Organization Name: Skilltrade
Executive Leader/Title: Sandy Mead, Vice President of Workforce Development
Website: www.skilltrade.com
Tell us about your organization’s mission and the communities you serve.
Skilltrade’s mission is to transform healthcare workforce training by providing short-term, hybrid programs that lead directly to national certification and employment. We serve job seekers, incumbent workers, and employers across the country, with a special focus on addressing staffing shortages in allied health roles such as Medical Assistants, Surgical Technicians, and Sterile Processing Technicians.
At the heart of our approach is creating partnerships that bring employers and workforce boards together to design and deliver the training programs most needed in each region. This collaboration ensures that healthcare employers’ staffing needs are met while providing job seekers with successful career pathways into stable, high-growth healthcare careers.
Skilltrade: Bridging Workforce Innovation and Healthcare Demand
Skilltrade may be a young company, but it’s already making a national impact by reimagining how healthcare training meets real-world hiring needs. Led by CEO Jason Aubrey and Vice President of Workforce Development Sandy Mead, Skilltrade delivers short-term, hybrid training programs that connect job seekers directly to national certification and employment in high-demand allied health careers.
From Medical Assistant to Surgical Technician and Sterile Processing Technician programs, Skilltrade’s model blends online learning, hands-on externships, and employer partnerships to prepare participants for meaningful work in healthcare systems across the country. The approach is both practical and forward-thinking, ensuring that hospitals and clinics can fill critical staffing shortages while residents gain access to stable, well-paying careers.
That mission came to life in Detroit, where Skilltrade launched a pilot program in partnership with Detroit at Work and Focus: HOPE. Working with major employers like Corewell Health, Henry Ford Health, EPIC Health, and Advantage Health, Skilltrade created a direct pipeline from training to employment. Many students are now completing externships and receiving credentials and job offers, a powerful demonstration of how collaboration between workforce boards, community-based organizations, and employers can solve regional workforce challenges.
Skilltrade’s connection with Midwest Urban Strategies has been key to that success. “Our very first MUS event helped spark the partnerships that made the Detroit pilot possible,” said Sandy Mead. “Through MUS, we’re not just introduced to partners, we’re part of an ongoing conversation about what’s working and what’s needed next.”
That network continues to grow. Recent collaborations with DisruptED have given Skilltrade a platform to share success stories, while new connections through Midwest Urban Strategies are opening doors to future partnerships that expand healthcare training opportunities and align employer needs with workforce priorities.
With over 50 years of combined leadership experience, the Skilltrade team is proving that innovation and impact can go hand in hand. By combining 3D simulation, gamified learning, and AI-driven interactivity, they’ve made workforce training both immersive and accessible. More than that, they’ve built a model that puts people at the center connecting job seekers, employers, and workforce partners through programs that create opportunity, build confidence, and strengthen communities.
Read the full Member Spotlight Interview: HERE
