Skilled AF Podcast | Skilled Trades & Construction Careers

Ep 21: Why the Trades Keep Losing Good Workers with Devon Havenaar, Bad Leader

In this episode of Skilled AF, we sit down with Devon Havenaar – journeyman carpenter, construction supervisor, TEDx speaker, and founder of Bad Leader [https://www.badleader.ca/] – a movement built on a simple premise: to help construction workers become who they were created to be. Devon journeyed out as a carpenter at one of the youngest ages in Canada, moved into supervision at 25, and has spent the years since untangling what good leadership on a jobsite actually looks like when the default is still "tyrannical, push your will on others." We get into his RISE framework – Respect, Invest, Support, Educate – and why he believes the industry is wrong that workforce investment is too expensive. As Devon puts it: it costs more to do nothing. Devon opens up about his own dark winter a few years back, the suicide rate in the industry, and why psychological safety training belongs on every job site next to fall prevention and hazardous material training. In This Episode: >Devon's personal journey and what led him to found Bad Leader >Why leadership in the trades is broken — and how to fix it > Why "service" should be interchangeable with "leadership" in the trades >Devon's own mental health story and why men in this industry are isolated >How self-doubt shows up for tradespeople and how to move past it >What being a good leader actually looks like day to day >Carpenters Union training in Vegas and what the rest of the industry is missing >Building a life you're proud of on and off the jobsite ----- Guest info: Devon Havenaar, Founder, Bad Leader [https://www.badleader.ca/] Follow on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/badleader_/?hl=en] Connect with The Skilled Project [http://theskilledproject.com]: Founder, Amanda Luchetti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-luchetti/]; ✉️: amanda@theskilledproject.com [amanda@theskilledproject.com] Follow on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/theskilledproject], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@theskilledproject], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@The-Skilled-Project] Like the podcast? 🎧 Subscribe to the podcast Leave a kickass review Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

Ep 20: 1,200 Tradeswomen, One Group Chat: Inside the Sisterhood of the Trades ft. Brooke Laing

In this episode of Skilled AF, we sit down with Brooke Laing, a third-year steamfitter and welder apprentice with UA Local 46 in Toronto, Canada, and Chief Strategy Officer of Sisterhood of the Trades, to explore what it’s really like navigating a career in the skilled trades as a woman. From dropping out of college and spending two years on a union waitlist, to navigating harassment on the job, to building the kind of community the industry has never offered women before. She also breaks down the rise of Sisterhood of the Trades [https://www.sisterhoodoftrades.com/], the largest global interactive community connecting women across the skilled trades, with nearly 1,200 members across Canada, the US, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand — providing support, shared experiences, and a space to talk about what can't always be said on the job site. This conversation goes beyond surface-level diversity talk and gets into the real barriers, culture shifts, and opportunities shaping the future of women in the trades. In this episode: > What it’s like being a woman in the skilled trades >The reality of job site culture > Union apprenticeships and waitlist challenges > Steepest learning curves as an apprentice > Why women leave (and stay in) the trades > How we grow the share of women in construction and the trades > Sisterhood of the Trades and its global community > The impact of the Amber Czech murder and the advocacy work they’re involved in > The moment Brooke almost walked away > Advice for women entering the trades ----- Guest Info: * Brooke Laing [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-laing11/], Steamfitter & Welder Apprentice, CSO, Sisterhood of the Trades [https://www.sisterhoodoftrades.com/] * Follow Brooke on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/lainggerr/] & TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@lainggerrr] Connect with The Skilled Project [http://theskilledproject.com]: * Founder, Amanda Luchetti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-luchetti/]; ✉️: amanda@theskilledproject.com [amanda@theskilledproject.com] * Follow on Instagram, TikTok & YouTube Like the podcast? 🎧 * Subscribe to the podcast * Leave a kickass review * Know someone Skilled AF? Submit a story here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0GmqZQILiYJItHLvRit0rF54DGspFRJSii2mSH0Gf-2nbCg/viewform?usp=sf_link] Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

Ep 19: Could Families Hold the Key to Construction's Mental Health Crisis? with Josh Vitale & Angelo Suntres

*This episode discusses suicide, substance use, addiction, and workplace crisis. Listener discretion is advised. Construction consistently ranks among the most at-risk industries for suicide and overdose deaths, and Josh Vitale knows this firsthand. A former lineman turned senior superintendent, he navigated two dozen crisis interventions on a single job site before co-founding Project BUILT, a national nonprofit addressing suicide and addiction in the trades. Angelo Suntres, Founder of Human Side of Construction and previous guest on Skilled AF, has spent his career inside large construction companies in Canada, witnessing the same patterns and working to improve culture and the human experience for the trades and broader construction industry. Together, they bridge the field and office, and get honest about what's really driving the crisis, why the industry keeps falling short, and what it's actually going to take to protect the people who build our world. In this episode we cover: >Josh Vitale’s Journey & Starting Project BUILT >The Reality Behind the Mental Health Crisis >The Impact of Isolation >Trauma Coming Into the Industry >Redefining Mental Toughness >Psychological vs Physical Safety >Construction’s “Human Extraction” Problem >Work-Family Conflict >Family as the Foundation & Missing Link >What Systemic Change Looks Like If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or experiencing a mental health crisis, please take one of the following actions: >Call 911 (or your local emergency number) >Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the U.S. >Seek immediate help from a healthcare professional. ----- Guests info: * Josh Vitale, Co-founder & CEO, Project BUILT [https://getbuilt.org/] * ✉️: josh@getbuilt.org [josh@getbuilt.org] * Angelo Suntres, Founder, Human Side of Construction [https://www.angelosuntres.com/] * Follow on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/humansideofconstruction/], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@humansideofconstruction], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXE3URiBlOFk0TmBOeatGYA] Connect with The Skilled Project [http://theskilledproject.com]: * Founder, Amanda Luchetti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-luchetti/] * Follow on Instagram, [https://www.instagram.com/theskilledproject/]TikTok, [https://www.tiktok.com/@theskilledproject]YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@The-Skilled-Project] Like the podcast? 🎧 * Subscribe to the podcast * Leave a kickass review Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

