Building America’s New Skilled Workforce

Look, I’ll be straight up – it’s not always easy being a female mechanic. Before Blue Collar Central, I’d show up to interviews and could tell right away they weren’t taking me seriously despite my ASE certification. The garage I’m at now actually found ME through my profile on BCC. The owner messaged saying he saw I specialized in European imports, which they needed help with. Been at Hansen’s Auto for about 10 months now, and it’s the first place where I feel like I’m judged on my work, not my gender. We’ve even had customers specifically request me for their BMWs and Audis. The hourly rate is decent and the schedule lets me be home for dinner with my kids most nights. Big difference from the places I found on those other job sites that wanted 60+ hour weeks for entry-level pay.

Had been doing the same fabrication work for 14 years when the shop closed down. At 52, I was worried about starting over. My daughter helped me set up on Blue Collar Central one weekend. Wasn’t expecting much honestly, since most places seem to want younger guys who’ll work for less. Got a message three days later from a foreman at a new Construction who needed experienced welders for a 6-month bridge project. Pay was actually better than my old job, plus per diem since it was 45 minutes from home. That job led to another one with the same company. Two years later, I’m still with them and got promoted to lead welder last month. The site worked because I could show my certifications and years of experience right upfront. No BS, just connecting people who need work with people who need workers.

After finishing my HVAC certification, I was stuck in this catch-22 where everyone wanted experience but nobody would hire me to get that experience. Sent out like 40 applications through those big job sites and got nothing but automated rejections. My instructor suggested Blue Collar Central, and I was skeptical at first because I’d never heard of it. Set up my profile on a Tuesday, added my new certification, and by Friday I had an interview with TriState. They took me on as a junior tech even though I was fresh out of school. Been there 18 months now, and they’re helping pay for my advanced refrigeration training. Not gonna lie, the first few months were tough learning on the job, but I’m making decent money now and actually have a career path. Beats working retail like I was doing before.

I was laid off after 12 years with the same electrical contractor when they lost a big city project. Spent nearly 3 months sending applications everywhere with nothing solid. My buddy Dave kept telling me to try Blue Collar Central, but I’m not big on computers. Finally gave it a shot one night after another dead-end interview. Within a week, I had messages from three companies, and the one I went with actually paid $4 more an hour than my last gig. Been with my new company for 8 months now. The boss there said he only uses Blue Collar Central because he gets actual qualified people, not random applicants who don’t know a wire nut from a donut. Wish I’d listened to Dave sooner instead of burning through my savings.