Demand for electricians, plumbers and other skilled trades is surging across the United States, with applicants for training programs rising even as workers weigh the potential impact of AI on their future.
At the Cypress Mandela training center in Oakland, California, about 40 pre-apprentices have enrolled in a 16-week free course learning everything from carpentry to plumbing, electricity to concrete. For many, it is a rare opportunity in a highly competitive field.
"There was a lot of people when I stood up for the orientation, the list of people went all the way down. I'm like, no way, I'm not going to get in. But when I got in, I was pumped up,"said Jordyn Allen, a pre-apprentice.
"I feel like electricians, plumbers, it's all increasing throughout the years because there is more of a demand. There're a lot of people retiring," said Terrell Kennedy, a pre-apprentice.
Much of the excitement stems from the prospect of earning a construction worker's salary, which appears to be steadily rising.
"You can get there in the six figures (of salary) easily in construction. We have a program, the Power Pathway Program, and our students get out of here going into the six figures rather quickly, right out of pre-apprenticeship," said Charles Simmons, Jr. executive director of the Cypress Mandela Training Center.
At the Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee program in Alameda County, Isabella Neumann has been learning a new trade as an electrician apprentice after having worked as a nanny and studying religion in college.
"When I was in high school and coming up, there was a lot of push for college, and college was not financially feasible for me at the time, and I felt like the trades weren't being pushed as much. But had they been, I might have joined sooner," she said.
Other training programs across California are seeing similar levels of interest, with demand far exceeding available slots.
"We're about as hard to get into as Harvard. Our acceptance rate right now is about two and a half, three percent. There are 20 apprenticeships, just for electrical in the state of California alone. All 20 of us are seeing a huge boom in demand and application numbers," said Jason Bates, training director at the Alameda County Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.
For those already working in the field, the boom means steady opportunities to support themselves, their families and their communities. While some workers wonder how AI will reshape their industry, many believe that human interaction and community-building remain irreplaceable parts of these trades.
"You definitely want the work so that you can go ahead and support A - your life, B - your family and C - the community around you. I think that there will be a fine line, a plateau of where we realize that we need to actually have humans interacting with other humans," said Christian Venegas, an electrician apprentice.
"I think we're still a ways away from AI robots completely replacing jobs like this. I think what is a really strong factor about these trades is the fact that it's a community-building type of job. I think realistically people don't want everything to be automated," said Nataliya Petukhova, a pre-apprentice.
U.S. skilled trades see surge in demand as workers eye wages, AI impact
