Brian Drucks describes his musical style as classic rock with an R&B feel, akin to Al Green singing Rolling Stones songs. But he knows that to promote the band he plays with on weekends, people need to hear them, not just read a text description.

The same goes for hiring. Reading a resume is not the same as seeing a candidate's actual skills, especially in the construction and trades industries.

To that end, Drucks founded the social platform Where Trades Go. The platform announced a partnership with Passaic County Community College in New Jersey on May 14. Drucks said the platform currently has about 3,500 users and plans to announce partnerships with three more schools in the Garden State, with hopes of further expansion.

Here, Drucks discusses with Construction Dive the platform's dating app origins, the state of the emerging workforce, and risk mitigation in hiring.

Editor's note: The following is an edited excerpt of the interview, condensed for brevity and clarity.

Construction Dive: What is Where Trades Go? How did this app get started?

Brian Drucks: I've been working in construction in the family business since I was 14, and I'm still involved. I have a commercial painting company that has worked on projects like MetLife Stadium and American Dream. But in the various roles I've held, I realized our biggest problem is the workforce. Labor accounts for 60% to 80% of our billing. The labor shortage is out of control.

Everyone is doing the same thing: 'Send me your resume, send me your resume, maybe we'll use AI to read it.' But resumes don't work for people in construction, just like they don't work for musicians. You have to hear them. In construction, you have to see their work.

The concept actually came from dating apps. I went to a small town I had just arrived in and saw a lot of people out on a Wednesday night. Most were in their fifties, many single. The next night in another place, it was the same. I asked, 'How do you all know each other? Everyone seems to know everyone.' They all said they met on dating apps.

I realized this is the future of old-school networking in the business world, and that's exactly what this app is. It's an old-fashioned matchmaker, but using dating app technology, connecting people at all levels who want to enter the trades, are already in the industry, or want to find teaching positions after retirement. It also pairs them with educational institutions and employment agencies.

How does the app work?

Schools have all students create profiles, just like a dating app. The difference is in our checkboxes. For example, if you have an OSHA 30 certification, or any certification, you can check those boxes.

But on our platform, you have to upload all of that to make it visible. You have to upload pictures or videos of your work. You have to verify your identity through government databases and your photo.

We are reducing hiring risk. Contractors can go to any local vocational school and hire students or alumni for free through the school's website.

Are you seeing interest in the construction industry from the emerging workforce?

There's definitely interest. Interest is higher than ever because associations and nonprofits are working to spark it. The biggest disconnect is that young people entering the trades today know nothing about the trades. They haven't built treehouses, built go-karts, or used tools and hammers.

Honestly, for many, families see that college costs $250,000 and decide, 'That's not feasible, let's look at the trades.' So yes, that sparks interest, but it's based solely on saving money, with no other reason.

I think the retention rate we're seeing is about 35%. The rest are dropping out. About 70% of the failures, I believe, are due to two reasons. One is that newcomers have unrealistic expectations about the industry. They don't really understand construction. The second is the way people already in the industry mentor them; they don't know how to communicate with a 20-year-old or a 17-year-old. So there's friction, and that friction is causing harm.

How is this platform different from other hiring platforms?

You can think of this app as a connector, but also as a risk mitigation or screening tool. If during the onboarding process, I ask you to do 10 things and you only do 5, imagine when I bring you to a construction site and you only complete half your tasks, or get 3 out of 10 wrong. That's the pain point in construction hiring.

It takes 90 days to truly understand that pain. That's why most benefits typically don't kick in until after 90 days. If you hire someone at $18 an hour and train them for three months, you've invested at least $30,000. So if I'm a hiring company, I'm definitely avoiding risk, avoiding hiring a newcomer who hasn't been screened in some way.

We hear a lot of companies resist taking the risk of hiring new people and bearing that risk alone. They want an intermediary between those entering the trades and those hiring. That could be a union apprenticeship program or a vocational school.

Because if you pay to go to trade school, or go through a union's interview and apprenticeship program, then by the time of hiring, you've already eliminated 80% of the risk associated with it.