Matt Sigelman
ON THE RECORD · 6 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“The [Ad Council] survey tells us that increasingly people recognize the trades, they respect the trades, but there seems to be a navigation gap. People don't see their own kids in the trades, they don't see themselves in the trades,”
Matt Sigelman · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-02
Sigelman interprets Ad Council survey findings showing that while respect for trades is growing, people do not envision themselves or their children in those careers.
“big infrastructure projects like AI data centers”
Matt Sigelman · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-02
Sigelman identifies infrastructure projects and regional growth as major drivers of skilled trade job creation.
“growing parts of the country,”
Matt Sigelman · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-02
Sigelman cites growing regions requiring new housing, commercial buildouts, and power grid expansion as stimulating trade job growth.
“One in 12 trade jobs needs to be replaced in just the next five years,”
Matt Sigelman · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-02
Sigelman describes the projected need to replace retiring skilled trades workers over the next five years.
“in a single sweep of the hand”
Matt Sigelman · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-02
Sigelman criticizes how the public generalizes skilled trades, obscuring the 124 distinct career paths available.
“It's a very leaky pipe, and we need to figure out how we do a better job of retaining the people who are coming into the field, even before we try to build greater interest,”
Matt Sigelman · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-02
Sigelman emphasizes the need to improve retention of new trade workers before focusing on generating greater interest in the field.