Kids feel pressure to avoid trades

A new report finds that parents continue to push their children away from vocational education and into university at a high rate.

Jobber, an operations management software for home service businesses, released the Blue-Collar Report: Gen Z and the Uncertain Future of the Trades, which surveyed 10,000 18- to 20-year-olds.

It found that nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of respondents reported a stigma with going to a vocational school over attending a traditional four-year university. Furthermore, four in five (79 per cent) said their parents want them to pursue a university education after high school.

This “is creating immense pressure for Gen Z to pursue a traditional white-collar career path while incurring large amounts of debt that they are concerned with repaying,” the announcement about the report said.

“If we don’t educate society about the high value of trade work and the significant opportunities that exist in the field, the labour shortages we are seeing today will reach critical levels, resulting in a potentially catastrophic outcome for local economies and communities,” said Sam Pillar, CEO and co-founder of Jobber. “We’ve seen countless people ditch desk jobs to start their own businesses, which is an incredible thing to do. These people earn more and have more control over their time, all while doing meaningful work. Going to a vocational school or starting a business doing blue-collar work should be encouraged, supported, and celebrated.”

The survey also reported that 75 per cent of respondents said they’re interested in exploring vocational schools that offer paid, on-the-job training. Nearly two-thirds of respondents want to start a business at some point in their lives.