Growing the skilled trades

By Evan Dawson,

Published October 31, 2024 at 2:17 PM EDT

Five people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man front left has short grey hair and is wearing glasses, a black blazer, a purple shirt, and grey pants; a man front right has short grey hair and is wearing glasses, a blue and white plaid long-sleeved button-down shirt, jeans, and brown shoes; a woman back left has long brown hair and is wearing glasses, a black shirt, and a brown cardigan sweater; a man back right has short brown hair and a brown beard and is wearing a grey sweater; a man at right has short dark hair and is wearing a grey and blue plaid long-sleeved button-down shirt, jeans, and brown shoes.

1 of 7 — (foreground) Wayne Goodman, Steve Jordan, (background) Hannah Davis, and Merrit Smith on "Connections"

(foreground) Wayne Goodman, Steve Jordan, (background) Hannah Davis, and Merrit Smith on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Thursday, October 31, 2024

Julie Williams / WXXI News

A group of smiling people stand in front of a freshly painted window

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Windows Workforce Pilot Training Program students

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Before photo for Windows Workforce Pilot Training Program

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A student works on unsticking the upper sash of a window

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Several people wearing masks and coveralls work on stripping putty off windows

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Students are hard at work unsticking putty

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A group of students watch a man with grey hair work with power tools

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Students learn millwork at Windows Workforce Pilot Training Program

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A fully restored bay window with window seat

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Finished product of Windows Workforce Pilot Training Program

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A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.

The skilled trades seem to offer a reasonably secure job future.

The Landmark Society of Western New York and Flower City Folk have worked on a program to grow the trades. We meet students and an instructor as we discuss what the trades can mean for careers.

Our guests:

Wayne Goodman, executive director of the Landmark Society of Western New York
Steve Jordan, instructor for the Windows Workforce Pilot Training Program at the Landmark Society of Western New York
Hannah Davis, administrator of the Windows Workforce Pilot Training Program at Flower City Folk
Merrit Smith, student in the Windows Workforce Pilot Training Program at the Landmark Society of Western New York
Christina Alario, student in the Windows Workforce Pilot Training Program at the Landmark Society of Western New York