Student-debt pressures and AI fears steer young workers to trades

In Britain, more students are enrolling in hands-on courses at further education colleges and training centres, seeking careers they see as less vulnerable to automation and better aligned with immediate earning potential. At the same time, surveys suggest that a significant share of employers expect AI tools to reduce headcount, particularly in junior white-collar roles, reinforcing the appeal of practical qualifications over traditional academic paths.

At City of Westminster College (CWC) in London, which offers engineering, construction and built environment programmes, enrolments in these areas have risen by about 9.6% over the past three years. The college’s chief executive, Stephen Davis, links the trend partly to the rapid spread of AI across office jobs and partly to concerns over the cost of university, prompting both school leavers and adults changing careers to plan “more strategically” around job security and wages.

Students like 18-year-old plumbing trainee Maryna Yaroshenko say they see AI as a tool rather than a threat in manual professions. Yaroshenko, who is originally from Ukraine and now trains at CWC, said she chose plumbing because she believes only humans can handle the intricate physical work involved. “No AI can do plumbing, no AI can do real engineering, no AI can be an electrician,” she said, adding that she expects to work alongside AI systems rather than be replaced by them.

The shift is unfolding against a backdrop of broader anxiety about automation in the UK labour market. One recent survey by a professional human resources body found that around one in six employers expect to use AI tools to reduce staff numbers over the next 12 months. Another poll of 2,600 adults conducted in August for the Trades Union Congress indicated that roughly half of UK adults are worried about AI’s impact on their jobs, with concern highest among 25- to 35-year-olds.

Bouke Klein Teeselink, a lecturer and AI researcher at King’s College London, said younger workers are particularly exposed when companies cut roles because AI tends to replace entry-level and junior positions first, making it harder for people to secure their first job or progress early in their careers. His study at King’s, published in October, concluded that AI-driven workforce reductions disproportionately affect these junior tiers.

Other UK colleges are reporting similar patterns. Capital City College in London has seen strong interest in construction, plumbing, hospitality and other trades. Chief executive Angela Joyce said that more people now “recognise the value of becoming skilled professionals,” and that apprenticeships can, in some cases, offer better long-term earning power than degrees because they combine paid work with training.

Official pay data suggest that skilled trades can compete with, or come close to, average national earnings. According to the Office for National Statistics, plumbers earn an average of £37,881 per year, while construction and building trades workers make about £35,764, compared with an overall UK average salary of £39,039 across all sectors. Davis noted that trades often provide clearer paths to self-employment, allowing experienced workers to increase their income by running their own businesses.

The trend also coincides with a slight decline in traditional university participation. Undergraduate enrolments at UK universities fell by 1.1% in the 2023/24 academic year compared with the previous year, marking the first annual drop in nearly a decade. Yaroshenko said she chose college over university because she wanted “real-life work” experience as quickly as possible, reflecting a wider preference among some young people for practical training that leads directly into the labour market.

For now, educators say AI is more likely to change skilled trades than erase them. Plumbing and similar professions still require workers to solve complex physical problems in varied environments, a challenge that current robotics technology struggles to handle. “Sometimes plumbers have to put their hands down the toilet to unblock it,” Davis said, adding that he has yet to see a robot willing or able to take on such tasks at scale.