“ We don’ t do boring career fairs. We want students to get their hands on the tools and feel the power of the equipment. When people realize they can actually do this for a living – and thrive at it – that’ s a win for the entire Maine economy.”
“ We are training Maine’ s future workforce, and seeing thousands of students experiencing these trades firsthand is exactly how we keep our state’ s industries moving forward.”
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Training and Recruitment
Bring Back the Trades Holds Skills Expos in New England
June 2026
South Portland, ME – Bring Back the Trades( BBTT) and Southern Maine Community College( SMCC) held the Maine Skills Expo on May 19. The event transformed the SMCC campus into a job site where students, parents, educators and community members could engage with the trades.
“ We don’ t do boring career fairs,” said Steve Turner, founder of BBTT.“ We want students to get their hands on the tools and feel the power of the equipment. When people realize they can actually do this for a living – and thrive at it – that’ s a win for the entire Maine economy.”
“ Bringing this event to our campus is a natural fit,” said Kristen Miller, president of SMCC.“ We are training Maine’ s future workforce, and seeing thousands of students experiencing these trades firsthand is exactly how we keep our state’ s industries moving forward.”
“ We don’ t do boring career fairs. We want students to get their hands on the tools and feel the power of the equipment. When people realize they can actually do this for a living – and thrive at it – that’ s a win for the entire Maine economy.”
– Steve Turner, founder of BBTT.
The BBTT Maine Skills Expo is presented by F. W. Webb Company. Local major industry representatives from Casella Waste, Eastern Propane & Oil, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Lighthouse Credit Union, Milwaukee Tool and dozens more were on-site, offering an opportunity for attendees to network directly with the companies actively seeking to raise awareness about careers in the trades.
BBTT also recently hosted a Skills Expo at Londonderry High School in Londonderry, N. H. The sold-out expo saw over 1,000 attendees and culminated in $ 35,000 being awarded in scholarships to 14 students from across the state. Governor Kelly Ayotte helped kick off the day alongside the event’ s co-hosts: Londonderry High School, Londonderry
Back row: Chase Picard, Michael Magdziasz, Justin Gelinas, Jonathan Ashton, Hassan Amiri, Zachary Deegan, Alex Gross, Christina Peters, Cory Schofield, and Chuck Lloyd. Middle row: Jenifer Combs, Patty McGrail, Nathan McShinsky, Kristen Simpson, Holly O’ Haire, Lyric Picard, and Carolyn Doherty. Front row: Steve Turner
Londonderry Police Captain Patrick Cheetham, Londonderry High School Assistant Principal Katie Sullivan, Governor Kelly Ayotte, BBTT COO Shana Brunye, and BBTT CEO and Founder Steve Turner
Police Department, and Rotary Club of Londonderry. The event was also presented by F. W. Webb Company.
“ This is exactly what we mean when we say we’ re working to bring back the trades,” said Turner.“ Londonderry showed up in a big way. We aren’ t just talking about a skills gap anymore— we’ re putting real money and real tools into the hands of the future. This isn’ t a‘ Plan B’
“ We are training Maine’ s future workforce, and seeing thousands of students experiencing these trades firsthand is exactly how we keep our state’ s industries moving forward.”
– Kristen Miller, president of SMCC
career path; for these students, it’ s the first, best choice.”
The expo’ s growth was fueled by local co-chairs Londonderry Police Captain Patrick Cheetham, Londonderry Rotary Past President Michael Lucci, and Londonderry High School( LHS) Vice Principal Katie Sullivan. Lucci and the Rotary pledged their support early in 2025 after Cheetham and Sullivan made a push to first bring the event to the community.
BBTT will also host a Skills Expo in Marlborough, Mass. this fall. Two additional inaugural events are being held in New Hampshire this summer: the NH Bike Build Off and the Grit to Grow Summit. www. high-profile. com