Want to start a plumbing career? Charles Goode joins host Andrew Brown to break down trade school training, union apprenticeships, and the SkillsUSA competition.

Host Andrew Brown sits down with Charles Goode, the U.S. competitor for WorldSkills Plumbing & Heating 2026, to explore how a young tradesperson rises through trade school training, excels in the SkillsUSA competition, and builds a long-term plumbing career.

Charles opens up about mentors who shaped him, the reality of union apprenticeships, what it’s like to compete on a world stage, and how the skilled trades create life-changing opportunities—from travel to high-earning work to lifelong craftsmanship.

Whether you’re curious about entering the trades industry, pursuing plumbing, or navigating union vs. non-union opportunities, this episode delivers raw, real-world insight from someone who’s lived it.

IN THIS EPISODE

• (00:01) – Starting a Plumbing Career Through Trade School Training. How Charles discovered trade school training, joined SkillsUSA, and realized the skilled trades were the right path.

• (05:22) – SkillsUSA Competition: Pressure, Performance & Personal Growth. Charles explains competing at the SkillsUSA competition, winning Connecticut, and placing second in the nation—plus the nerves of performing in front of thousands.

• (12:18) – Family Influence, Mentorship & Finding the Right Trade. Why he chose a plumbing career over welding or electrical, and how mentors, teachers, and his cousin guided him through early decision-making.

• (18:40) – Big Mechanical Systems & Daily Problem-Solving in the Skilled Trades. A look at boilers, chillers, steam systems, blueprints, and why problem-solving is the heart of craftsmanship in the skilled trades.

• (24:50) – Union Apprenticeships: Pay, Benefits & How to Get In. Charles breaks down why he recommends union apprenticeships, how competitive they are, and how persistence helps apprentices get accepted.

• (32:15) – Preparing for WorldSkills 2026: Metric Systems, Training & Mental Toughness. Inside the intense world of WorldSkills: simulations, training on European plumbing systems, mental discipline, and representing the U.S. next year.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Trade school training opens real pathways into high-earning, meaningful careers in the skilled trades.
• Union apprenticeships offer unmatched pay, training, and benefits, but require persistence and commitment.
• The SkillsUSA competition builds confidence, problem-solving skills, and exposure to elite craftsmanship.
• A successful plumbing career combines hands-on learning, mentorship, field experience, and adaptability—especially on major construction projects.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Charles Goode is a rising leader in America’s skilled trades and the official U.S. competitor for WorldSkills Plumbing & Heating 2026. After launching his plumbing career through trade school training, Charles excelled in the SkillsUSA competition, winning Connecticut and placing second nationally.

A proud member of his union, he advocates strongly for union apprenticeships, hands-on education, and real-world mentorship while training full-time to compete on the world stage.

KEYWORDS

Skilled Trades, Plumbing Career, Union Apprenticeships, SkillsUSA Competition, Trade School Training, Trades Industry, Andrew Brown, Charles Goode, Toolfetch, HVAC, Electricians, Plumbers, Carpentry, Millwrights, Construction, Craftsmanship, Problem-Solving, Creativity, Tradespeople, Advocacy, Trades Careers, Contractors, Industry Experts, Skilled Trades Advisory Council

RESOURCE LINKS

SkillsUSA: https://www.skillsusa.org/

WorldSkills: https://worldskillsusa.org/

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If the benefits are great, the pay is great, you'll get to meet so many people.

You'll get to go places like you can travel for work.

You know, there's so many aspects of the trade that you can do,

you know, joining the union.

A plumber pipe fitter welder, service tech, hvac.

The sky's the limit, pretty much.

Hi, I'm Andrew Brown.

You're listening to the Lost Art of the Skilled Trades Podcast, a show that

shines the spotlight on careers in the skilled trades that are high paying,

honorable, rewarding, and fulfilling.

The trades are the backbone of the economy that keep us running.

And without them, our world would cease to exist.

All right.

Welcome back to The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades.

I am super excited to have Charles Goode, US competitor for

plumbing heating for world skills.

Yeah.

What's going on, my man?

Oh, nothing much.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's unbelievable.

When I think of skills, USA.

Right.

