Since the 90s, “shop class” has largely lived only in jokes as the kind of class you used to get sent to if you couldn’t handle “real” school. But with a massive shortage of skilled labor in America and roughly 40% of high school graduates not pursuing a four-year degree, the consequences of getting rid of shop class have been anything but funny. 

That’s why Metabo HPT is launching Bring Back Shop Class—a multi-prong campaign focused on solving this exact issue. In partnership with the Shop Class Foundation, they’re growing grassroots efforts to equip students with practical skills and knowledge about careers in the trades. To announce the partnership, we’re launching Shop Class: Undercover, a hidden camera film where a real graduate of the Shop Class Foundation is dressed up in old-man makeup and sent to take on real jobs from unsuspecting homeowners, highlighting just what’s possible when you give students the tools to succeed. 

The campaign is ongoing, with a Mobile Shop Class being built by actual shop-class students, influencers who are coming in to teach actual shop-class sessions, and PR work with original research on sentiment toward bringing shop class back everywhere. You can follow along with the ongoing work at metabo-hpt.com/bringbackshopclass.