Faced with soaring costs and diminishing returns on a college education, Gen Z is disillusioned with the once-traditional college education path. Combined with a labor shortage that has raised the pay and elevated the status and demand for the trades, many Gen Z graduates are ditching college and heading straight for trades careers. Is this the perfect storm to push Gen Z to be the next toolbelt generation? 

Gen Z’s shift towards the trades has been realized at the local level in Ohio, where high schools are beginning to expand their outlook on the trades and recognize apprenticeship as a worthwhile career path for their students. At a recent career fair event attended by the Ohio Laborers’ Training & Apprenticeship Program, various school officials expressed that “more and more students are asking about the trades” and that they were personally trying to adapt and offer opportunities for students to connect with the trades. The recent uptick in trades-specific career expos across the state and the number of schools participating shows the accuracy of the sentiment.

While this shift is a positive opportunity for the Laborers, it also heightens the union trades’ responsibility to educate the coming generation and keep them from falling into underpaid and underrepresented positions. Recruiting and training the next generation to fill the gaps is a must. 

As the aging, experienced construction workforce marches towards retirement, there are plenty of spaces to fill. If you know an individual who is interested in joining the Laborers, refer them to our apprenticeship application at https://oltapp.com.