Young workers and even college graduates are looking at skilled trades more than white collar work this year in a search for stability and solid pay, a survey by a resume-assistance company shows. 

Six in 10 Gen Zers plan to pursue jobs in construction, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, building maintenance and manufacturing, among other trades, according to the survey of 1,250 respondents born between 1997 and 2012 by Resume Templates. 

“Many young adults are questioning whether college debt is worth it and are instead exploring blue-collar careers that offer solid income, skill development, and long-term security,” says Julia Toothacre, chief career strategist at Resume Templates. 

The data is at odds with a Harris poll conducted last year that found fewer than 40% of Gen Zers interested in skilled trades as a career option, in part because they knew little about the opportunities. 

“Only 38% of Gen Z says skilled trades offer the best job opportunities today” and “only 36% strongly agree skilled trades offer a faster and more affordable path to a good career,” that Harris Poll report said when it was released last summer. That poll was based on 2,200 respondents. 

For young workers who go into the trades, they should find opportunity as well as employers ready to train them, reports show. 

There will be openings for roughly 150,000 construction workers and 80,000 electricians each year for the next several years, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Employers — helped by state and federal resources as well as private-industry money — are stepping up with apprenticeship and other types of programs. A representative sample from last year shows a range of programs companies are offering:  

• Schneider Electric invested $100,000 in The SkillPointe Foundation to help it make sizable grants available to people seeking training in building energy management and other high-demand building-related fields.
• The Home Depot Foundation set aside $10 million to broaden access to skilled trades training, including through a $1 million partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. 
• HVAC manufacturer Global Corp. announced a program to hire 1,000 U.S. service technicians and train more than 100,000 climate solutions technicians. 

In their hunt for workers, business competitors are joining forces to get information out to younger workers and offer training. 

“Why pretend that the problem that Lowe’s is facing is so unique from the problem that Home Depot is facing?” Dane Linn, senior vice president of corporate initiatives for the Business Roundtable, said last year when his organization launched a skilled-trades workforce initiative. 

The initiative brings together about 150 companies to collaborate on training in four industries: building maintenance, construction, energy solutions and manufacturing. 

“An electrician is an electrician,” said Linn. “They all go through the same training. So what does that look like to train individuals at scale? And I think that’s what we’re solving for.”

Based on its survey findings, Resume Templates says Gen Zers are looking to the trades mainly for job security, skill fit and earnings potential. “This data suggests Gen Z’s interest in the trades is rooted more in practical outcomes like stability, fit, and pay than in purely personal preference,” the survey report says. 

The threat AI is posing to white collar employment might be one of the reasons half of Gen Zers with a college degree are also planning to pursue opportunities in the trades, according to the survey. 

“Unlike many corporate jobs, [trade jobs are] not likely to be replaced by AI,” Toothacre said in the report.