The only program in North Carolina connecting K-12 trades education directly to HBCU scholarship support and career placement — in a single, unified pipeline.
Trades and Grades connects K-12 students, HBCU scholars, and working professionals with the skilled trades through hands-on education, industry certifications, technology fluency, and scholarship support.
Founded by MEP industry veterans with deep roots in the NC A&T alumni community, we’re building the pipeline that North Carolina’s underserved students deserve — and that the workforce desperately needs.
North Carolina sits at the intersection of two urgent problems. Trades and Grades was built to solve both.
Trades and Grades is the answer.
Every tier is designed to hand off seamlessly to the next — from a student’s first day in 6th grade to their first professional trade position.
Trades and Grades has an exclusive partnership with FST — an IoT-based building intelligence platform co-developed by program founders. Students don’t study building systems from textbooks. They interact with live data from real systems running inside the Mobile Learning Unit itself.
Every grade builds on the last — with certifications, hands-on time, and real career outcomes at every level.
Year 1 is intentionally pilot-scale to validate the model. The runway to 2031 is ambitious and fully projected.
By 2031, Trades and Grades will publish a national replication guide for expansion into South Carolina and Virginia.
Students in Grades 6–12 in Durham and Wake County can apply for free enrollment in the Trades and Grades program. No prior experience required — just curiosity and commitment.
Corporate sponsors, contractor firms, and foundations can support the Mobile Learning Unit, equipment stations, and scholarship fund — with naming rights and direct pipeline access to our students.
HBCU Partners & Target School Districts
Contractor partners and advisory board members — inquire to join