Ep 18: The Blue Collar Poet: Dustin Crosby on Pain, Purpose, and Healing Through Poetry

Dustin Crosby is a journeyman carpenter and the voice behind the Blue Collar Poet, an online presence resonating deeply with workers across the trades. With more than two decades of experience in blue-collar work, Dustin’s journey spans industries, job sites, and life chapters shaped by instability, resilience, and reflection. Raised in rural Florida, Dustin’s path into the trades was driven as much by survival as it was by purpose. After navigating early hardship, dropping out of high school, and earning his GED, he found direction through trade school, building a foundation of skillsets that would carry him through carpentry, tile, solar, and beyond. All during this time, Dustin was quietly developing another craft, writing. What has emerged was not just a creative outlet, but a form of connection and healing for both Dustin and the thousands of workers who now see their own lives reflected in his words. In this episode we cover: * Dustin’s Early Life & Path into Trades: Growing up in poverty, falling through the cracks in school, and finding direction through trade work * Skills as Survival & Mobility: How learning a craft created confidence, opportunity, and resilience across industries * The Emotional Reality of Blue Collar Work: Exhaustion, instability, grief, identity, and the mental load carried by workers * Poetry & Vulnerability in the Trades: Writing as processing, reflection, and emotional translation for blue-collar experience * Mental Health & Industry Culture: Isolation, addiction culture, emotional suppression, and the human cost of the work * Blue Collar as Identity vs Aesthetic: The tension between social media portrayals and lived reality * Looking Ahead: Dustin’s book project, creative mission, and long-term vision for building belonging & community * This episodes discusses job site deaths and deaths by suicide. Listener discretion is advised. ----- Guest info: * Follow Dustin at Blue Collar Poet 633 on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@thebluecollarpoet633] & Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/the.bluecollar.poet633/] * Facebook: Dustin Crosby Connect with The Skilled Project [http://theskilledproject.com]: * Founder, Amanda Luchetti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-luchetti/]; ✉️: amanda@theskilledproject.com [amanda@theskilledproject.com] * Follow on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/theskilledproject/]& TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@theskilledproject] * Subscribe to newsletter Like the podcast? 🎧 * Subscribe to the podcast * Leave a kickass review * Know someone Skilled AF? Submit a story here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0GmqZQILiYJItHLvRit0rF54DGspFRJSii2mSH0Gf-2nbCg/viewform?usp=sf_link] Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.

Ep 17: Turning Jobsite Delays into Opportunity: Collin White on Solving Last-Mile Logistics for Contractors

Collin White is the founder and CEO of Blue Gopher [https://www.bluegopherapp.com/], a last-mile delivery service built specifically for the construction industry. With a background in construction management, Collin didn’t set out to start a tech-enabled logistics company. He started Blue Gopher after repeatedly running into the same problem on jobsites: material delays, poor communication, and inefficiencies that cost contractors time, money, and energy. What began as a solution to his own pain point as a construction project manager in Tennessee, has grown into a business serving small to mid-sized contractors in the Columbus, Ohio region with plans to expand across the mid-west USA and beyond. In this episode we cover: > Collin’s Path into Construction: Studying construction management and working in the field before entrepreneurship > The Origin of Blue Gopher: Identifying a broken system on job sites and turning frustration into a business > Last-Mile Delivery, Explained: Why logistics is one of construction’s biggest bottlenecks > Labor Shortages & Opportunity: How workforce gaps are creating space for smarter systems and services > Generational Shifts: Millennial leadership & what younger workers are demanding from the industry > Representation in Construction: Why visibility, leadership pathways, and who feels they belong in the industry directly impact recruitment, retention, and the future workforce > Looking Ahead: Collin’s vision for expanding Blue Gopher beyond Ohio ----- Guest info: * Collin White, Founder & CEO @ Blue Gopher [https://www.bluegopherapp.com/] * Download app for IOS [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blue-gopher-app/id1580417027] * Phone: +1 (614) 636-4674 * Follow on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bluegopherapp/] Connect with The Skilled Project [http://theskilledproject.com]: * Founder, Amanda Luchetti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-luchetti/]; ✉️: amanda@theskilledproject.com [amanda@theskilledproject.com] * Follow on Instagram, [https://www.instagram.com/theskilledproject/]TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@theskilledproject] & YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@The-Skilled-Project] Like the podcast? 🎧 * Subscribe to the podcast * Leave a kickass review * Know someone Skilled AF? Submit a story here [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0GmqZQILiYJItHLvRit0rF54DGspFRJSii2mSH0Gf-2nbCg/viewform?usp=sf_link] Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.