Part 2: Why 9 out of 10 new trade schools never make it to launch

Getting approved on paper doesn’t mean you’re ready to take students.
Now you need the systems that make your school actually work — and that’s where most people get buried.

Trade school owners fall into a deadly trap:
They stop evolving.

• Step 1: Build your tech stack

  You’ll need:

  • LMS (Learning Management System) for online delivery

  • CRM for student enrollment and follow-up

  • Document retention platform that meets FERPA and SOC-2 standards

  • Automation tools for email, attendance, and progress tracking

  Your LMS must be SCORM-compliant, show time-in-course, and produce progress reports on demand, or you’ll fail your first audit.

  Step 2: Curriculum alignment

  Your courses must match the job titles recognized by your state’s workforce board.
  If your CNA curriculum doesn’t align with CIP 51. 3902 (Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant/Aide), it will get rejected.

  Every lesson must map to employable skills.
  Boards check this line by line.

  Step 3: Build employer pipelines

  You’ll need verified partnerships — not just letters — with businesses willing to interview your graduates.
  Many boards now demand a written hiring commitment or even OJT agreements (on-the-job training).

  Without these, you might get approved but never see a single referral.

  Step 4: Prepare for funding audits

  Every tuition invoice must match:

  • The exact course code listed in the state portal

  • The student’s training authorization

  • Their attendance hours

  If one date is off — even by a day — your payment can be frozen 30–45 days.

  Boards love to spot inconsistencies.
  One bad audit can suspend your approval for a year.

  Step 5: Build your internal operations

  You’ll need:

  • A student handbook

  • Refund policy compliant with your state

  • Instructor handbook

  • Emergency plan and ADA policy

  • Quarterly reporting templates

  These are not copy-paste documents; each must reference your state code, licensing body, and contact info.

  We will wrap this up for you all in Part 3