Last month I promised a more formal survey of our readers about the perceived attitudes of young people towards the skilled trades and the answers are in. 42% say things are changing for the better. 17% say that things are changing for the worse, with 25% saying attitudes are about the same as a decade ago, and the remaining 16% unsure.
That puts “getting better” neck-and-neck with “about the same or worse”—which jibes with my impression that we are (hopefully) at some sort of cultural tipping point.
Since I’m throwing survey numbers around, a few interesting industry reports have crossed my desk recently.
A poll from Harris Insights shows a wide recognition of the importance of the trades. 91% of Americans agree trade jobs are just as important as white-collar jobs. However, perception of the trades as a career skews by cohort. Only 38% of Gen Z say the skilled trades offer the best job opportunities today. This compares to 40% of Millennials, 45% of Gen X, and 59% of Boomers and older.
Harris found the top barriers to skilled trade careers include them being seen as less prestigious, a lack of awareness about opportunities in the trades, college pressure, and doubts about pay.
But some of the most interesting data comes from the Gen Z and the Blue Collar Revolution report from Jobber. The big story is the effect of technological change on decision-making. 77% of Gen Z say it’s important to choose a career that’s difficult to automate. Job security now ranks as the top career consideration for Gen Z, above passion or salary.
Critically, the survey sheds light on what the parents of these young people are thinking. 63% of Gen Z parents agree that AI is making it harder for young people to break into the workforce. More than half of parents (51%) say the risk of AI-driven job loss influences the advice they give their kids.
Will AI and the effect it is having on white collar jobs drive the youth of today towards the trades? Time will tell.
I think it useful to compare what contracting companies are doing with what manufacturers are doing. Both are grappling with the same skilled labor shortage, and the graying of their industry veterans.
This month I was fortunate to interview Nancy Simoneau, Chair of the American Boiler Manufacturers Association. The ABMA has put an emphasis on outreach, with programs like Women In the Boiler Industry (WIBI) and Boiler Industry Leaders of Tomorrow (BILT). Both are efforts to shake the “old boys club” mentality that, frankly, both contractors and manufacturers have a problem with.
Also this month I took a trip to Stewarts Draft, VA to tour the NIBCO plant. NIBCO is fighting the labor crunch (in part) through worker retention. 15% of the workforce at Stuarts Draft have been with the company 25 years or more (with one worker past his 60th anniversary with the company!).
How are they doing it? An Employee Stock Ownership Plan ties the individual success of each worker to the company’s overall success. A strong safety program is less about avoiding delays or fines, and more focused on caring for the well-being of workers.
But, at the end of the day, it seems mainly a matter of company culture. Everyone is nice to one another. Everyone seems happy to come to work each day. There’s no magic wand you can wave to create a culture like that—but it is something I think any company can achieve, over time, as long as they make it a priority.
