Nearly 90% of skilled tradespeople surveyed by Angi report that they are either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their jobs, according to the company’s 2024 Skilled Trades Report, released May 21.
Angi says this data point indicates that job satisfaction has increased since 2021, when 83% surveyed by the maintenance, repair and renovation services company stated being either somewhat or extremely satisfied in their choice of work.
The skilled trades are also resilient to artificial intelligence disruption, according to Angi’s 2024 report, which polled around 1,200 skilled tradespeople from March 29 through April 2 to garner insights into the state of trades such as HVAC, electrical, plumbing and construction work. A majority of skilled trades professionals Angi surveyed said they are not concerned about AI replacing their jobs, with 65% saying “they feel their job is safe from being taken by AI.”
The skilled trades are “one of the few areas unlikely to be overtaken by AI any time soon,” but businesses are finding it difficult to recruit enough skilled workers, despite providing competitive salaries, benefits and flexible scheduling to attract talent, according to Angi, which is initiating a scholarship program aimed at bridging the talent gap.
Advisory firm Marcum’s recent analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ job openings and labor turnover survey suggests that the skilled labor shortage has been exacerbated since the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered a wave of early retirements in 2020 and 2021.
Meanwhile, ongoing labor shortages in the U.S. facilities management industry have intensified pressure on wage growth, spurring stiff competition among private-sector businesses for “a smaller pool of labor coming out of the pandemic,” according to a CBRE report on facilities management cost trends.
Increasing visibility, overcoming stigmas
“Developing relationships with local schools to get young people interested” in jobs in HVAC, electrical services and maintenance as career options is a strategy that the industry can adopt to address the labor shortage, Angi CEO Angie Hicks said in an interview.
Angi’s survey respondents noted that “demystifying the trades could be key to unlocking the labor shortage.” When asked what single fact high school students should know about the trades, responses to Angi’s survey ranged from job satisfaction and good pay to entrepreneurial opportunities and work flexibility. “Very high job satisfaction” was the most popular answer, with 31% saying they would like high school students to be aware of the scope for professional fulfillment in such roles.
When asked why young people are not entering the trades, 43% cited stigma around such roles.
“Stigma is one of the biggest barriers that stops people from going into the trades,” Hicks said. “However, we can destigmatize the trades by raising awareness and teaching young people about the many benefits and paths the skilled trades industry has to offer. We should make it clear which career paths exist in the trades, how to get there and what each path has to offer.”
In addition, 58% of survey respondents said high school students lack exposure to the plethora of opportunities such roles can provide, noting that this suppresses interest in the trades. Only 37% said salaries were not high enough. Sixty-six percent of respondents said investing in high school programs to educate young people on trade professions can serve as an effective tool for organizations to source talent, while 57% advocated for more apprenticeship programs.
Are apprenticeships the answer?
Apprenticeships are gaining momentum as a pathway to get more young people into well-paying jobs, according to a November 2023 report by Multiverse and the Burning Glass Institute. Making such programs more mainstream in the U.S. can potentially lead to about $28.5 million in wage increases that could benefit nearly 128 million people, including workers like janitors, cooks, wait staff and other high-churn, low-wage workers who do not have bachelor’s degrees, that report says.
In March, the White House announced an order to create more registered apprenticeships in the federal workforce. The order directs agencies like the U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of Personnel Management to tap into apprenticeship programs to reduce employment barriers. This initiative is part of the Biden administration’s $440 million investment to support the education and training needs of more than 1 million apprentices nationwide.
“Apprenticeships can be a very valuable unlock, especially if they are paid, because not everyone can afford to do an unpaid apprenticeship, especially young students and young workers who are just starting out,” Brooke Weddle, partner at McKinsey, said in an interview. “I think there’s a lot of potential with apprenticeships, and I know that there’s a lot of excitement around them, but I don’t think there’s any one lever that will solve all of the shortages we’re seeing [since] supply is not as big as the demand right now.”
Republican lawmakers are pushing back against the U.S. Department of Labor, however, citing concerns that its proposed rule could discourage small businesses from participating in the government’s registered apprenticeship program.
Bridging the skill and experience gap
With shortfalls in the supply of talent pitted against projected increases in demand for labor, sectors like construction can face especially stiff competition for entry-level talent in the skilled trades, per an April 2024 McKinsey report authored by a trio of McKinsey partners, including Brooke Weddle.
“You see a lot of investments being made in infrastructure that necessitates more skilled trades, whether it’s the CHIPS Act or the bipartisan infrastructure law. So, there’s a surge in talent demand,” Weddle said. “On the supply side, we have a lot of workers at the end of their career. We call this the gray to green workforce transition, where you see a lot of people transitioning out of the workforce and a lot of green or newer talent coming.”
However, the fresh talent entering the workforce lacks the proficiency levels of older employees in the skilled trades, which takes time to develop, Weddle added. The other issue is that the number of younger workers entering the field are “still not rising fast enough to make up the gap we see relative to the demand for talent,” she noted.
“When retirements are coming and a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge is leaving with them, it’s difficult to get people in the door with the same skill level,” Carey Sealy, global head of client operations at JLL, said in an interview.
Sealy underscored the importance of succession planning and the process of capturing institutional knowledge as “concurrent actions.” Cross-functional training, investment in systems that can help maintain the accuracy of information and data, employee recognition, competitive salaries, and tools and technology that can help employees succeed in their roles are critical, she said.
“Creating an ascension program and providing support for upskilling could contribute to employee retention and satisfaction,” Sealy added, noting that leveraging systems and data can bridge gaps in recruiting and retention.
