Commercial Grade

30 Days to Job-Site-Ready: Josh Nieves on Building the Trade Professional Academy

Episode Summary

You can be a millionaire in the trades. Josh Nieves wants young people to know that, and to know exactly what it costs to get there.

Episode Notes

In this episode of Commercial Grade, host RC Victorino sits down with Josh Nieves, Director of Craft Workforce Development at Quanta Services and a licensed master electrician who has spent nearly two decades building the pipeline of talent the industry depends on.

Josh's own path started with a vocational elective in 11th grade, and led through 17 years at EJ Electric in New York City, from apprentice to general foreman, before he stepped into workforce development full time. Now he leads the attract, develop, mobilize strategy behind the Trade Professional Academy, an accelerated training pipeline built to get new electricians safety-ready and job-site-ready in as little as 30 days.

The conversation covers what it actually takes to succeed in the trades, why he believes every workforce problem is a leadership problem, how AI is quietly changing the calculus for young people choosing between tech and trade, and why the traditional apprenticeship model, while still the gold standard, can't meet demand on its own.

Josh also opens up about faith, fatherhood, and an amateur boxing record he wouldn't trade for the world, wins, losses, and all.

In this episode you'll hear:

How a high school vocational elective in 11th grade turned into a 17-year career at one of the top electrical contractors in the country
Why Josh believes an entrepreneurial mindset and a habit of questioning everything are underrated qualities in tradespeople
What "workforce development" actually means, and why Josh defines it as attract, develop, and mobilize
Why the traditional apprenticeship model, as valuable as it is, can't meet the demand created by data centers and critical infrastructure projects
Inside the Trade Professional Academy, Miller Electric's accelerated training pipeline that takes new hires from zero to job-site-ready in 30 days
Why Josh believes every workforce problem is ultimately a leadership problem
How he bridges the gap between purpose-driven younger workers and security-driven older generations
The honest conversation Josh has with every recruit about what the trades really demand physically, and why he'd rather lose a candidate than mislead one
Why he thinks the biggest misconception about the trades is that they're just "a dirty job"
What his amateur boxing record, and the losses in it, taught him about leadership and growth

Episode Timestamps:

[00:13] Meet Josh Nieves, Director of Craft Workforce Development at Quanta Services

[01:36] How Josh Got Into the Trades

[09:24] Defining Workforce Development: Attract, Develop, Mobilize

[10:35] The Mentorship Gap Josh Kept Seeing on Job Sites

[13:24] Bridging Gen Z, Millennials, and "the Forgotten" Gen X

[18:07] Purpose-Driven vs. Paycheck-Driven Workers

[19:16] Why More Young People Are Looking at the Trades Because of AI

[20:26] The $260,000 Electrician Headlines, and Why Josh Pushes Back on the Hype

[21:34] The Reality of the Job

[23:59] Setting Honest Expectations Before Someone Takes a Spot

[24:44] "Construction Workers Don't Want Another Pizza Party": Trust, Respect, and Fair Pay

[25:47] Are Skilled Laborers Fairly Paid?

[27:04] How Rising Demand Could Reshape Wages in the Trades

[27:47] Toxic Culture in the Trades: "Every Problem We Have Is a Leadership Problem"

[30:53] Is the Apprenticeship Model Still the Right Way to Build a Career in the Trades?

[31:36] The Apprenticeship Bottleneck: 600 Applicants, 60 Seats

[34:47] Inside the Trade Professional Academy: From an 8-Week Program to 30 Days

[36:44] Week One: Safety First, OSHA 10, and a Small Washout Rate

[37:56] Hands-On Training: Tools, Material ID, and Practical Installations

[39:41] The Capstone Project: Pass, Fail, and Graduation Day

(46:04) Wrap-Up and Where to Find Josh

About the Guest:

Josh Nieves is Director of Craft Workforce Development at Quanta Services, where he leads training pipelines built around attracting, developing, and mobilizing talent, including out of Jacksonville-based operating company Miller Electric. A licensed master electrician and contractor with the NYC Department of Buildings and a proud member of IBEW Local Union #3, Josh spent 17 years at EJ Electric, one of the top electrical contractors in the country, rising from apprentice to general foreman. He helped build the Trade Professional Academy, an accelerated training program that prepares new hires for the job site in as little as 30 days. Josh is also the founder of This Hudson Farm, an amateur boxer with USA Boxing, and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner.

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