You were a competitor, correct.

Back in the day.

Yep.

What was it like for you to win or showcase your skills during Skills USA?

Uh, I thought it was amazing.

You know, when I, I first started going to a tech school, I didn't really know

that, uh, skills, USA was a thing.

So, you know, when I, when people told me about it, I was like, oh,

I, you know, I wanna give it a shot.

And, uh, you know, I've placed first in Connecticut and then I ended up going down

to, uh, to nationals in Atlanta, Georgia.

Uh, I played second.

And I mean, it's, it's a totally different feeling than, you know,

just, you know, working every day.

'cause uh, in Georgia there, you know, there's thousands of people just

walking past you, you know, looking at you work and taking pictures of you.

And it's nerve wracking.

It is, yeah.

Definitely.

Yeah.

Uh, I can imagine, uh, the prep.

Work for that.

Who can you contribute your success to?

Like is there one person or multiple people that really kind of helped

you through, you know, for skills?

USA?

Definitely my, uh, my trade teachers, you know, Sean Conley and Bill Clark from, uh,

Grasso Tech, uh, and my skills advisor, who really kind of, you know, pushed me

along to, to do this, uh, Sandy Jamison.

So, uh.

I mean, you know, without them I probably, I definitely wouldn't be here.

Yeah.

You can always go back to certain individuals that

changed your trajectory, right?

Yeah.

Changed your life.

Did you come up in a trades sort of background or you

kind of just fell into it?

So my, you know, my dad was a marine mechanic, so I mean it's, you know,

kind of in the trade book for.

Plumbing.

The only only person close to me who was a plumber and a pipe fitter was my

cousin who's, uh, in the same plumbers and pipefitters local in Connecticut.

You know, he kind of, kind of directed me into, you know, this is where

you're probably gonna wanna be.

And, uh, he was Right.

Right.

And you sort of found what you wanted to do and.

Your family, everyone's happy that you're going this path?

Oh yeah.

With any no resistance, no.

No resistance.

Not at all.

And that's a great thing because not every parent's like that.

Yeah.

You know, I've heard the cases where some kids don't want to, don't go into

the trades 'cause their parents are like, no, I want you to go to college.

Yeah.

And I mean, most of the people going to college, they, they really

don't need to be, you know, you, there's a lot of people definitely

in, in my local, in uh, Connecticut.

They went to college, you know, they did that track and then they found

out that, you know, it's not for them.

So they, you know, they did the four years of college and then they, they ended

up in the trades after all, so Right.

People that you spend all that money, right, that investment in, and all

of a sudden you're like, shit, I, I don't, you know, this is not for me.

There's, there's many of those, um, stories.

There's a lot of career changers.

You know, someone who's a little bit maybe in their mid twenties, late

twenties, went to school and like, ah, I don't wanna, I don't wanna do this.

Um, what is it about for you in what you do plumbing and, you know, what

is, what is it about that trade?

What is it, you know, versus like welding or electrical?

I mean, really it's, it's just, uh.

Working on all these big projects and these big mechanical systems and, and

water systems and, and all that stuff.

You know, seeing that all come together, especially on, you

know, big construction jobs.

That's, that's really what does it for me, you know, working on the,

on the big mechanical systems with, uh, chillers and, and boilers and

steam systems and stuff like that.

And, uh, yeah.

Would you consider yourself a problem solver?

Yeah, I think, uh, mo most of the trade is, you know, you

gotta be a problem solver.

And to some extent because, uh, working with blueprints that, you know,

are designed from people who aren't physically there on the job site,

it's hard because, you know, there's other trades in there working at you,

working with you at the same time.

So you can be, you know.

If you're in the way the electricians or somebody else has some material

where your, where your pipes need to go, you have to figure out the

best solution to move forward.

You know, you can't, can't bring it.

Can't bring the job to a hole.

Exactly.

You need to know your stuff.

Yeah.

Um, what did, also, going back to skills USA, for the people

who don't know what skills USA is about, can you explain sort of what.

What the competition's about?

Yeah, so the, the competition is based on, you know, just for, for the trade school.

So all the, the vo uh, vocational high schools in, in the United

States, um, they all have a competition on the statewide level.

