This episode brought to you by All Trades Page,
empowering the youth as the next generation of
skilled trade workers. Learn more at alltradespage
.com. All right, everyone. Thank you so much
for joining Did You Know? The Esco Age Back Podcast.
So you all know how much of an advocate we are
here at ESCO for the trades and the expansion
of the trades in showing the, not just our industry,
but the world, the opportunities within the trades.
And so we've been trying to invest more time
in things like SkillsUSA and different competitions
and high school programs and even middle school
programs, trying to help. show what we do in
a different light because I know myself I would
have loved to have known more about the trades
when I was in school because I didn't find it
until later in life and so we really want to
promote our advocates of the trade and so today
we have like one of the funnest advocates in
the industry how are you doing I am so good thank
you so much for having me and calling me the
funnest thank you I don't know if you've seen
any of the things that I do. So like when I go
to trade shows and conferences, I am like the
goofiest guy you've ever seen. I show up in like
mad scientist costumes. I have like a costume
for every conference that I go to. And it was
supposed to be like this goofy thing. Like I
got like gold sequined suits and everything.
I love that. Yeah. And so I show up and like
I did it a couple of times just kind of like
for fun. And then everyone is now like. What
do you wear next? And so like, I'm going through
your videos and I'm like, she's got the polka
dotted going on. She's got the great glasses.
I'm so glad you wore the glasses today because
I like fits right in. Thank you. And so what
you represent is really the heart of the trades,
right? It's showing that we have to be more.
open to think about trades, not just as our individuals,
but especially as parents who are looking at
careers. One of the things that you mentioned
in one of your videos, and I think it should
be the name of this podcast, is there's no gender
to a job, right? So if you think about any job,
like if it's an IT job, does it matter what color
or gender a person is sitting next to? their
coworker. Right. Or age. If you have a skill,
you have a skill. Exactly. And so in our trade,
I keep saying like our trade has this stigma
of being. Middle -aged white guys. And it's a
shame because that's not it. Because I can tell
you for a fact, I can remember the very first
time that I encountered a female welder. And
I was young into the trade. I was in my early
20s and I was at this job site. And they were
talking about this gal, Jane, that was this welder.
I had just freshly came out of some welding classes.
Boy, I just thought I was just this young muffin,
right? Until I learned what it really was. And
this gal, she was good. She was so good, every
guy was jealous. So it made me kind of rethink
the trades. And that was probably 25 years ago.
And so now we have this wonderful, like blossoming
within our industry where it's now becoming more
acceptable for everyone to look at the trades.
And it's it's a beautiful thing. And so I would
love for you to share. I mean, I've watched your
videos. I love this story. Maybe you could share
a little bit about your journey and then we can
talk about like the things that you're doing
in the industry. Sure. Yeah. So my journey started
really kind of early. My parents owned rental
properties, so I got used to working with my
hands. And I thought I should go to tech school
to learn more of these skills so we don't have
to hire so many people because it adds up. Yeah.
Yeah. So I thought, let me just go learn these
skills and I can help out at the houses. Little
did I know that it would take me down this completely
different path that I absolutely love. So I went
to tech school for plumbing. I was basically
top of my class in that. entire school which
had seven sending schools so it was kind of a
big deal i competed in the plumbing competition
my junior and senior year in skills usa yeah
and then when i graduated it was 2020 so everything
just kind of like all stopped at once i didn't
get to graduate i didn't get to go to nationals
for skills usa which killed me inside but i tried
to find an opportunity from it so i started sharing
my story online and trying to be an inspiration
and an advocate for the younger generation to
tell them that But it's okay to get into it because
I was told by my guidance counselors that it
was a bad idea. And I don't think any kid should
hear that ever. They should be supported. If
you love it, you should try it. Right. Yeah.
So I started writing books. I have a Plummer
Page book series out on Amazon. And that was
what I did during COVID. Thank you. Love it.
Like your third one getting ready to come out
now. Fourth. Yeah. So I have three plumber page
books and I'm coming out with a fourth book.
And instead of it being plumber page, it's a
new character HVAC Ava. Oh my goodness. Look
at you. Yeah. Okay. So we will have to connect
after this because I'd love to make these available
on our, on our channel, on our site as well.
Cause that's super cool. Awesome. Thank you.
I would love that. You know, One of the things
that you'd mentioned in one of your videos was
that your mom had actually mentioned to you that,
you know, in plumbing, you're actually going
to encounter poo, right? It's not the cleanest
job in the world. And I feel the exact same way
because, you know, I've been in HVAC, I've been
in plumbing, electrical, and I've been in some
pretty nasty places. But at the same time, I've
been in some amazing places. And I always relate
the trades to... we're kind of, it's my own personal
opinion, but I think people in the trades have
servant hearts. Yeah. We do what we do because
we love serving people. We love helping people
and we love doing things that makes a difference
in the world. Do you get that same rush out of
that? Yes, exactly that. And like seeing that,
I always say I'm the superhero. Seeing something
not work and then it work again and the joy that
it brings the customers, nothing compares to
that. No. You know, one of the things, I was
watching one of your videos and I so wish they
would have like put in some B -roll because one
of the things that you mentioned was, you know,
a lot of people are surprised when a young lady
shows up to fix their things at home. Especially
the older men. I'm like, I wish there was some
B -roll of some guy going. I know. It happens
way too often. And there's like, now friends
recommend me to other people. And so they're
like a couple years older than me men who are
buying their houses for the first time. And they're
kind of ashamed already that they don't know
that stuff. And then when the younger girl comes
in, it's just like, oh gosh, like what did I
do with my life? Oh, that has to be so empowering.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I don't like to make people
feel like bad about themselves. I try to encourage
them and like teach them like, this is just the
path that I chose. I'm blessed. I'm lucky. And
now you can learn, you know? Yeah. But that,
that personal empowerment of not just doing something,
but doing something that makes a difference in
the world and in people's lives around you, there's
just nothing like that. And too many people.
