Connecticut’s strong workforce has always been its most strategic economic asset. It is what has driven the productivity gains and inspired the innovation which allows us to compete in a global marketplace. It has been the single factor that has supported our quality of life in the state of Connecticut, but the pool of prospective employees is changing drastically. Connecticut’s unprecedented demographic changes have left us with a major economic and workforce dilemma. One of the hardest hit industries is the trades, which are the professions that no society can function without, and which take years to master.