The trades have a reputation problem. And for a long time, construction was the industry you ended up in, not the one you chose. Carlos Rodriguez, owner of Mr. Roofing out of California, knows that story firsthand.

Carlos grew up watching his father build a roofing business from the ground up after immigrating from Mexico. He spent summers on tear-off crews as a teenager, went to UC Berkeley, worked in corporate, and eventually came back to take the family business to a level his dad never imagined. In this episode, he and Paul break down what it actually takes to run a construction company, why the stigma around trades is still real but slowly changing, and what young people are missing when they overlook this industry.

We discuss:

• The stigma roofing inherited and why it is finally starting to shift
• Growing up in the family business and what his dad's approach taught him
• What he looks for when hiring
• The looming labor shortage
• How to make the trades look as cool as they actually are
• His advice to every high schooler figuring out what comes next

Want to bring more young talent into construction? Let's talk.

#ConstructionCareers #TradesLife #WorkforceDevelopment #RoofingIndustry #iReachPodcast

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Meet Carlos Rodriguez
01:18 – Roofing industry stigma
03:06 – Family roots and lessons
04:37 – Reframing trades for youth
08:32 – Returning to grow the business
10:43 – From roofer to leader
12:42 – Culture and core purpose
15:42 – Modern trades misconceptions
18:24 – Hiring for heart and hustle
21:52 – Labor shortage and outreach
26:12 – Making construction look cool
29:19 – Trade vs. business skills
30:15 – Advice for high schoolers
31:11 – Closing thanks and wrap

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Follow Carlos Rodriguez:
Website: https://www.mrroofing.net
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-rodriguez-a481b69

Follow Paul Robinson
Connect with Paul Robinson on LinkedIn.
Follow ConstructReach on LinkedIn.
Follow ConstructReach on Instagram @contructreach
Check out the ConstructReach website at constructreach.com

This podcast is sponsored by Construct Reach.

As a workforce development initiative that builds reachable opportunities through construction, ConstructReach increases the visibility of the construction industry by educating students about career opportunities within construction, connecting general contractors to interns and innovative internship curricula, creating content and experiences to expose a diverse population to sustainable construction careers, and uniting stakeholders to ensure the construction industry continues to thrive.

#IReachPodcast #PaulRobinson #ConstructReach

Drew "The MFG" Crowe is the founder and CEO of Drew Crowe Manufacturing and one of the most influential voices in American manufacturing today. Often referred to as the leader of the New American Manufacturing Renaissance, Drew is an MIT graduate and two-time Aerospace & Aviation Man of the Year. He served as Lead Professor of Advanced Manufacturing Technology at Ranken Technical College. His résumé includes speaking at the White House and the Pentagon, and features in Forbes Magazine and USA Today. His mission is to connect youth, underserved communities, and justice-impacted individuals to life-changing careers in manufacturing. And to help companies understand why that's not charity, it's a business solution.

In this episode, Drew and host Paul Robinson dig into the deep parallels between manufacturing and construction and why both industries are at a critical crossroads. Drew breaks down why 1.8 million manufacturing jobs sit unfilled and how that gap threatens national security and GDP. He explains why companies can no longer treat workforce outreach as a handout. The two get real about the generational barriers that keep diverse communities from entering the trades. They talk about why soft skills like grit and determination matter more than technical certifications. Drew also shares how he flips the script when talking to young people, connecting their passions for sneakers, video games, and cars to real manufacturing career paths paying $30+ an hour. Plus, he shares a powerful perspective on why he intentionally challenges corporate bias by showing up authentically in every boardroom he enters.

If this conversation hits home, subscribe, share with a colleague, and learn more about ConstructReach and the iReach podcast at constructreach.com.

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
01:00 Drew's Against-the-Odds Journey into Manufacturing
03:00 What Manufacturing Actually Makes — And Why It Matters
05:15 3D Printed Houses and the Future of Construction and Manufacturing
06:07 Why Representation Matters When Reaching Young People
08:05 Connecting Overlooked Communities to Career Opportunities
10:22 It's Not Charity — It's a Business Solution
12:25 The State of Manufacturing: Tariffs, Workforce Gaps, and National Security
15:13 Construction's Workforce Crisis: 4 Million Jobs by 2031
17:45 The Most In-Demand Skill: Grit and Determination
21:26 What Separates Shops That Survive from Shops That Scale
25:06 Bringing Back CTE, Shop Class, and Career Pathways
27:19 Investing in Messengers Who Speak the Community's Language
29:21 Challenging Bias and Showing Up Authentically
35:00 What Drew Tells an 18-Year-Old About Manufacturing Careers
40:34 Closing Thoughts and Looking Ahead

Subscribe & Review the iRea

Follow Paul Robinson
Connect with Paul Robinson on LinkedIn.
Follow ConstructReach on LinkedIn.
Follow ConstructReach on Instagram @contructreach
Check out the ConstructReach website at constructreach.com

This podcast is sponsored by Construct Reach.

As a workforce development initiative that builds reachable opportunities through construction, ConstructReach increases the visibility of the construction industry by educating students about career opportunities within construction, connecting general contractors to interns and innovative internship curricula, creating content and experiences to expose a diverse population to sustainable construction careers, and uniting stakeholders to ensure the construction industry continues to thrive.

#IReachPodcast #PaulRobinson #ConstructReach

In this episode, Paul Robinson challenges one of the most common assumptions in construction and workforce development: that young people simply “don’t want to work.”

Speaking from experience hosting I Built This events across the country, Paul pushes back on the narrative and argues that the issue is not motivation, it is exposure.

Through conversations with high school students at an I Built This event, we hear directly from the next generation. Many admit they had little to no knowledge of the range of careers available in construction before attending. After exposure, their mindset shifts. Trades become real options. Debt-free pathways become attractive. Entrepreneurship becomes visible.

This episode reframes the labor shortage conversation. If young people do not know what the industry offers, the responsibility falls on the industry to make itself visible.

🎧 Subscribe, share, and learn more at https://constructreach.com

In this episode:

00:00 The “young people don’t want to work” myth

01:26 Generational assumptions and perspective

02:08 Hands-on mentorship and learning at IBT

03:23 Seeing the fruit of your labor in construction

04:29 Exposure changes everything

05:39 The industry’s responsibility to create visibility

06:33 Making informed decisions requires information

06:47 Debt-free pathways and skilled trades

07:47 Aging workforce and pipeline urgency

08:00 Students discovering opportunities they didn’t know existed

09:36 Early exposure through family influence

10:46 Why exposure during school matters

11:29 Technology, hands-on work, and different giftings

12:22 Self-inventory for employers

12:39 Labor shortage as opportunity

13:16 Students reflect on painting station and entrepreneurship

13:35 Growth requires vulnerability

Subscribe & Review the iReach Podcast

If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with our friends, and leave us a review. We read every single one.

Follow Paul Robinson
Connect with Paul Robinson on LinkedIn.
Follow ConstructReach on LinkedIn.
Follow ConstructReach on Instagram @contructreach
Check out the ConstructReach website at constructreach.com

This podcast is sponsored by Construct Reach.

As a workforce development initiative that builds reachable opportunities through construction, ConstructReach increases the visibility of the construction industry by educating students about career opportunities within construction, connecting general contractors to interns and innovative internship curricula, creating content and experiences to expose a diverse population to sustainable construction careers, and uniting stakeholders to ensure the construction industry continues to thrive.

#IReachPodcast #PaulRobinson #ConstructReach