Aviation organizations looking for maintenance talent, take note. Recruiting the young talent you need for the future may be easier than you think.
This is one of the main takeaways from the newly released Industry Perceptions Survey, which surveyed the attitudes of almost 25,000 households towards children and other family members starting careers in the trades industry. Nearly three in five survey respondents who discussed possible career paths told Endeavor Business Intelligence that they were “very likely” to recommend a career in aircraft maintenance to young people.
The 59% number is by far the highest “very likely” response among more than a dozen career paths, and exactly matches the score for aircraft maintenance in the 2023 Industry Perceptions Report. are. Automotive technicians came in second on the “very likely” criteria at nearly 46%, while bricklayers came in third at 40%.
“Certainly, each of these deals has its own appeal,” said Rob Pietrowski, vice president of research and business intelligence at IMR, an Endeavor division. “The aviation industry has its place, which explains the high level of interest. However, the outlook for the automotive technology profession appears to be changing, in part due to well-known advances in the automobile. It’s becoming a more specialized technology profession.”
For the 2024 edition of Trade Awareness, Endeavor Business Intelligence researchers asked household members about 14 trades, ranging from aircraft and automotive engineers to bricklayers, electricians and crane operators. Of the households surveyed that discussed career options, 79.5% of respondents said they were very likely to encourage their children and family members to consider the option.
This is a significant increase from 72.9% in 2023, and is a strong indication that trade-related careers are becoming more attractive as the labor market tightens and the cost of a traditional university education increases. However, while the general recommendation score increased significantly, the average score for the 14 industries questioned by EBI was just under 37%, essentially unchanged from the 2023 figure.
While the general sentiment regarding careers in the industry is positive, the fluctuating average scores by industry may indicate which specific industries are most in demand and/or how those roles are filled. This suggests that people do not fully understand what skills are needed. While there may certainly be a halo effect to the idea of a career in trading, many people don’t seem to understand the details clearly.
“This discrepancy highlights the need for better communication and education about individual trading opportunities,” said Anthony Shaheen, senior analyst at IMR. “Low industry-specific scores mean that while the idea of trade careers is gaining traction, there is still work to be done to help people understand the details of these paths and the demand for specific skills. It shows that there is something left.”
Other findings from Perception of the Trades include:
• It also speaks to the fact that for most industries, bridging the skills gap will not be easy. Young people’s interest in entering the workforce immediately after high school fell from 33.8% in 2022 to 25%.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has improved people’s overall perception of trade industry careers. More than 68% of respondents said they now viewed such careers “much more favorably” than they did in 2020, and a further 13.2% said their perceptions were “slightly better”. I am. ”
• Rural households remain more likely to recommend trade, with 55.9% doing so this year, compared to almost 62% in 2022, but suburban residents are far more optimistic about trade career prospects. It has become. Two years ago, less than 42% of that group recommended trading. This time, that number jumped to 50.1%.
The key to converting general interest into actual employment is to spend time educating both generations involved in career choices, says Michaela Gitto, human resources director at Wisconsin-based Sentry Equipment. he said. It’s not just about talking to young people who are passionate about trade jobs, but also talking to parents who still view trade as dangerous or dirty and who may have valued a university education in the past.
“But it’s a lot different than it was a few decades ago,” said Jitt, who helps Sentry recruit managers across the Badger state and at locations in the Salt Lake City and Houston areas. “Factories will be cleaner and safer, and there will be more robots. That’s very attractive to young people.”
Sentry makes sampling and automation equipment and machinery used by wastewater and oil and gas companies, and also invests time and energy into programs that help get Gitto’s message across. In addition to regularly hosting tours for high school students, we partner with GPS Education Partners. GPS Education Partners is a nonprofit organization that builds work-based learning programs that function much like dual enrollment programs at community colleges.
Sentry accepts interested students, some of whom are as young as second-year students, into part-time paid internships, where they spend several months training for various roles at the factory, Mr. Jitt said. . The company has hired several students who joined the company through its partnership with GPS.
Paul Mattioli, executive vice president of Endeavor Business Intelligence, said such benefits are possible for many companies, especially if they can be sustained over time and build word-of-mouth referrals. Ta. You need to build a broad foundation, including a generally positive view of working with your hands.
“Our latest survey results show that the trend towards improving trading sentiment continues,” Mattioli said. “This is good news for companies that struggle to attract talented young men and women to start careers in their field.”
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https://www.automotiveresearch.com/insights/perceptions-of-the-trades-Evolution-attitudes-and-recommendations
