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Helpful articles about navigating the trades, blue-collar hiring, and much more.

Young workers are choosing hands-on careers, and the employers who can find and confirm their skills first will fill seats so

October 6, 2026

Gen Z is choosing the trades, and hiring has to catch up

Loading Boxes Into a White Car

July 27, 2026

How To Transfer Your Trade Experience When You Move To A New State

Woman using Google search engine on tablet indoors, closeup

July 24, 2026

Google Just Invested $50M in Trades Training: What Happens Now?

Students Learn From Engineer

July 21, 2026

Why Trade School Enrollment Is Up 11% in 2026

Construction Workers Holding Colorful Hard Hats

July 17, 2026

Gen Z And The Toolbelt Generation: Why The Trades Are Booming

Finger Tapping Tablet Screen with Social Media Icons

July 14, 2026

Get Local Trade Jobs Faster With New Collars App Features

Handshake Between Two Tradesmen In Workplace Setting

July 10, 2026

How To Get Hired In The Trades When Every Job Requires Experience

Construction Team Discussing Plans on Building Site

July 9, 2026

Summer Layoffs: Why Your Trade Slows Down in June and How to Find Filler Work

Professional Handshake in Modern Office Environment

July 8, 2026

Collars for Employers: The Full Desktop Experience for Faster Hiring

Colorful Head Silhouettes with Speech Bubbles on Background

July 1, 2026

Why Your Current "Word of Mouth" Hiring Is Stalling Your Growth Goals

Moving Day: Adult Carries Box Into New Home

June 29, 2026

Moving States for a Trade Job? How to Transfer Your Apprenticeship

People Learning Woodworking Skills in Vocational Training Workshop

June 24, 2026

Trade School vs Paid Apprenticeships: Is a $50k Institute Worth It?

Set of dental prosthetics instruments and tools in workshop

June 22, 2026

The Real Cost of Tools: What to Buy Yourself vs. What the Contractor Should Supply

Graduates In Caps And Gowns In Conversation, Elevated View

June 19, 2026

Top 3 Easiest Trades to Get Into Right After High School in 2026

Close up view of workers in a woodworking factory.

June 17, 2019

Trades Without a College Degree: Starting With Zero Experience

Construction Worker Discards Plans in Office Workspace

June 12, 2026

The "No-Resume" Guide to Talking to Site Supervisors and Foremen

businessman works a bunch of paper files to find information

June 3, 2026

Nothing Good Happens After 1099 (For the Employer)

Pensive warehouse worker analyzing paperwork at wood storage compartment.

June 1, 2026

Nothing Good Happens After 1099

Opposition to Leadership, Concept of Social Unrest

May 27, 2026

Red Flags in US Trade Job Descriptions: Spotting Bad Contractors

Construction Worker Holds Hard Hat on Construction Site

May 25, 2026

From Journeyman to Foreman: Highlighting Leadership on Your Mobile Profile

Job center employee standing in front of employment noticeboard. Rear view.

May 18, 2026

The Ghosting Fix: How Matched Data Beats Generic Job Board Candidates

Graduation gap hat on US dollar banknotes money, Education study fee learning teach concept.

May 14, 2026

Skilled Trades vs. Degree Debt: The 2026 American Earnings Reality Check

Team of engineers working in robotic factory - Tech industry concept

May 11, 2026

The 2026 Skill Gap: Why Hiring for Grit and Training for Tech is the New Meta

April 28, 2026

Collars took the CodeLaunch stage. Here's what happened.

Construction Worker and Colleague Shaking Hands Indoors

May 4, 2026

The Career Path Nobody Told You About in High School

A construction worker with short, graying hair in an orange safety vest and red collared shirt rests his head on a table.

August 30, 2026

You Are Worth More Than Your Current Job Is Paying You

An adult reviews a resume for a job application. The person holds a pen and paper resume in an urban office environment.

April 28, 2026

Stop Applying to Everything. Start Matching With the Right Job.