So all the, all the trades compete against each other, and then, then you can, uh,

progress to the, to the national level.

So, you know, all the trades come together from all the states.

So like when I did plumbing, there were.

Probably 30, 35 different plumbers from all across the United States,

all different backgrounds and, and, uh, and stuff that, uh, you know, all

compete to see who can be the best.

Pretty much.

And you came in first, right?

In Connecticut?

I in Connecticut.

I played second in the nation.

Second in the nation, yeah.

Okay.

I mean, that's gotta be a sense of fulfillment.

Oh yeah.

I mean, that's, yeah's just gotta be like, holy shit.

Like, yeah.

Like that's an, that's a huge accomplishment.

I want you to explain what world skills is.

I want people to really understand, you know, what you're representing for the US

over there, uh, and how you got selected.

So I, our first day, ha, you know, how I got selected?

Uh, so world skills is every two years, uh, like the Olympics, but everyone who

plays, you know, first, second, and third from, from the two years, uh, prior.

Um, all goes through a selection process.

The committee, uh, made up of members from the PHCC, imo, the ua, they all take

all the, you know, all the applicants and they, they filter through 'em.

There's an interview process, and then, you know, they select, you know,

the, the best candidate pretty much.

And, uh, so how it works is, you know, there's, uh.

54, 55 countries that, that, uh, participate, at least in the, the

plumbing, plumbing specter of it.

Um, so, you know, they pick the best from their nation and then they, then

they're gonna send them out there.

So in 2026, I'll be out in, in Shanghai, China, definitely for the Americans,

it's definitely a, uh, we're gonna be at a disadvantage because all the other

countries, they use a metric system.

The, the use of the materials, the materials that they use are,

are not the same as, you know, the materials we we use over here.

I think the only thing that's, that's the same are the, are the press fittings,

but everything else is, it's different enough that if you don't know and if

you don't have a lot of training on it, you can definitely get messed up on it.

Yeah.

What's the prep work for that?

Like how are you prepping now for this?

So I've been training at my, at my union hall in Connecticut.

We have a, we have an area set up in the back where we're trying to get as much

as the, the European style, uh, plumbing fit fittings and, and fixtures and stuff

like that set up so that I can, you know, go off of, you know, blueprints

that we, that we make up trying to simulate as best we can at competition.

So you have to learn metric sys, like it's all different for you.

So like, you're like relearning, not relearning, but it's just different.

Yeah.

Wow.

It's like learning a second language.

Yeah.

Wow.

That's, that's not easy.

So when did you start your training?

How long ago?

Uh, I've been training for about two months now.

Two months.

So altogether you'll train and, I'm sorry, 2026 what?

September.

September.

So you'll almost be a full year.

Wow.

A full year.

What about the, the mental toughness?

What about, you know, staying cool under pressure?

Because the, the stress of it, right?

'cause you're.

What do you, how do you prep for that?

It's definitely not easy to prep for, but I mean, coming to places like this

and, and just seeing other competitions, how the other, you know, how the, the

contestants hold themselves, how they're not letting the people walk by 'em.

And the, the people that are taking pictures of 'em, you know,

you can't let that get to you.

You gotta stay calm, you know, you can't feel any pressure.

'cause as soon as you feel pressure going into that, that's, you know,

that's when things start to fall apart.

You can't rush, you know, you gotta really read the blueprints and the,

and the details that they give you.

You gotta go over that so that, you know, you don't, you don't miss

something that's, uh, you know, important to the, to what you're doing.

Yeah.

I mean, look, that's just comes with experience and reps and Yeah.

You know, just sort of like putting your blinders.

And just like focusing, it's just like anything else.

Like if you're a sports player, you're, yeah.

You know, everybody's watching you, like you're a tennis player.

It's just two people in the court.

Like, you gotta have put your blinders on.

Like you can't, you know, there's thousands of people in the

crowd and it's, it's difficult.

It, especially with someone's booing.

Yeah.

Not cheering.

Yeah.

It's definitely a, definitely a mindset change.

Um, what would you say, just shifting gears for a quick second, for somebody

who wants to get into the trade.

