The trades are hiring. Wages are climbing. The hard part was never the work — it was the maze in front of it. Which program? Who pays? Where do you start? We just made that maze smaller. A new set of free tools is live, built for two groups at once: the people looking for a trade career, and the colleges and workforce boards that train them.
See what funding you qualify for
WIOA can cover tuition, books, and fees. Workforce Pell, new in 2026, extends federal grant aid to short-term job training for the first time. Most people never learn they qualify. The new Funding Eligibility Check asks a few plain questions and tells you where you likely stand — WIOA, Workforce Pell, or both — then points you to the next step. It takes about two minutes, and it costs nothing.
Find the office that controls the money
Every state runs American Job Centers. They pay for training, host hiring events, and know the local employers. Finding yours used to mean digging through a state website. The new State Job Centers directory gives you the official portal and a direct phone number for all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Pick your state. Make the call.
Find yours
Let the tools do the slow work
A resume builder turns a rough work history into a clean trades resume. A cover letter builder writes for apprenticeships and skilled jobs, not office cubicles. A mock interview asks real questions and tells you where you fumbled. And the calculators weigh wages, cost of living, and the true price of trade school against a four-year degree. None of it asks for a credit card.
For colleges and workforce boards
This launch includes something for the institutions that serve these students. Workforce Pell arrives with a condition: programs have to show their graduates get hired and earn a living wage. The new Outcomes Tracker records completions, credentials, placements, employers, and wages, then turns them into the disclosure rates the new rules expect. It runs on top of the systems you already use, and it was built for the person who has to file the report — not just talk about it.
For institutions
Two audiences. One idea. A skilled-trades career should be easy to start, easy to fund, and easy to prove worth funding. The tools are live now. Use them.