Nearly half of young adults are interested in pursuing a trade profession

94 percent of skilled trade pros would encourage their own kids to pursue a career in the trades

Thumbtack, the technology company helping millions of people confidently care for their homes, released new findings today from its Future of Skilled Trades Report. Thumbtack’s marketplace helps millions of people find and hire the right professional from its community of 300,000 local service businesses. Amid a worrying trend of the rapidly declining skilled trade labor force, the report provides an optimistic view of the future, with 47 percent of young adult respondents expressing interest in a trade profession and the vast majority (83 percent) believing that learning a skilled trade is sometimes a better pathway to economic security than going to college.

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Why young adults are excited about the skilled trades over traditional office jobs. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The survey, which separately captured data from 1,000 U.S. adults aged 18-30 and 800+ US adults employed in the skilled trades, indicates that the skilled trades do not have a perception problem, with interest remaining strong. Instead, findings highlight a pathway problem as societal pressure, parental pressure and a lack of access to trade education continues to push young adults to higher education.

• 59 percent of respondents report having felt pressure to attend a 4-year college/university (56 percent feeling this pressure from family),
• 82 percent believe kids and teens are often incorrectly told that college is the only way to become successful in life,
• 48 percent didn’t have the opportunity to attend a trade high school, and
• 32 percent didn’t have the option to take a shop class in school.

“There’s never been a better time to enter the trades, and as a generation shaped by the pandemic and gig economy, Gen Z are uniquely suited to a profession that offers flexibility and independence,” said Marco Zappacosta, CEO and co-founder of Thumbtack. “With a lower barrier to entry than in the past and incredible demand for people to fill these roles, expertise in the trades is a future-proof career.”

To help drive greater access to the necessary education and resources, Thumbtack will pilot its Tools of the Trade Mentorship Sessions to connect the next generation of workers with local service business owners. Thumbtack’s top pros in a variety of trades from HVAC to plumbing will offer free virtual mentoring sessions focused on starting and running your own local service business to help young adults learn about careers in the trades. The program will be led by members of Thumbtack’s new, inaugural Pro Advisory Board.

“Starting your own business can be intimidating, particularly for women in the trades who are entering a traditionally male-dominated field," said Brittney Workman, founder of female-owned plumbing company Trade Pros and Thumbtack Pro Advisor. “My hope as a small business owner is to provide more readily-available support for the next generation, encouraging them to leave their comfort zone and explore different career paths. There will inevitably be roadblocks when starting your own business or learning a new trade and having a mentor can be a crucial part of successfully making that leap.”

Additional key takeaways from the report include:

Traits of skilled trade careers strongly resonate with young adults: Young adults have incredible respect for the skilled trades (73 percent), with medicine (77 percent) being the only career that commands respect from a higher proportion of young adults.

• Young adults identified the biggest benefits of a skilled trade over a traditional office job as having a flexible schedule (82 percent), faster educational program (82 percent), less expensive education and/or less debt (82 percent), quicker entry into the workforce (82 percent) and an ability to be your own boss (81 percent).
• What’s more, 74 percent believe skilled trades jobs won’t be replaced by AI.

Skilled trade professionals highly recommend a career in the trades: 94 percent of skilled trade pros would encourage their own kids or family to pursue a skilled trade and a majority (87 percent) would choose their career again if given the opportunity.

• 87 percent of skilled trade workers are happy with their jobs—compared with the 51 percent of young adults who say they’re extremely or very satisfied.
• 95 percent are optimistic about their job security and believe they won’t be replaced by AI

For more information please visit: Future of Skilled Trades Report, the Tools of the Trade Mentoring Sessions, or Thumbtack’s Pro Advisory Board.

Future of Skilled Trades Report Methodology:

Sample A of 1000 U.S. young adults (aged 18-30) was surveyed on July 18 and 19, 2023. Sampling was calibrated to reflect even gender and geographical distribution. DKC Analytics conducted and analyzed this survey with a sample procured using the Pollfish survey delivery platform, which delivers online surveys globally through mobile apps and the mobile web along with the desktop web. No post-stratification has been applied to the results.

Sample B of 837 U.S. adults, consisting of 659 completes and 178 partial completes, was surveyed between June 21 and July 17, 2023. All respondents in Sample B are primarily employed in the skilled trades in home construction, home maintenance or home systems via self-confirmation. Thumbtack conducted this survey via link sharing through their internal email list. No post-stratification has been applied to the results.

About Thumbtack

We’re Thumbtack, a technology company helping millions of people confidently care for and improve their homes. Our homeowners get personalized guidance on what to do and when to do it as well as who to hire from our growing community of 300,000 local service businesses. Every day in every county of the U.S., people turn to Thumbtack to complete small fixes, routine maintenance, and major improvements. With over 10 million 5-star projects and counting, we empower homeowners to take control and local businesses to grow. Accomplish more with Thumbtack.

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