Skilled Trades Posts can be organized around one of many in-demand vocational and technical areas, including auto mechanics, drafting, culinary arts, construction, hairstyling, and plumbing.

Auto Mechanics
• Learn and demonstrate mechanical drawings by drawing a mechanical drawing device.
• Learn how manual and automatic transmissions work
• Take apart and reassemble a carburetor or equivalent part.
• Learn how the entire drive train of an automobile works
• Learn the function of different tools mechanics use, including computer diagnostic equipment.
• Learn how to perform an oil change. Change the oil on your own car or that of a friend or relative.
• Practice changing a tire.

Culinary Arts
• Have the post bake treats and sell them at a bake sale. Use the money for the post treasury.
• Learn how to make a souffle
• Take a nutrition course.
• Learn how to make homemade ice cream. Invent your own flavor of ice cream and have a taste test with the rest of the post.
• Organize a community service project, such as cooking dinner for the guests at Ronald McDonald House.
• Explore different cooking methods. Learn how to poach, smoke, steam, broil, bake, roast, grill and saute.
• Download one of the lesson plans from the Culinary Institute of America and learn it as a post.

Construction
• Identify different kinds of wood and be able to name each wood's characteristics and suitability for different purposes.
• Learn how to use different hand tools and be able to demonstrate their use.
• Demonstrate the safe use of common power tools, including an electric drill, power saw, sander or nail gun.
• Learn how to properly care for tools
• Learn how to sharpen a chisel or plane.
• Learn how to sand wood manually and with a power sander.
• Learn how to make a simple 45-degree miter cut, then learn how to make a compound miter cut.
• Build a shelf, birdhouse, flower box or other wood project using hand tools.
• Lead a community youth group, class or day-care center group in building a wood project.
• Learn how to read blueprints.
• Design a blueprint for a personal project or help another Explorer develop a blueprint.
• Visit a residential or commercial job site to watch carpenters at work, or work as an assistant for a day.
• Work on a community service project, such as Habitat for Humanity.
• Visit a drafting company that uses a computer-aided design (CAD) system to see how computers are used in design work.
• Make a schematic drawing that explains how hot and cold water pipes work in your home.
• Learn how to protect pipes from freezing in cold weather.
• Learn the advantages and disadvantages of using PVC and copper pipe for plumbing purposes. Determine code requirements for using these materials in your area.
• Arrange a tour of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility and lead a post discussion on the function and job requirements of that facility.
• Explain different electrical terms, such as volt, ampere, watt, ohm, resistance, potential difference, rectifier, rheostat, conductor, ground, circuit and short circuit.