are not exposed to that. I think that's really
the lack of new talent in the trades is that
people just aren't exposed to that. Right. Yeah.
I mean, and when you think about it, AI is going
to take over all of these other jobs anyway.
So all of us that. do experience that we already
get it we're already doing it you know and then
the people who haven't experienced that yet they're
they're in for a rude awakening but hopefully
a good one i agree and you know i'm as so i'm
a parent and i've got a range of ages of children
that are both intellectual and in the mechanical
side and so we have two girls that Kind of at
home. One's getting ready to be a junior in college.
One is a senior in high school. And they're kind
of tossed. The one in college enjoys college.
The one in high school doesn't want to go to
college, wants to do more, like wants to make
a difference in the world, is very much into
the cooking, baking side of trades, but making
things, right? And the arts and crafts. And it's
so encouraging to see that there's been this
shift. Because another thing you mentioned was
in school, some of the counselors kind of looked
at the trades as like something you didn't want
to do that you shouldn't be interested in. Option
B. Option B. And it's been that way for a long
time, but I'm starting to feel a change. And
people like yourself are the proof of that change.
Right. That shift. Yeah, I mean, that's been
the whole goal. You see a lot more organizations
and initiatives now pushing to close that skills
gap and make it more accessible and appreciated
to go into the trades, no matter what field.
I was recommended to go to culinary or cosmetology
or something. And that's okay, because a lot
of people do that. And that's still very rewarding.
But construction is also an option. So just talking
about it, making it available, like those initiatives,
I'm glad to see that it's finally making a difference.
And that's what it's all about. Yeah, I am too,
because there was a period of time, especially
through the 90s and early 2000s, a lot of schools
got away from the hands -on learning. They got
away from shop classes and automotive classes.
I had electrical troubleshooting classes in high
school in the early 90s. That's cool. And it
all went away. Right, yeah. We're starting to
see that more. So tell me about the programs
that you had available for you. so we had a tech
school that you would go to half the day so you
would do half day academics at your home school
and then they would bus you to the tech school
and that's where i went into the plumbing lab
i started doing rotation so i did electrical
hvac and plumbing but i ultimately ended up choosing
plumbing after graduating there's a community
college that shares parking lot with the tech
school that has construction management and HVAC.
So I took both of those classes and I got two
associate degrees in that. I also never saw myself
on a college path, but because these options
were available to me, that's what I pursued.
But our tech school that I went to is one of
the biggest in, I think it's the biggest in Pennsylvania
or the second largest or something. So yeah,
I've just been very lucky with how my path has
worked out. Yeah. Well, it's... It opens up opportunities.
And that's the thing about the trades. Like if
you're going to pick a path for college, most
of our counselors are doing assessments for you,
helping guide you into like this path. And you're
going to go down this path and it's going to
limit your access to other careers. And the cool
thing about the trades, I like to explain it
like it's this. great big, beautiful tree. And
it has all these leaves and branches and it flowers.
And if you're on a limb and you don't like that
limb, you can go to any of the others. It's like
so many of them come together. So you'd mentioned
that you're doing HVAC, electrical, plumbing,
all in high school to kind of expose you to that.
And then when you find those things, you can
go this route. And I know when you first started
doing this, because plumbing was the choice.
It started out as a brand for you, Plumber Page,
because everyone's like, this is a cool young
gal that's in plumbing. Her name's Paige. We're
going to call her Plumber Page, right? And so
it became this entity for you. But now as you're
developing these skills, your brand is actually
developing. And so you're going to be having
a whole new brand for yourself. Tell me a little
bit about this evolution. yeah so it's a very
new evolution but also at the same time it's
been existing for a really long time already
you know so i started in plumbing but even at
i think 15 years old i was part of a construction
camp for girls where i learned every aspect of
the construction industry wow i built walls i
did tiling masonry i did all of it like literally
anything you can think of i think i have tried
it all so i've been all trades page since i was
15 right but now i'm finally changing the name
creating a brand evolving the characters creating
hvac ava i have a lot of the knowledge already
i'm just finally transitioning that brand to
expose more people to more trades rather than
just plumbing. And it makes more sense. Plumber
page fits because it sounds cool, but all trades
page makes more sense. Oh yeah. All trades page
is like, that's your career, but because it just
opens up like what trade is next, right? You
master one and you move to the other. That's
the great thing about the trades is that they
are so intertwined. Like here in my state of
Indiana, there is no HVAC license. So at one
point in my career, I'm like, I'd like to do
something besides HVAC and some of the refrigeration.
