Skilled Trades Career Fair
Meet the people who build, wire, fix, drive and power Northern Virginia. Walk the tables, ask what the first year looks like, and find out what a trade pays before you decide anything.
Students of every grade are welcome, in an academy or not, and parents and guardians are encouraged to join as well. This is exploration only: nobody will ask you to apply, sign anything or share personal information.
College is one path. This is the afternoon to see the others.
Most people can name two trades. There are more than 60 skilled roles hiring within driving distance of Burke, many with paid training from day one. The employers in the room are the ones doing that hiring.
Apprenticeships and on-the-job training
Many trades pay from the first week and cover certifications along the way. Ask each table what their first year looks like and what it costs you. Often the answer is nothing.
What each trade actually pays here
Every trade area below shows a regional wage range from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, not a brochure estimate. Compare it with the cost of the route you were already planning.
Employers who need people now
Data centers, housing, transit, hospitals and schools all run on skilled trades. The employers at the fair are hiring in Fairfax County and the surrounding region, and many hire graduates at 18.
Students: explore the trade paths on the KinTrades student page.
Come when you can. Stay as long as you like.
- 3:00 PMDoors open at Door 1
Straight into the library. Grab a trade map at the welcome table and start anywhere.
- Walk the tablesTables grouped by trade area
Ask what a first year looks like, what it pays, what training is paid for, and what they look for in someone new.
- 3:00 – 6:00 PMParents and guardians welcome
Come with your student or on your own. Ask the questions you would ask a college rep. The answers tend to surprise people.
- 6:00 PMDoors close
Take the information home. Nobody will follow up with you unless you ask them to.
The fair is the start. The spring is built from what you pick.
Your picks on this page and the questions you ask on December 1 tell the College & Career Center which trades Lake Braddock students actually want. The spring session is shaped by that: a panel, a few deep-dive sessions on the most-picked trades, or both.
- Which trade areas got the most picks, by grade
- Which tables stayed busiest at the fair
- What families asked that nobody could answer yet
- Which employers want to come back for the spring session
Hiring in Northern Virginia? Reserve a table.
Tables are grouped by trade area. You meet students a year or two before they decide, and the parents who influence that decision. Bring the people who do the work; students respond to them more than to recruiters.
- Tuesday, December 1, 2026. Set up from 2:15 PM, fair 3:00 to 6:00 PM, Lake Braddock library
- Table and two chairs provided. Tell us if you need power or floor space for a demonstration
- Exploration only. Students are minors; no applications or sign-ups at the table
- No cost to exhibit. Tables are grouped by the 13 trade areas students explore on this page, so students find you by the work you do
Questions
Students and families
Lake Braddock College & Career Center, Room L-102
703-426-1192
Employers and community partners
KinTrades partnerships
partners@kintrades.com
Want to keep exploring before the fair? Start with the KinTrades student page, then go deeper on every trade area above at Explore the Trades. Exploring is open to everyone; KinTrades accounts are for adults 18 and older.