, and a willingness to rethink what we’ve been told.

And it starts with conversations like this one.

Call to Action

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