About KinTrades
The skilled trades hiring platform — connecting workers, employers, and partners
KinTrades™ is a skills-first hiring platform that connects skilled trades workers with employers — through Skill Profiles, automated matching, and reliability signals — without long applications or sorting through unqualified candidates.
Why We Built KinTrades
Plenty of platforms list skilled trades jobs. Almost none are built for the workers our communities count on — neighbors rebuilding their lives after incarceration, veterans bringing military trade experience home, high school seniors stepping into a career instead of a four-year degree, parents in workforce programs working their way up. Those workers have real skills. The systems most platforms run on filter them out before an employer ever sees them.
Ed is a CTE teacher. He watches his students every year try to find a pathway into the trades — and most of them don't have one. Shanell spent months in the field listening to trades workers and employers describe the same gap from the other side. And together, as people who hire trades workers for our own properties, we knew this wasn't a problem we were observing. It was one we lived.
So we built KinTrades — a platform where workers show what they can do with photos and videos of real work, and the employers, training programs, and community partners around them can finally see them for it.
Communities We Serve
Inclusive hiring isn't a feature we tacked on — it's the reason we exist. KinTrades is built around the workers our communities count on, and the partners who walk alongside them.
Workers rebuilding after incarceration
Returning citizens with real skills and the determination to use them. Employer signals like Federal Bonding eligibility and a Second Chance Friendly indicator help employers say yes with confidence.
Veterans translating military trade experience
Heavy equipment, electrical, welding, mechanical — military service builds real trades skills. KinTrades helps veterans show that work to civilian employers in language those employers recognize.
Students stepping into the trades
High school seniors and young adults choosing a career path over a four-year degree. KinTrades gives them a way into the workforce with employers actively hiring entry-level talent.
Workforce program graduates
TANF participants, WIOA enrollees, and graduates of community training programs — workers who've done the work to gain skills and are ready to put them to use.
Workers without traditional credentials
Years of on-the-job experience that doesn't fit on a resume. Photos and videos of real work speak for themselves.
The partners walking alongside them
Workforce boards, reentry programs, community colleges, faith-based organizations, and CTE programs we build alongside — not channels we extract from.
How the Platform Works
Purpose-built for practical hiring decisions in the skilled trades.
Skills-First Profiles
Workers create Skill Profiles with photos, videos, and work experience.
Smart Matching
Our matching algorithm scores every match on skill fit and suitability.
Reliability Scoring
A general readiness score visible to employers.
Hiring Benefits
Auto-identifies Federal Bonding and WIOA OJT eligibility when offers are extended. WOTC tracking activates automatically if Congress reauthorizes the program.
Deadline Tracking
Filing deadline reminders and pre-filled IRS Form 8850 + ETA 9061 ready to download when WOTC is reauthorized.
45+ Trades · 12 Families
From construction, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC to welding, heavy equipment, transportation, and energy — every major skilled trade family.
Who Uses KinTrades
Employers
Post jobs, browse worker profiles with skill photos and videos, and access built-in hiring benefits — bonding, training reimbursement, and tax credits. Our match algorithm surfaces the best candidates first.
Workers
Build your profile in minutes. Instead of a resume, show what you can do with photos and videos of your actual work. Get matched with employers hiring in your trade and area. Skills-first — your skills speak for themselves, regardless of your background.
Partners
Workforce boards, training programs, community colleges, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, reentry programs, and veterans organizations. Built-in placement tracking supports GO Virginia, WIOA, and federal grant compliance.
In the Community
KinTrades partnered with Anacostia River Church to support the Nationwide Day of Second Chances Job Fair in Washington, D.C. (April 2026). Employers including UPS posted open roles on KinTrades and connected with skilled trades workers rebuilding their careers.
Our Founders
Shanell Guardo — CEO & Founder
Shanell Guardo is the founder and CEO of KinTrades. She spent months conducting field research with trades workers and employers across Virginia, North Carolina, D.C., and Maryland — and found a consistent, unaddressed gap: credentialed tradespeople had no effective way to demonstrate their skills-first value to employers. KinTrades was built to close that gap.
Shanell holds a Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia, an MBA, and a PMP certification. She is a veteran of the United States Air Force, where she served in the Medical Service Corps, and has served as a GS-15 Program Manager supporting large-scale federal technology modernization programs. She currently serves as a Principal Product Management Engineer in the technology industry and leads KinTrades in parallel. KinTrades is an independent company; no employer endorsement is implied.
Ed Guardo — Co-Founder
Ed Guardo is Co-Founder of KinTrades and Director of Employer Network Development. He brings 13+ years of direct industry experience in engineering, construction, and heavy equipment operations — the exact sectors KinTrades targets for worker placement. During his U.S. Army service he worked as a construction supervisor and heavy equipment operator, and later served as a commissioned Military Police officer and as Assistant Professor of Military Science at Gonzaga University.
Ed holds a Master of Science in Organization and Security Management from Webster University and a post-master's teaching certification from the University of Virginia. He currently works in career and technical education as a Senior Army Instructor, supporting high school seniors as they explore post-graduation pathways into the skilled trades. That day-to-day visibility into what graduating workers actually need informs KinTrades' product design. KinTrades is an independent company; no employer endorsement is implied.
Together, Shanell and Ed own and operate rental properties — where Ed handles much of the hands-on trade work, and where they both regularly hire and engage skilled trades workers. They are employers in this market, not just observers of it.
About KinTech
KinTrades is a product of KinTech, LLC — an impact-driven technology company that builds and incubates platforms across workforce, defense, healthcare, financial services, and public-sector technology.
KinTech brings together product thinking, technical execution, and community-centered design to build systems that create durable opportunity across industries.
Certifications
Federal
KinTech, LLC holds the following federal certifications and registrations:
SAM.gov registration is required to conduct business with the U.S. federal government and to receive federal grants and contracts.
State — Virginia SBSD
KinTech, LLC is also certified by the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity (SBSD):
These certifications may help your organization meet diversity procurement goals or access funding reserved for certified partners.