The Emerging Leaders Program is a transformative seven-month program that equips high-potential individuals with the skills and experiences to excel as leaders within their organizations and the electrical industry at large. Over the course of the program, participants engage in dynamic learning experiences that combine leadership development, workforce solutions, and strategic industry impact. Learn more about the program and cohort members here.
View the 2025 project here.
This year’s Emerging Leader Cohort focused their project on creating a central space for apprentices, safety managers, owners, and more to ask questions and learn from their peers in the electrical contracting industry.
Built by the electrical industry, for the electrical industry. A space — not a class, not a webinar — where anyone from apprentice to owner can ask what they can’t ask on the job site, and learn from people who’ve actually been there.
Not a class. Not a webinar. A real conversation.
TradeTalk is built by the electrical industry, for the electrical industry. Small national groups of 10–12 professionals (apprentices, journeymen, foremen, estimators, project managers, contractors, owners, and CFOs) meet virtually to talk shop, solve real problems, and support each other. No slides required. No pressure. No sales.
Topics the group talks through and shapes together:
This list is a starting point, not a curriculum; every group can suggest and shape its own topics as the conversation evolves.
This project was created by the 2025 IEC Emerging Leaders Cohort to inspire curiosity, build awareness, and create new entry points into the electrical trade. Meet the team and explore our mission.
Apprentice · Journeyman · Foreman · Estimator · Project Manager · Contractor / Owner · CFO
Learn directly from people with decades in the field.
Meet people in the trade outside your own market, company, or region.
Ask the question you can’t ask your own crew or your own boss.
Apprentices and owners in the same conversation = fresh perspective both ways.
The session is scheduled, but the relationships aren’t. Text, call, or meet up between sessions.
As an IEC National space, there’s no cost to join or take part in the conversation.
The Member – Any IEC-affiliated electrical professional, apprentice through CFO. Join a group, show up, take part.
The Facilitator – Guides the monthly conversation and keeps it safe, on-topic, and welcoming for every experience level.
Joining a group means meeting for one hour, regularly, with the same people. That consistency is what turns a call into a real working relationship. And you’re free to connect with the group in between sessions too: ask a question, make a call, or plan to meet up in person.
All participants should adhere to the Code of Conduct to remain in good standing with their group:
Please note: this table is representative of the day of the week and time that groups will meet. Meetings will take place the weeks of August 24th, September 7th, and September 21st.
Complete the sign-up form below, and one of the TradeTalk moderators will follow up with an official calendar invitation via email.
J. Turner
Estimator, Ohio
M. Reyes
Apprentice, Texas
D. Whitfield
Foreman, Colorado
R. Coleman
Business Owner, Georgia
A. Coulson
Project Manager, Tennessee
P. Keene
Journeyman, Illinois
Chat with an Emerging Leaders cohort member.
Josh Ables
(740) 260-4604
John Valentine
(513) 310-8536
Andres Hernandez
(470) 406-2269
Or email IEC National Emerging Leaders Program lead, Sarah Tiwana.
