On this week’s episode of The Friday Nooner, BlueRecruit CEO Rich Camacho joined Pete, Joe and Chantal to discuss both his path to forming the recruiting platform for blue-collar workers and the Triangle technology news of the week.
BlueRecruit is a Raleigh-based startup that Camacho describes as a “Match.com for plumbers.” Essentially, it is a job marketplace for people in trade industries to find work. Before BlueRecruit, Camacho was a West Point graduate who then worked in sales for Alliance Careers. (We first wrote about BlueRecruit in March, 2020.)
Here are some highlights from the show:
- Pete, Joe and Chantal spoke about a range of tech news this week. Chip giant Broadcom acquired software maker VMware for a whopping $61 billion after several rumors circulated last year that Broadcom would purchase Cary-based SAS. Chantal also discussed her WRAL TechWire story on VentureSouth boosting operations in the Triangle, which makes sense when you consider that 40 percent of VentureSouth’s invested dollars have been put to work in the Triangle.
- Once Camacho arrived, he told the trio about the story behind BlueRecruit. It all stemmed from a discussion he had with his father-in-law, who was struggling to recruit for his auto body shop. The traditional job marketplaces used keyword search processes that weren’t really relevant to blue-collar jobs, and Camacho hypothesized that there could be a better way. Thus, BlueRecruit’s current platform launched in fall 2020.
- There has long been a stigma against blue-collar workers, according to Camacho. But this stigma, in an age of labor shortages, is seeing a shift for the better. Many trade vocations can return a six-figure salary within three years, and these workers bypass the debt that often accompanies people who attended four-year universities. In the current job market, BlueRecruit has seen increasing employer demand.
Thanks to the sponsor for this quarter, which is our upcoming GrepBeat tech conference Grep-a-palooza. The one-day event will be held on June 9 at the Durham Convention Center. Get your tickets here.
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