What Happens After You Hit Submit

A nomination doesn't disappear into a void. Here's the full process from submit to delivery.

Same day: Confirmation.

You'll get an automated confirmation email immediately. Save it — in case you ever need to follow up.

Within 1–2 weeks: Review and verification.

A board member or program lead reviews the nomination. We verify the credential, the program, and the post-graduation destination. If anything's missing or unclear, we email you — usually with a single specific question, not a form to refill.

If we have questions for the student (we usually don't), we'll loop them in.

Approval: Notification to nominator and student.

When a nomination is approved, both you and your student get an email. The student's email includes instructions for the next step: building the shopping cart.

Tool list build: Student-driven.

The student puts together a list of tools they need for the trade they're entering. We point them at the right vendors and give them a working budget. They build the cart and send it to us. If they're not sure what to put on it, we help — often by asking them to check with their apprenticeship coordinator, employer, or journeyman.

This usually takes a week or two, depending on how fast the student moves.

Purchase and ship.

We buy the tools. They ship to the address the student (or you, if you've requested it) provided.

Delivery: Before they start the job.

The goal is for the tools to arrive before the first day of the apprenticeship or job. We plan backwards from the start date. If we're cutting it close, we tell you so you can adjust expectations with the student.

After delivery: We follow up.

About a month after delivery, we check in with the student to make sure everything arrived in good shape and they're using the tools. Not for paperwork — just because we care. If anything was missing, damaged, or wrong, we make it right.

That's the whole arc. From your fifteen minutes on the nomination form to a working set of tools in your graduate's hands on day one of their career.

Ready to nominate?Open the nomination form →