Podcast Summary: The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe

Episode 461: Danny Combs—TACT, The Future of Workforce
Date: December 2, 2025
Guest: Danny Combs, Founder of TACT (Teaching the Autistic Community Trades)
Host: Mike Rowe

Episode Overview

This episode features an engaging and insightful conversation between Mike Rowe and Danny Combs, the founder of TACT, a Colorado-based organization revolutionizing the trades for the neurodivergent community, especially those on the autism spectrum. The central theme is how bottom-up, skills-based education and workforce integration for neurodivergent individuals not only provides life-changing opportunities but might be a blueprint for closing the nation’s skills gap and reimagining the modern workforce.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Origins and Mission of TACT

• Personal Motivation: Danny founded TACT in response to his son Dylan's autism diagnosis at age 2. Experiencing firsthand the lack of resources, he realized the potential for autistic individuals in the trades, which are historically under-resourced and misunderstood in the community.
• Growth and Impact:
  • Started 10 years ago with a small shop, now a large facility in Denver.
  • TACT’s graduates have an 83-84% employment “stick” rate, compared to a 90% unemployment rate in the broader autistic community.
    • "Graduates from TACT have an 84% stick rate right in a world where of 90% unemployment." (03:08)
• Bottom-Up Change: TACT isn’t about charity or pity—it’s about ROI and recognizing genuine talent. Businesses see value and often hire more graduates.

2. Neurodiversity — Definitions, Challenges, and Potential

• The meaning and public awareness of "neurodiversity" has only recently entered mainstream business and cultural discussion.
• Autism is a very broad spectrum: from nonverbal individuals using devices to high-IQ individuals with social struggles.
  • "Autism is such a broad spectrum, right. Where you have 40% of autistic individuals use alternative forms of communication..." (14:18)
• The umbrella of neurodiversity covers more than autism: ADHD, PTSD, OCD, and more.
• Pushback and misunderstanding about what neurodiversity includes is still common, both in education and in business.

3. Barriers to Diagnosis and Social Support

• Waiting lists for diagnosis remain years-long; economically disadvantaged families face additional burdens.
• After diagnosis, resources and support "cliff" after the school years—few viable pathways for actual employment or adulthood exist.
  • "You just graduated high school, what do I do?... that's part of the reason that's this largest unemployed demographic." (16:54)
• Real numbers are likely much higher than CDC figures due to limited data collection.

4. Trade Education as Empowerment

• Why Trades Work for Neurodivergent Learners:
  • They combine multiple disciplines at once—math, teamwork, physical activity—in hands-on contexts, which resonates with many neurodivergent students.
  • The trades offer immediate feedback and visible results, which fosters confidence and skill mastery.
  • "When you're building a project... you're doing math, you're having to work together as a team, you're lifting heavy stuff..." (35:13)
• Credentialing and Systemic Problems:
  • The arbitrary nature of credential requirements in the US blocks opportunities for skilled people—vividly illustrated by stories of military medics or experienced tradespeople being denied jobs due to lack of degrees.
  • "But because I don't have that degree, I don't get to do this. And they don't." (32:24)
• Program Replication: Danny is starting a new initiative, Buildable Academy, in Nashville, designed to bring their model to more communities.

5. Notable Success Stories and Mentors

• TACT’s grads are employed in meaningful, skilled roles: from aerospace to beer brewing (Coors), with many advancing to management.
• Temple Grandin was a catalyst for Danny’s work, encouraging him to "just go do it" and become a changemaker.
  • "Her perspective reframed the process to actually cause the cow to be calm and like, willing to actually go in by itself. And then it changed the quality of the meat at that point too dramatically." (50:36)
• The power of disagreeability and independent thinking in autistic individuals often leads to workplace innovation and positive disruption.
  • "Autistic and neurodivergent people, they'll call BS, like, straight to your face." (54:33)
  • A TACT grad at Coors noticed a mistake on day one and improved a production process (55:30).

