#240: Wyatt Smith - Founder of UpSmith - On a Mission to Combat America's Growing Skilled Worker Crisis

Wyatt is the founder and CEO of UpSmith, a technology company on a mission to combat America’s skilled worker crisis.  UpSmith partners with employers to identify high-demand gaps in their labor force, then sources and screens candidates to fill them. Where necessary, UpSmith connects candidates with affordable, fast, high-quality training to qualify them for placement. Prior to UpSmith, Wyatt led business development for Elevate, Uber’s aerial ride-sharing business unit. He served as a consultant with McKinsey & Company and as a corps member with Teach for America, receiving the 2013 Sue Lehmann Award as a national teacher of the year. Wyatt holds an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School and a BS in Human & Organizational Development and Political Science from Vanderbilt University, where he served as student body president and as a young alumni trustee on the Board of Trust. On this episode, Chris and Wyatt discuss: An in-depth view of the emerging blue-collar labor crisis in America and how we got here. The benefits of blue-collar work and why it is worthwhile work.  Upsmith’s plan to employ more blue-collar workers. Why college isn’t for everyone. Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com Follow Fort Capital on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fort-capital/ Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris  Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/  Subscribe to The Fort on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ32shRt8Od3MxMY-keTSQ Follow The Fort on Instagram: www.Instagram.com/TheFortPodcast (2:43) - What is the labor crisis we are facing right now? (7:40) - Was there an inflection point where we changed the way we look at the trades? (9:02) - Is this labor crisis attributed equally across all blue-collar work? (10:40) - Are we losing people in the trades due to a lack of training from small businesses? (15:33) - Why is it not obvious that people should look into the trades for a viable career? (18:39) - Does the federal government offer financial aid to attend a trade school? (19:55) - How much of this is a laziness problem? UpSmith (21:25) - Wyatt’s launch of UpSmith (24:27) - How are you pitching high school students to have them consider this vs. College? (34:04) - What are the implications for the families of those who choose to enter the trades? (37:30) - Why are you attracted to the words ‘dignity’ and ‘purpose’? (39:57) - Renaming Blue Collar as “The Builder Class” (41:10) - What takes place in the initial 8 weeks of a cohort? (44:13) - What problem is a company having that drives them to UpSmith for candidates? (47:40) - What’s the line when it comes to blue-collar work and candidates with criminal records? (50:30) - Other than pay, what are some non-obvious benefits of a career in trades? (53:40) - Is the path for people to eventually own their own business or just have a steady income? (57:50) Is anyone on social media making this work sexy? @BuildersOfInsta Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs The Make It Movement (1:00:48) - Are city crews looking to UpSmith for help with public infrastructure? (1:01:16) - What does our world look like if we fail to fill these blue-collar positions? HBR Future of Work Initiative (1:05:24) - Where have all these workers gone since Covid? The Mom Project (1:08:41) - Is there a certain characteristic that stands out in high-performers in the trades? (1:09:47) - Where do you envision UpSmith in 5 years? (1:11:40) - What are employers in home health care looking for from UpSmith candidates? (1:13:22) - What’s one thing you've never predicted since you started this business? (1:14:46) - How can people get in touch or partner with you? Forge NOW The Fort is produced by Johnny Podcasts