Bring Back the Trades (BBTT), a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to bridging the workforce gap, has announced the appointment of Tom Milligan to its board of directors.

Milligan is the owner and president of Daniels Electric Corporation (DEC), a second-generation, full-service electrical contracting company based in Gilford, New Hampshire. He was raised in a blue-collar family with deep roots in the trades and grew up around the family business, where he developed an early appreciation for the craftsmanship and hard work behind the industry. He graduated from Boston University's Questrom School of Business in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, concentrating in finance.

Milligan joined Daniels Electric full-time in 2006 and became a founding principal of Metro North Electric, LLC, DEC's sister company, in 2014. He was named President of DEC in 2020, and under his leadership the company doubled its revenue by 2025. Most recently, he founded the Gerard T. Milligan Electrical Training Academy, named in honor of DEC's founder. The Academy is a state-accredited electrical apprenticeship school and continuing education center serving employees of Daniels Electric and Metro North Electric.

Steve Turner, founder and CEO of Bring Back the Trades, points to the Milligan Academy as proof of what's possible when a trades business takes training seriously, and part of why he pushed for Milligan to join the board.

"Tom didn't wait for someone else to solve the pipeline problem — he built a school and named it after his father," said Turner. "He's got a trades background, a business education, and he built a training program from scratch. We're excited to have that mix on the board."

For Milligan, the appointment is personal as much as professional. He's watched the labor shortage play out firsthand on his own job sites, and started the Academy because he got tired of waiting for the industry to catch up.

"Young people need easier access to training and better information about what a trades career can bring to their lives," said Milligan. "Bring Back the Trades is getting in front of kids before they've written off the trades as a real career option. I want to help them reach more of those kids, faster."

Milligan and his wife, Lauren, owner of Backdrop Interior Design, live in New Hampshire's Lakes Region with their three children. Outside of work, they spend much of their time at their children's sporting events, on the golf course, and boating on Lake Winnipesaukee.