Um, the opportunities that are available because even at your age,

like you've accomplished so much, someone who's just kind of starting

out, you know, for people even on on TikTok who are live here are just like,

I don't know about this trade thing.

Should I, should I get in?

What, what would you say to them?

I would say get in as young as possible.

Um, you're gonna be working with some people who have been in their trades

for 30 or 40 years and that when you get with those people, that's kind

of, you know who you want to be 'cause they'll give you some knowledge.

You're not gonna be able to learn out of a book or, you know, by some

guy who just sits in a classroom.

That's, that's where you're gonna learn all the, all the things that

can make your job a whole lot easier.

I'm gonna say join the union.

That really is, is the best way to do it.

The benefits are, the benefits are great.

The pay is great.

You know, you'll, you'll get to meet so many people.

You'll get to go places like you can travel for work.

You know, there's so many aspects of the trade that you can do just from,

you know, joining the union, be a plumber, pipe fitter, welder, you

know, service tech, hvac, you know, it's, the sky's the limit pretty much

for the people that are thinking about the union, because obviously it's a

great option, but for the people that can't get in, because there's only so

many people they, they take, right.

And I guess every state, every, it's.

Some are.

It just, you know, it takes time to get in.

Someone who doesn't get in, what would, what, what would you say to them?

Like, keep your head up, like keep working, keep working on it.

I work with some apprentices who, who applied like three or four times

till they, till they finally got in.

But I mean, just keep with it.

Keep applying, keep, you know, keep calling, you know, because

they, they keep seeing your face.

They're gonna remember you and then that's a good way to get in.

And, you know, if that doesn't work, even even working for a, a

non-union contractor for a little bit, just to get some experience is

it could be really beneficial to you.

You know, you don't, you don't really need to need to go to an afterschool

trade school because you're gonna learn the same thing, you know, in the field

than you're gonna learn in school.

And it's better learn in the field with, you know, with hands-on learning

than you know, in a classroom.

Yeah.

It's interesting you said that about learning, not from a textbook,

but learning out in the field the experience of someone who has 25 third.

I was having these multiple conversations with people like until you're out in the

field and you're seeing it firsthand and you know, some of these men and women,

they have the experience that maybe the textbook can't really explain per, per se

because they do it a certain way or Right.

Um, but it's also getting around the right people, the right.

Uh, the right mentors, the right training, and it really, really helps a lot.

Yeah.

I mean, it's, it's unbelievable that you're, you're going

overseas to, uh, to compete.

Um, you know, there's a lot of prep work, a lot of training that,

that you, that you gotta put in and it's, uh, it's, it's really great

that, uh, that you're doing that.

Will you be at Skills USA 2026?

You go down there in Atlanta?

Yeah.

Yep.

Yeah, I'll be there.

There'll probably be a booth set up, you know, of me, you know, showing

off my skills on what I can do for the, the European style of plumbing.

So I'll definitely have a, a, a skill or world skills booth set

up next to the, uh, the plumbing contestants for, uh, nationals.

Okay.

So I will see you down there because I am there every single year.

It's like when you go there, you don't feel a short, a shortage in the trades

and there's so much advocacy in these, the red jackets and, yeah, yeah, yeah.

There, there's a lot of people and there's.

There's a lot of leading names in the industry there too.

It, I mean, it's almost like another, another place here.

It's, uh, it's very cool to, to, to feel that.

Yeah.

Super cool.

Josh, if people wanna find out more or just like stay on top of your

journey, you know, on this track to, you know, go overseas, where

do they finance, social or website?

Anything that you can, uh.

Anybody know, probably just, uh, follow along on the, the PHCC website.

I atmos, you know, the local seven seven sevens Facebook page.

You know, that's probably where most of the updates are gonna be.

The people who are listening out there, especially on TikTok and on this podcast.

It's, it's really inspiring to see what you're, what you're doing and,

you know, good luck to you next year.

You know, just keep plugging away and, uh.

Excited to see, uh, how you do.

Yeah, no pressure.

Yeah, definitely excited to, uh, you know, see how this goes.

Cool.

Well, Joe, thank you so much for coming on the show.

Oh, thanks for having me.

Thanks for listening to The Lost Art of the Skilled Traits.

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