Tommy Breedlove thought his HVAC days were over. After decades of climbing into hot Texas attics, he had moved on to driving trucks. Then his son, a plumbing instructor at North Texas Job Corps, called with an offer: “Dad, you taught me everything I know. Come teach them.”

In this episode of the iBuild America Podcast, host Damaris Casanova talks with Tommy about his unexpected move into teaching and about the young people who come to Job Corps looking for a fresh start.

Tommy explains how he earns trust with students who have been let down before, why he moved his classroom from textbooks to hands-on work, and why he’ll repeat a lesson 20 times if that’s what it takes. He covers why AI and robotics won’t replace skilled tradespeople, how HVAC can take someone from minimum wage to $30 an hour, and why employers shouldn’t write off Job Corps because of one bad experience.

In this episode:

• The phone call that brought Tommy back to HVAC as a teacher
• How students helped him redesign his training stations
• Why “sometimes guys just need a friend”
• Real-world customer service lessons for Texas-heat emergencies

• How HVAC works as an apprenticeship-style career path
• Why the trades matter more than ever in the age of AI
• Tommy’s advice for anyone unsure about their next step

If you’re 18 and figuring out what’s next, 35 and thinking about a career change, or an employer looking for motivated talent, this conversation shows what can happen when someone believes in you.

🎧 Listen now, and subscribe so you don’t miss the next story of people building America.

iBuild America Podcast: building workforce success, one podcast at a time.