Welders, electricians, pipefitters, millwrights and machinists are some of the hardest workers to hire in the country. Plants, contractors and shipyards often need them on short notice, for a set number of weeks, with certifications already in hand. That is the gap skilled trades staffing agencies fill.
Most general staffing firms can send a laborer. Far fewer can screen a combination welder, confirm a certification or move a crew of pipefitters to another state. For employers comparing skilled trade staffing agencies in the U.S., three firms publicly specialize in the trades: CTR Group, Tradesmen International and PeopleReady Skilled Trades.
This guide compares them on the trades they cover, the industries they serve, how far they reach, the hiring models they offer and the support they give tradespeople. It closes with the questions to ask any agency before you sign.
1. CTR Group
CTR Group has recruited and placed skilled tradespeople since 1987. The company is headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, with offices in Portsmouth, Virginia; National City, California; and Mobile, Alabama, and it staffs travel assignments at shipyards and plants in other states.
CTR’s skilled trades staffing services sit alongside more than a dozen industry divisions, including marine and shipyard, industrial and manufacturing, energy, aerospace and aviation and government and defense. That mix matters when a trade crosses industries: the pipefitter who works a ship repair may also be the right fit for a refinery outage or a manufacturing line.
Trades CTR places
- Welders, including structural, pipe, MIG and TIG welders
- Pipefitters
- Boilermakers
- Carpenters
- Ship fitters
- Inside and outside machinists
- CNC machinists and programmers
- Electricians and electrical assemblers
- Quality control and NDT inspectors
- Crane operators, painters, fire watch and maintenance mechanics
Hiring models and workforce development
Employers can use CTR for temporary, contract, temp-to-hire and direct hire placements, plus executive search for leadership roles. For shortages that recruiting alone can’t solve, CTR’s Trades Training Program trains new workers to an employer’s own standards. That builds a pipeline instead of competing for the same small pool of experienced tradespeople.
Support for tradespeople
Candidates can browse open skilled trades jobs on CTR’s job board, where every opening has its own page, or read about trade careers in CTR’s Positions hub. CTR also runs safety programs and project-orientation resources for the workers it places.
2. Tradesmen International
Tradesmen International is one of the largest skilled labor staffing firms in the U.S. and was named to the SIA list of Largest US Staffing Firms 2024. It describes a network of nearly 150 local labor market service teams and centers on skilled construction labor, with practices in energy, shipyard and marine, industrial and manufacturing, institutional and data center work.
Its trades include electricians, HVAC technicians, ironworkers, linemen, masons, millwrights, plumbers, riggers, welders, pipefitters and carpenters. Tradesmen promotes a “CORE + Flex” approach, in which a contractor keeps a lean full-time crew and adds flexible craft labor as projects demand, and it offers productivity consulting and OSHA training.
3. PeopleReady Skilled Trades
PeopleReady Skilled Trades is the skilled trades division of PeopleReady, a TrueBlue company. It concentrates on the construction and energy sectors, including data center construction and commercial solar, and also supports marine projects and traveling tradespeople.
The division staffs carpenters, welders, electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, concrete workers, sheet metal mechanics, solar installers and heavy equipment operators, from a single worker to a coordinated crew. Employers get staffing, direct placement and safety and compliance support. Workers can find and manage jobs through PeopleReady’s JobStack app and earn rewards through its Respect the Craft program.
Comparing skilled trades staffing agencies
All three supply skilled tradespeople, but each is built around a different kind of employer.
| CTR Group | Tradesmen International | PeopleReady Skilled Trades | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core focus | Shipyard, industrial, manufacturing and defense trades | Skilled construction labor | Construction and energy trades |
| Footprint | Offices in Hampton Roads, San Diego and Mobile, plus travel assignments | Nearly 150 local service teams | PeopleReady branch network and traveling tradespeople |
| Hiring models | Temporary, contract, temp-to-hire, direct hire and executive search | Contingent craft labor (“CORE + Flex”) | Staffing and direct placement |
| Workforce development | Trades Training Program | Productivity consulting and OSHA training | Workforce development program |
| For tradespeople | Career site with a page for every job | Tradesmen+ rewards program | JobStack app and Respect the Craft rewards |
If most of your work is commercial construction, Tradesmen International and PeopleReady Skilled Trades were built for it. If your trades work happens inside shipyards, plants and defense or industrial facilities, or you want one partner for skilled trades as well as engineering, IT and office roles, CTR Group’s division structure covers more of that ground.
What should employers look for in a skilled trades staffing agency?
Before you sign with any agency, ask how it handles each of these:
- Trade testing: does it test skills, such as a weld test or a blueprint-reading check, or only review a résumé?
- Certifications: does it verify welding certifications, OSHA 10 or 30 cards and any site badges or clearances before the first day?
- Industry fit: has it staffed your kind of work, whether ship repair, a plant shutdown or new construction?
- Mobilization: can it move a crew to another city, and who arranges travel and lodging?
- Hiring models: can you start with temporary or contract workers and move the best ones to your payroll?
- Safety: what orientation do workers get before they start, and how are incidents reported?
- Bench depth: how many qualified tradespeople in your trade can it reach this week?
An agency that answers these clearly is more likely to send people who are ready to work and who stay on the job.
When should you use a skilled trades temp agency?
Temporary and contract tradespeople make sense when the work has a clear start and end: a plant shutdown or turnaround, a ship availability, a capital project, a seasonal production peak, or coverage while you recruit for a permanent role. You bring in the labor you need for as long as you need it, and the agency handles recruiting and onboarding.
For steady, long-term roles, direct hire or temp-to-hire is usually the better fit. CTR’s temporary staffing and direct hire teams can help you decide which mix suits a given project.
How do you find a skilled trades staffing agency near you?
A nearby office helps, but the better test is whether the agency already knows your local trades market: which yards and plants are hiring, what tradespeople earn there and how quickly they move between employers.
CTR Group has offices in Newport News and Portsmouth, Virginia; National City, California; and Mobile, Alabama. For local comparisons, see our guides to the best skilled trades staffing agencies in Mobile, AL and leading San Diego skilled trades and shipyard staffing firms.
Looking for a skilled trades staffing agency in the U.S.?
CTR Group places welders, pipefitters, machinists, electricians and other skilled tradespeople with shipyards, manufacturers and industrial employers. Learn more about CTR’s skilled trades staffing, read about the Trades Training Program or request an employee to talk through your next project.
Tradespeople can search current CTR openings or explore the trades CTR hires for in the Positions hub.
For more on the skilled trades workforce, see:
