Blue Collar Labs

501(c)(3) nonprofit · founded by working electricians

AI for the Trades.
Built by tradesmen, for tradesmen.

$242 billion went into AI last year. Zero reached the 10 million skilled workers who keep America running. We're changing that — for the apprentice on the tools and the shop running them — by building tools you'll actually use, teaching the AI literacy you deserve, and defending your shop from AI-powered threats.

$242B
invested in AI in 2024
$0
directed to the skilled trades
10M+
US tradesmen underserved
3:1
retirees to new tradespeople in NJ

Three pillars

Build. Teach. Defend.

We don't do philanthropy to tradespeople — we do the work with them. Every tool we ship, every class we teach, every audit we run is pressure-tested in real shops.

Who this is for

Pick your bay.

Most "AI for business" pitches go to the boss. We pitch to both — because the apprentice who learns this first is the one who walks into the shop on Monday with a workflow the owner didn't know existed.

If you're on the tools

AI didn't take your job. It's about to make you the one who knows it.

Apprentice, journeyman, solo op — the workers who learn this first stop getting yelled at, start getting raises, and walk into the shop with workflows the boss never asked for. Free seat every cohort for low-income tradespeople, no proof required.

If you run the shop

Train the crew. Audit the gaps. Stop losing $48k Tuesdays.

Crew rollouts, phishing audits, voice-clone drills, AI workflow training — customized to your trade and stack. We come to your bay or run it remote. Pilot pricing for the first 10 shops in NJ.

BCL App · Coming soon

AI coach in your pocket. Every trade.

Snap a photo. Ask in plain language. Get an answer that isn't dumbed down — with safety, code, and credentialed-work caveats called out plainly. iOS + Android. We're polishing the last edges.

Join the waitlist →

First access when TestFlight + Play Store builds open.

Why it matters

Hope is not an inventory system.

The tools tradespeople have been given to run their businesses are garbage. Clipboards, text threads, parts counts done from memory. Meanwhile the workforce is aging out — three retirees for every new tradesperson in NJ. We exist to close that gap with tools, training, and protection that actually work on a job site.

SROI

$1 donated → $80–$160 in trade-worker value

  • • Hours saved per contractor per week
  • • Jobs won through faster, accurate estimates
  • • Shops hardened against AI-driven threats
  • • Tradespeople certified in applied AI

Stay in the loop

Quarterly updates from the field.

No spam. New tools, workshop dates, pilot results, and the occasional rant about clipboards. Unsubscribe whenever.