# The Military-Style Trade School Changing the Workforce Game

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-lost-art-of-the-skilled-trades-6923648/the-military-style-trade-school-changing-the-workforce-game
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-lost-art-of-the-skilled-trades-6923648/the-military-style-trade-school-changing-the-workforce-game.md
Podcast: [The Lost Art Of the Skilled Trades](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-lost-art-of-the-skilled-trades-6923648)
Published: 2026-05-26T22:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://the-lost-art-of-skilled-trades.captivate.fm/episode/the-military-style-trade-school-changing-the-workforce-game
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/50d02982-eada-4b7a-bbaf-565e70441a50.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-lost-art-of-the-skilled-trades-6923648/episodes/the-military-style-trade-school-changing-the-workforce-game
Duration seconds: 2054

## Resource

Rob Holmes co-founded ForgeNow to solve America's skilled trades shortage — producing apprentice-level HVAC, electrical, and plumbing technicians in just 6 weeks. The average plumber in Texas is 54 years old. The average electrician is 60. Within 10 years, 50% of today's tradespeople will be on social security. And nobody's talking about it. Rob Holmes is. His answer is ForgeNow — a military-style trades training school in Dallas that runs a full-time, hands-on program Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and graduates technicians ready to work at apprentice level in six weeks. Starting wage: $25 an hour. Graduation rate: 91% — versus 23% at community colleges. Rob is the Co-Founder and President of ForgeNow. A West Point graduate and Army veteran, he built ForgeNow on one simple principle borrowed from the military: train how you fight. Over 1,700 graduates have been placed with 250+ employers across 39 states. ForgeNow is a Department of Defense SkillBridge partner and GI Bill-eligible program — and it's now developing specialized electrical training pipelines for the data center boom happening across Texas. If you know a young person stuck in the gig economy, considering a trade, or trying to avoid $100K in student debt, this episode is the conversation they need to hear. Trades workers, workforce educators, contractors, and parents — this one's for you. IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) – Introduction: Andrew sets up the ForgeNow model — 6 weeks, $25/hour starting wage, and a 91% graduation rate — then welcomes co-founder Rob Holmes. (01:34) – The 6-Week Military Training Model: Rob explains how ForgeNow borrowed the military's full-time, immersive, hands-on format to condense two years of on-the-job training into six weeks. (05:26) – Why ForgeNow Exists: Two foundati…

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