Trade Institute of Pittsburgh

Name

Trade Institute of Pittsburgh

Legal name

The Trade Institute of Pittsburgh

Website

https://tipgh.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations:

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Trade Institute of Pittsburgh is a non-profit vocational training provider offering a tuition-free 10-week Masonry Program (340 hours of station-based competency training) and an optional advanced Carpentry Program in which students build a shed to learn standard construction practices. The training is delivered in person at the Homewood, Pittsburgh facility and is paired with life skills classes, individual life coaching, case management, and career placement with regional employer partners.

Product overview

The Trade Institute of Pittsburgh (TIP) is a single, integrated non-profit vocational training program rather than a platform-plus-modules technology product. Its core offering is a tuition-free 10-week Masonry Program, from which qualifying students can advance into the Carpentry Program; both sit at the heart of the curriculum. Wrapped around these core trade programs are supporting offerings: the Life Skills Curriculum (financial literacy, math for the trades, resume and interview coaching, driver's license preparation), The Circle (a daily reflection practice), Individual Life Coaching, and One-on-One Support through Case Management, all of which together remove barriers to sustained employment. Graduates are then placed into trade careers through Career Placement Services working with regional employer partners. TIP does not offer a software product, and the named components above collectively describe its service portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Masonry Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 340 hours of masonry fundamentals training per participant
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and minor.

• Covestro, LLCstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard President Aaron Lockhart is Head of Thermoplastic Urethanes, North America at Covestro, LLC. Board leadership role signals strategic alignment with corporate workforce development interests in advanced manufacturing and materials.
• UPMCstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Andrea Clark Smith is Associate Chief Legal Officer and Senior Vice President Employment Law, Labor Relations & Physician Contracting at UPMC. Board member Adrienne Miles leads UPMC Corporate Construction initiatives including the Diverse Contractor, Community Engagement, and Workforce Engagement program for the UPMC Presbyterian Expansion Hospital — a direct connection to construction trade career opportunities for TIP graduates.
• Harris Masonry Inc.strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Adam Harris is President of Harris Masonry Inc., a family masonry business. Deep industry expertise brought to TIP's masonry curriculum; Adam serves on the Construction Advancement Program of Western PA and Builders Guild of Western PA.
• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 57 (IUPAT DC 57)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Joe Hughes serves as Director of Government Relations for IUPAT DC 57 of Western PA. Connection supports TIP's graduate placement into union trades and apprenticeship pathways.
• Koppers Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Albert "Bert" Robertson is Director of Business Applications at Koppers Inc., responsible for Financial Applications, Business Intelligence, and Digital Transformation. Corporate representation on TIP's board.
• RAND CorporationminorOthersBoard Member Emeritus James M. Anderson is Director of the Justice Policy Program at the RAND Corporation. Brings criminal justice and policy expertise aligned with TIP's workforce reentry mission.
• Kline & SpecterminorOthersBoard member Conor Lamb is a partner at the plaintiffs' law firm Kline & Specter and adjunct professor at Duquesne University's Kline School of Law. Brings legal expertise and community mentorship background.
• ThoughtForm Inc.minorGTM or Marketing PartnerBoard member Reed Agnew is one of three founders of ThoughtForm Inc., a design consultancy. Likely contributor to TIP's brand identity and design assets.
• GuideStar (Candid)minorOthersTIP is registered with GuideStar.org under EIN 45-4235890, providing non-profit transparency and donor visibility.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Per Scholas: National nonprofit providing tuition-free workforce training (primarily tech) to adults facing barriers to employment, with wraparound career coaching and employer partnerships. Highly comparable operating model to TIP, differing only in trade (tech vs. construction).
• Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO): National nonprofit providing immediate employment services and coaching to people returning from incarceration. Highly comparable in serving the same reentry population with wraparound coaching, though its focus is on placement-first rather than long-form vocational training.
• Homeboy Industries: LA-based nonprofit offering holistic reentry services including vocational training and case management to formerly incarcerated and gang-involved individuals. Strongly comparable barrier-removal model and wraparound supports; differs by trade mix and geography.
• Year Up: Large national workforce-development nonprofit serving young adults from low-income communities with training, wraparound supports, and employer partnerships. Same barrier-population focus and integrated support model as TIP, though broader in industry coverage.

Direct peers

• Helmets to Hardhats: National nonprofit that places military veterans into registered construction apprenticeship programs. Direct peer in construction-trades workforce development with a barrier-population focus (veterans vs. reentry/underemployment) and similar employer-union placement model.
• Building Pathways: Boston-based pre-apprenticeship program preparing women and people of color for skilled construction-trades careers. Same construction-trades focus, same barrier-population targeting, and same pre-apprenticeship-to-placement pipeline as TIP.
• Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW): NYC-based nonprofit preparing women for careers in skilled construction trades, with pre-apprenticeship training, life-skills supports, and employer placement. Closest direct comparable in trades-specific barrier-population training, with the same apprenticeship-to-placement outcome model.
• IUPAT District Council 57 (Western PA): Local painters' and trades union apprenticeship program and TIP board partner. Operates in the same Western PA construction-trades labor market with a paid earn-while-you-learn pathway that competes with TIP's tuition-free pre-apprenticeship model.

Regional players

• Builders Guild of Western Pennsylvania: Regional construction-industry association in Western PA, with TIP board representation. Comparable regional construction-workforce intermediary serving the same employer base TIP feeds.
• Goodwill Industries of Pittsburgh: Regional Goodwill affiliate operating workforce-development and barrier-removal programs in the same Pittsburgh/Allegheny County market as TIP. Overlapping donor base, employer network, and target population.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=lknmWRswusg
• Facebookfacebook.com/TradeInstituteOfPittsburgh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trade-institute-of-pittsburgh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Trade Institute of Pittsburgh