Creating career pathways

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how Rising Stars is uplifting young people and connecting them to job opportunities in the roofing industry.   

Recently, David Hutchinson stopped by The Coffee Shops® for an episode of the Roofing Road Trips® podcast. David, who is the executive director and founder of the Tremco Rising Stars Program, shared the different pathway programs that get individuals involved in the roofing industry and trade. He kicked off the podcast by sharing some background into how he helped found Rising Stars, the first of Tremco’s pathway programs:  

I come from a background of construction and construction adjacent for the last fifteen years, and I've felt from very early on that there wasn't always easy access for people to understand the opportunities and careers in the field. And then when I was holed up during the COVID lockdown, I had this concept for introducing young people from inner cities across the country into the trades. 

He took that idea to Tremco’s leadership, and the Rising Stars program was born. It started out in three cities, Brooklyn, New York; Newark, New Jersey; and Boston, Massachusetts. David dove into the logistics of how the program operates, sharing, “Rising Stars is the foundation where we show young people all the options. And from there, we have collaborations with organizations like trade unions and industry groups that take them beyond the basics." He went on, “These collaborations allow young people to see clear pathways and tools to start their journeys and careers.”  

In the years since that program's inception, it has doubled the number of cities it operates in and even grown into an independent nonprofit. David explained, “We were lucky enough, after being tied to Tremco since the inception, to grow enough and had enough support to separate last year and become our own 501c3. We we're really nicely positioned to go into this construction space as our own entity while still maintaining the great support of a group like Tremco.” 

Reflecting on it all, David is still as excited about the program as he was back in 2020. He shared, “This is an industry that has always been a relationship industry and always will be a relationship industry. And this program is making sure that everybody feels connected in a personal way, which really makes our success stories all the more exciting!” 

Want to learn more about the pathway programs borne out of Tremco’s Rising Star program? Listen to the whole episode or Watch the recording on YouTube.