Maybe I'd like to do controls. And so I went
back to school. I got a master electrician license.
And it's like, oh, well, there's a whole nother
world of opportunity just because I went to another
trade. And now it's just like you were mentioning,
like how you had two associates degrees, right?
It's like you can get good at one thing and you
can get good at another thing. And combined,
they just open up all these new opportunities.
Exactly. Yeah. I never saw myself doing any of
this. And I thought when I finally chose plumbing,
I thought I would be a master plumber for the
rest of my life. I'm not a master plumber, but
here I am, a jack of all trades. Yeah. Oh, that's
really a big part of the trades is that you master
so many different things, like even just about
the home, right? Think about how many people
your age. don't understand any of the mechanics
of a home. Like you said, just, you know, purchasing
a new home. You could have someone go into a
new home and go, okay, wonder what the mechanics
of this thing are like. Right. It's so surprising
how many people, how much people don't know.
Like it feels like common knowledge because our
household just, it's often. talked about, but
so many people don't even know like how water
gets into their home, how it stays a consistent
temperature. Like what are you talking about?
It blows my mind. Yeah. Yeah. And when it breaks,
like what's my first steps? Do I even know like
where shutoff valves are and you know, how does
this thing work? And so the things that it exposes
us to, not only does it build a career, but it
allows you to. be a part of your your own environment
like you can work with it yeah exactly and you
get like you really get to know it well and so
it gives you the opportunity to fix but also
to predict and to advise people when they have
their own problems Yeah. I mean, that's what
my books and my content is kind of focused on.
The books are how to fix things. So kids can
do it, right? But adults need it too. And then
they can work together, understand a little bit
more about how their house works, get kids touching
tools. It's great for the entire family to create
those conversations really early before they're
told that it's a bad option in high school. Even
here at the ESCO Institute, and I know you've
got some ESCO certifications yourself, right
from us. Yeah, I got my 608 and A2L, lots of
HVAC excellence things. Fantastic. When we're
putting together curriculum, our goal is to take
some of the more advanced things that are in
the industry, but make it digestible to an elementary
student, right? And so that's really what you're
doing. You're taking these things that... Even
a homeowner, every homeowner should know, but
they don't. And you're explaining that to a child,
but yet it's actually, you're explaining it to
all of us in a way that we can understand. Right.
Yeah. That's the goal at least. It is. We're
going to have to adopt these books because our
president, Howard Weiss, he keeps going, you
know, we got to make some like children's book
for HVAC. We got to make some children's book.
I said, no, we just got to find the right ones.
That's what we got to do. Let's just make one
together. I'm really digging this. And I've even
been doing like comic book flip books for a lot
of like refrigerants and stuff. Because it is,
it's the way you present it. And so, no, I'm
just going to keep adopting yours. That's what
I'm going to do. Cool. I love it. So tell us,
like, where can we find information on what you're
doing? Yeah. So All Trades page will be the new
website. Currently it's Plumber page, but it
should redirect to that one. And that will have.
hopefully every single project that I'm involved
in. I create content. I speak at schools, events,
organizations. I try to show up to trade shows.
I create books. I also still work in the HVAC
industry. I'm a commercial service apprentice.
So I do a lot of things. But if you want to follow
me, just look up All Trades page and you should
find it somewhere online. Yeah. And what about
social media? Yeah. Right now it's all plumber
page, but that also will be changing to all trades
page on every platform. Everything. Fantastic.
All right. So we're evolving. We're moving into
all trades page. What's next? I hate that question.
I haven't found it yet. It's terrifying. I never
know what my next step is. I just do it. When
it approaches, you follow. Right. And so like,
I've been doing a lot of electrical work. I've
been connecting with a lot of roofers. So maybe
that's next. Maybe I'm going to become a teacher.
Who knows? I have no idea. No, it's definitely
in the horizon because giving back is one of
the most important. Like once we learn the information,
it's like this progression where we were afraid
to learn. Then we finally learn and then we get
excited and then we do that. And then at some
point we're ready to share. And you're already
into the sharing. So you've you've evolved very
quickly into what we do as as professionals.
And I'm so proud of you. And I'm just. excited
the way that you're sharing your stories. So
I've also seen some of the videos are actually
represented and sponsored by 3M. And so there's
some really cool videos. So not just the ones
that you've done, like what series have those
videos been a part of? So I was part of a docuseries
that we premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
It was sponsored by 3M. It's called Skilled.
It was three or four years ago now. I was one
of four skilled trades professionals that they
talked about. And it was a really cool story.
Definitely highly recommend everyone go check
it out. Not only my story, but everyone that
was shown in that documentary. It's really inspiring
and exactly what we need for the industry to
keep growing and encouraging. I agree. Paige
Knowles, I am so glad that you joined us today.
I look forward to some more conversations going
forward. And you can find Paige at alltradespage
.com. I encourage you all to check it out and
stay motivated.