Angi, a leading solution for improving and maintaining homes, has launched several new initiatives in advance of May 7th’s National Signing Day—a day to acknowledge and celebrate students who pursue an undergraduate or graduate trade school training program.
Launched May 7, the Angi Trade Up Scholarship Program will provide scholarships for students in construction-related programs at trade schools nationwide. Angi also announced an expanded partnership with trades jobs platform BlueRecruit, kicking off on May 7th with a first-of-its-kind digital career fair. The first annual Angi Trade Up Digital Career Fair will connect job seekers on the BlueRecruit platform with the nearly 200,000 home service pros in the Angi network.
Growing the Skilled Trades
Nearly a quarter of tradespeople are approaching retirement age according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics—a growing concern as fewer young people enter the skilled trade industries. Angi’s new efforts are designed to recognize and promote skilled trades careers and help foster connections between job candidates and home service professionals looking to grow their business.
“Every home in America needs a team of skilled tradespeople to care for it. Unfortunately, there are not enough people entering the trades despite the fact that the careers have extremely high job satisfaction and are well paid. Angi is committed to changing the conversation around careers in the trades,” said Angie Hicks, Co-Founder of Angi.
The new Angi Trade Up Scholarship Program will award $2,500 scholarships to four students who have been accepted to or are enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate construction-related trade program at any trade school, college, or university. Scholarship winners will be chosen by Angi’s Pro Council–a council of home service professionals made up of pros in the Angi network who represent businesses with hundreds of collective years of experience servicing Americans’ homes.
BlueRecruit
Also announced today, Angi is expanding its partnership with BlueRecruit, a direct-hire marketplace for skilled trade workers and the companies seeking their talent. Beginning on May 7th, BlueRecruit will open its platform to Angi's network of pros at no cost to create a first-of-its-kind digital career fair: BlueRecruit’s network of roughly 55,000 job seekers will have the opportunity to connect 1:1 with Angi's network of pros who are prepared to match and hire during the Angi Trade Up Digital Career Fair.
"As North America's leading skilled trades training and employment placement company, we're honored to work alongside incredible organizations like Angi that strive every day to bring awareness to the importance of the skilled trades and the men and women building tomorrow,” said Rich Camacho, CEO of BlueRecruit. “With our digital career fair on May 7th, we'll be able to help support connections between the incredible new wave of top talent available on BlueRecruit with the nation’s top quality home service companies that use Angi every day to provide homeowners with exceptional service and craftsmanship."
Resources
Both job seekers and current trade workers looking to hire can find a variety of new online resources as part of Angi’s Trade Up PSA campaign aimed at de-stigmatizing and bringing awareness to benefits of a career in the trades:
Angi Trade Up Webinar: On May 7th, Angi, BlueRecruit, and program leaders from leading vocational and college programs will hold an educational webinar for Angi's network of pros to support their hiring efforts when engaging with the BlueRecruit network.
Trade Up with Angi Podcast: An industry deep dive podcast hosted by co-founder Angie Hicks, tackling everything you need to know about the trade industry with pros in the Angi network
Trade Up Tuesdays: A weekly series on Instagram and TikTok spotlighting pros in the Angi network, their unique experiences, and the benefits of being a skilled trade professional.
Learn more about how Angi is supporting the trades by visiting b2b.angi.com/tradeup. More information about the scholarships can be found by visiting www.angi.com/articles/tradeup-scholarship.htm.