You can’t have an AI plumber: Why Gen Z might be ditching college for skilled trades

Fast Company 

Shalene Gupta

August 24, 2023

According to a survey from Thumbtack, 74% of young adults said they believe skilled trade jobs won’t be replaced by AI, for one

ChatGPT might be hailed as the next holy grail, but there are some things it can’t do, such as install a carpet or fix a home’s plumbing. Yet today, there’s a shortage of skilled trade talent, with applications for technical jobs dropping by 49% in 2022 compared to 2020.

In response to this, Thumbtack, a platform for hiring local professionals including handymen, plumbers, and electricians, surveyed 1,000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 across the United States and, in a separate survey, 800 U.S. adults employed in a skilled trade, to get a sense of what we can expect for the future. Here’s what they found.

• Gen Z has a high opinion of skilled trade: 73% of the young adult survey respondents said they respect skilled trade as a career, putting it second only to medicine (77%).

• They’re exploring it for themselves: 47% were interested in pursuing a career in a trade. And more than 80% said there are benefits to a skilled trade over a desk job, with the top benefits being a more flexible schedule, a faster educational path to working, a less expensive education and less debt, and the ability to be your own boss. Another 74% said they believe skilled trade jobs won’t be replaced by AI.

• Young people are also being steered towards college: 82% reported that they are being told going to college is the only way to be successful in life, and a third said their high school didn’t have a shop class.

• Skilled tradespeople love their jobs, but worry about the training pipeline: 87% of the trade workers surveyed said they are happy with their jobs and would choose the same career again, while 94% would encourage their kids and family to try skilled trade. However, 58% said they are concerned about the industry’s ability to attract employees, and 53% were worried the next generation will shy away from skilled trade.

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