Mentor teaches value of trade professions

By Natalie Merrill

Dallas resident Brian Reid knows that it takes dedication and work to achieve career success, but he also knows that it doesn’t require a college degree to get there.

Reid, who now runs his own air conditioning repair company, wants to ensure that the next generation of workers know what opportunities are available to them, so he and his wife, Janal, decided to start an organization that would do just that.

This journey began when a young man at Reid’s church, where he and Janal serve as youth group leaders, mentioned that he did not know what he wanted to pursue in life and asked about Reid’s career. Reid offered to have the young man along for a ride-along, which then led to Reid helping him enroll at a local school. When the young man completed his courses there, Reid hired him to work at his company.

Because of this experience, in 2022, Reid and Janal created the Next Generation of Tradesmen (NGTF) Foundation, which seeks to empower students by providing them with options for career paths in the construction and trade industries.

“We realized there was a need for it,” he said. “The name pretty much came out of that transaction [with the young man from church] once I saw there was a need for students who don’t know where they’re going — and we could step in and provide that avenue.”

Originally from Detroit, Reid and Janal moved to Dallas in 2008. He had not gone to college, but after his move, he started attending trade school and began working in the air conditioning field in 2010. 

Five years later, he and his wife started their own A/C company. 

He said he wished he had someone in his life when he was 17 or 18 encouraging him, which he believes would have allowed him to start in the industry much sooner. However, he now uses the path he took as inspiration to help others who are in similar situations.

“If anybody was to be counted out, I thought it was me,” he said. 

“A lot of my faith drives what I do, and to be able to give back to my students in a way that I wasn’t able to experience is a reminder of how blessed I am.”

NGTF began a partnership with North Mesquite High School and now goes to its campus once a month to provide lessons regarding lifestyle or personal development. They provide students with Gatorade and pizza and allow time for questions at the end of the presentations. Eventually, students have the opportunity to attend a field trip to a trade school and, if interested, their career counselor will then help them complete the application and financial aid forms to enroll.

Reid said he hopes to help younger individuals understand the value of trade professions and realize that they don’t have to live hopelessly and work jobs that aren’t going to provide fulfillment or offer higher potential.

“College isn’t for everybody, and there’s still a way to have a really good, meaningful and purposeful life and to be successful,” he said.

While Reid’s program is still young, he and Janal hope to see it experience continual growth so more students can be helped and discover career opportunities and paths they might not otherwise have considered or even known were available to them.

“Ideally, we’d like to have 200 kids per year, but that’s going to take a long time,” he said. “We definitely want to grow, but we’re only going to be able to do so with partnerships, schools, industry leaders and donors.”

Continuing to encourage younger individuals to pursue careers in the construction and trade industries will provide benefits to the workforce, as well. 

Currently, as older workers are retiring, not enough younger employees are training to take their jobs. However, as Forbes Business Council reported, there are significant potential advantages to working in skilled trades — and NGTF seeks to make sure that students are aware of them.

“We’re losing our workers, so supply is going down, but demand is increasing,” Reid said. 

“We pay for that in the cost of services. It benefits us as a population when we have capable work at an affordable price because the supply and the demand meet each other. We looked at stats, and only 60 percent of high school seniors know what they want to do, while 40 percent still have no clue — that 40 percent is our target market.”

Running a full-time business and operating a nonprofit organization are no small feats, but giving back to the community in a way that helps individuals in the next generation realize their potentials and pursue paths they might not have thought possible is something that holds a special place in Reid’s heart.

“It brings me joy, and it brings me fulfillment,” he said. “That was the intent. It’s not to bring me any accolades but to do good work and see other people — especially the youth — have opportunities.”

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