Inside the classroom
A discussion structure that connects the things students use every day with the people who build and maintain them.
Explore the approachTrades
take the stage
Working Class brings skilled careers into view through television, a book and school outreach from Kansas City.
Find your route
Skill deserves
the spotlight
A community runs on the work of people who build, repair and make. Their career paths deserve to be seen.
Created by Nick Kasik, Working Class connects the pride of craftsmanship with a practical conversation about vocational education, apprenticeships and the future of work.
Get to know Working ClassA place to begin
Choose a starting point. The route changes; the respect for skilled work stays the same.
School outreach
Put skilled careers in the same conversation as every other future a young person can choose.
- Audience and school setting
- Trade interests and learning needs
- Questions for a practitioner
- A clear next conversation
See the work
The show and the book give a voice to skilled work. Outreach takes that conversation into schools and communities.
School outreach
Put skilled careers in the same conversation as every other future a young person can choose.
Trade storytelling
Give craftsmanship a public voice through the Working Class show, the book and conversations about hands-on work.
Apprenticeships
Help students and career changers understand what learning while working can involve.
Community dialogue
Bring employers, educators and families into a shared conversation about the future of skilled work.
From interest to action
Around the table
A considered way for families to discuss vocational education without setting one route against another.
Explore the approachScreen to workshop
Use a trade story to open a deeper discussion about skill, preparation and pride in the work.
Explore the approach
A shared language
Connect what employers need to explain with what educators and students need to understand.
Explore the approachKeep asking
Good career conversations begin with better questions about the work, the learning and the people doing it.
Pride in the process
Why the preparation behind a finished job deserves as much attention as the result.
Ask about apprenticeships
The questions that make an earn-and-learn route easier to understand.
Make room for choice
A family conversation works better when curiosity comes before assumptions about the right route.
Your questions
What is Working Class?
A Kansas City nonprofit founded in 2021, built around Making the Trades Cool Again through storytelling, education and vocational-career awareness.
Who created the initiative?
Nick Kasik created Working Class. The initiative includes the television show, the book and outreach to schools and communities.
Is this a training provider?
Our focus is awareness and conversation about skilled careers. Individual colleges, apprenticeship sponsors and employers provide their own training information and entry requirements.
Can educators start a conversation?
Yes. Share the age group, learning setting and the trade questions you want students to explore through our contact form.
Where does the book fit?
Working Class: Making the Trades Cool Again is a starting point for discussing craftsmanship, vocational routes and the value of hands-on work.
Can career changers take part?
The questions about learning routes and working life apply beyond school. Explore the journal and apprenticeship material to prepare your next conversation.
Bring your curiosity
For educators, families, practitioners and people who want hands-on work to be part of the conversation.
Start a conversation