6. Rethinking Education and Social Attitudes

• Critique of one-size-fits-all, time-based credentialism—push for competency-based progression and universal design principles.
  • "We've also set it up where it's competency based versus timetable based. If we can have a kid come in and actually demonstrate all of the skills necessary to work, why does he need to be there for four years and eight semesters?" (61:51)
• How systemic deficit-logic and parental fears create obstacles; need to reframe autism as a collection of opportunities, not just challenges.
• The nonprofit funding paradox: donors want low overhead, but under-investing in staff and infrastructure limits impact and growth.
  • "If you want people to do great work, you need great people, and you need great opportunities for those people, and that means paying them well." (81:27)

7. Macro Lessons and Vision for the Future

• TACT and similar programs are not just about helping a marginalized group; their hands-on, multi-disciplinary, feedback-rich approach could transform general and vocational education as a whole.
• The 84% placement rate for a "hard-to-hire" population is a signal that the methods work and can scale.
• The military (esp. Air Force) is starting to embrace neurodiversity but institutional barriers remain; there are thousands of neurodivergent individuals already serving with distinction.
• The enduring need: expand models like TACT to every state; embrace difference as a workforce asset; rethink how (and whom) we train and hire across the board.
  • "Your organization TACT has an 84% placement rate and a cohort that is 90% unemployed. Yeah, that feels like the headline if nothing else." (86:31)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Danny Combs on his motivation:
  • "Because I believe in my son. I believe in our community. Like, all that's possible. When somebody looks at you and they tell you... you roll up your sleeves and you dig in. And that's what I did." (11:54)
• On neurodiversity in business (Rowe):
  • "Is it too big of an umbrella now to have a meaningful coverage?" (13:50)
• On TACT’s employment impact:
  • "It's not just employed, it's advanced. It's sustained employment. It's been promoted to management..." (56:14)
• On educational reform:
  • "We've also set it up where it's competency based versus timetable based. If we can have a kid come in and actually demonstrate all of the skills necessary to work, why does he need to be there for four years..." (61:51)
• On disagreeability as a strength:
  • "They'll call BS, like, straight to your face... Is your name Dale?" (54:33)
• On parental fear and transformation:
  • "When Dylan was diagnosed, I was so mad at the doctors... Now I, like, look back at myself, and I'm like, dang it. Like, what was I thinking? Like, I can't imagine my life without my son being who he is..." (71:19)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp (MM:SS) | Segment/Topic | |-----------------------|-----------------------------------------------| | 00:27 – 03:40 | Intro to TACT and Mike’s connection | | 06:03 – 07:51 | Danny’s new book and experience | | 09:02 – 11:17 | Appointment as Colorado Disability Policy Advisor; need for representation | | 15:12 – 21:05 | Early years with Dylan, diagnosis process, and the “cliff” in autistic services | | 32:24 – 36:20 | Credentialism in skilled trades & education | | 41:46 – 44:30 | How Temple Grandin inspired TACT | | 54:15 – 56:06 | The power of disagreeability/innovation in hiring neurodivergent employees | | 56:07 – 57:52 | TACT’s employment rate and long-term outcomes | | 61:51 – 66:00 | Reimagining trade education, competency over time, universal design | | 72:19 – 76:52 | Parental fears, anger, and transformation | | 79:06 – 84:45 | Challenges of running and scaling a nonprofit mission | | 85:20 – 86:31 | Neurodiversity in the military | | 86:31 – 87:52 | Headline message: 84% placement in 90% unemployed cohort |

Actionable Information / Where to Learn More

• TACT Website: buildwithtact.org
• Buildable Academy (Nashville): buildableacademy.com
• Danny’s Book:
  • Title: "Supporting Neurodivergent and Autistic People for Their Transition into Adulthood: Blueprints for Education, Training and Employment" (Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.)

Final Takeaway

Danny Combs and TACT offer proof that hands-on, individualized, skills-based education can transform both lives and labor markets—especially for people too often written off by traditional education and employment systems. Their model isn’t merely a success for one community, but a radical blueprint for closing the skills gap, empowering marginalized populations, and reimagining what education and workforce integration can achieve for everyone.

“Your organization TACT has an 84% placement rate and a cohort that is 90% unemployed. Yeah, that feels like the headline if nothing else.” — Mike Rowe (86:31)

For anyone interested in systemic change, practical solutions, or simply good news about what’s possible when you truly value and invest in people’s potential, this episode is an essential listen.