April 27, 2026

Job Fairs Cost You a Full Day. Collars Costs You 10 Minutes.

April 18, 2026

Hiring Faster Isn't a Luxury. It's How You Stay on Schedule.

Filling Out a Job Application with Resume Paperwork

April 27, 2026

Why the Spring Rush is the Best Time to Negotiate Your Hourly Rate

Closeup of man wearing mask welding in a workshop

April 24, 2026

5 High-Demand Welding Certifications to Increase Your Hourly Rate

Warehouse workers managing inventory and logistics with digital tablet and scanner

March 20, 2026

How to Staff Up for a Project Backlog Without the Long-Term Overhead

April 17, 2026

The ROI of Hiring Specialized Welders vs. General Laborers in 2026

April 9, 2026

How Strong Crews Train the Next Generation

April 7, 2026

How Digital Hiring Is Changing the Trades

April 6, 2026

The Difference Between a Worker and a Teammate

April 6, 2026

The Hidden Cost of Delayed Hiring

April 1, 2026

What Good Crew Leaders Are Looking For in New Workers

April 1, 2026

The Real Joke? Hiring When You’re Already Short-Staffed

March 26, 2026

Why Spring Hiring Feels Chaotic (And How to Stay Ahead)

March 16, 2026

What Startup Mania Taught Us About Building for the Trades

February 25, 2026

The End of Traditional Hiring in the Trades

February 25, 2026

Respecting Trades Work Without Overcomplicating Hiring

February 25, 2026

Why Trades Hiring Looks Different in 2026

February 25, 2026

How to Avoid No-Shows When Hiring Tradespeople

February 23, 2026

Job Boards Aren’t Designed for You

February 20, 2026

Hiring for Fit Beats Hiring Fast

February 12, 2026

How To Tell Who's Serious Before You Hire Them

February 11, 2026

When Hiring Slows Down, Everything Else Does Too

February 20, 2026

What Employers Actually Look For: The 5 Things That Get You Hired

February 16, 2025

The Trades Are Not a "Backup Plan": Why It's Time to Flip the Script

February 13, 2026

How to Find Work That Fits You: Stop Settling for Bad Jobs

A person applying to get a job.

February 9, 2026

Getting Hired Faster Starts Before You Apply: The "Stay Ready" Strategy

February 9, 2026

Referrals work, until they don't

Portrait of foreman working in the warehouse

January 30, 2026

Let the Work Talk: How to Prove Your Value Without Saying a Word

A close-up of hard hats worn by a team of blue-collar workers.

January 30, 2026

Why Blue-Collar Work Is Still "Real" Work

A businesswoman filling out a form.

January 23, 2026

How to Get Into a Trade Without Filling Out 10 Forms

January 27, 2026

Why More Job Posts Won’t Fix Hiring

January 27, 2026

The Hiring Mistake Most Trades Employers Make

January 27, 2026

The Domino Effect of a Bad Hire

January 26, 2026

What’s Actually Broken About Hiring in the Trades

January 22, 2026

Why Resumes Don’t Work for Blue-Collar Jobs

A blue-collar employer sits at a desk in front of a computer looking frustrated and tired

January 20, 2026

Collars Isn’t for Everyone, and That’s the Point

January 21, 2026

Your Skills Are Your Resume: Why the Trades Are Ditching Paper for Proof

Collars Co-Founder and CHO Cheri Molfese Accepts the Award for Chicago Rising Startup of the Year

December 12, 2025

Collars Named 2025/2026 Chicago Rising Startup of the Year at Startup Grind All-Stars

August 22, 2025

The Collars CodeLaunch Journey: From 140+ Startups to the Final 9

June 18, 2025

Build Your Future in the Trades: Free Pre-Apprenticeship Program Launching This July

June 24, 2025

"You get Rich Through Trades" says "Shark Tank" Star Kevin O'Leary

June 11, 2025

"Gen Z got the Memo" Mike Rowe Says About Growing Interest in the Trades

May 23, 2025

Why the Trades Are the Future—And Silicon Valley Knows It

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