Technical jobs are receiving fewer applications from younger generations.
According to Handshake, a network of institutions and employers that helps connect students with early career opportunities, trade careers saw 49% fewer applications in 2022 than 2020. Applications for jobs like automotive technicians or respiratory therapists went from an average of 10 applications each to only five.
Dr. Willie L. Todd, Jr., president of Denmark Technical College.
As more Baby Boomers enter retirement, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce expects to see a massive shortage of skilled workers in 2023. Todd said he wants to see more two and four-year institutions take advantage of the opportunities technical, trade, and apprenticeship programs can provide students.
Todd said technical careers can get more students on the track toward social and economic mobility, and experts agree that higher education can also play a crucial role in diversifying fields that are overwhelmingly white and male. Of the half a million electricians employed in the U.S., only 4.4% are women and just over 68% are white, according to Zippia, a job search company.
“Many of the technical or trade roles have been developed for and by men, creating systems that are not inclusive or welcoming of women or minority groups,” said Dr. Laura Lara-Brady, senior project manager at WestEd, a nonprofit research group working toward educational equity.
Lara-Brady said institutions should disaggregate their data to ensure they are attracting a diverse group of students to technical programs and assess how well these programs move their students into living-wage jobs. Not all technical jobs offer family-sustaining wages in the long term, Lara-Brady added, which can particularly effect Black or Latinx students who often become stuck in entry level positions.
