A recent study by ZipRecruiter, “Unclogging the Pipeline: Why Aren’t More Workers Flocking to Lucrative Trade Jobs?”, surveyed 1,500 trade workers nationwide. What it found may explain one cause of the persistent labor shortages in construction, manufacturing, transportation and other skilled trades.

Despite the average take-home pay for a trade worker of $65,000 (and higher for specialized jobs like electrical construction) and job satisfaction rated as high, construction job openings have increased 34% over the past year.

The good news for tradespeople is that there is stability. Many enjoy long careers, with 49% having been in the field for 11 years or more. According to public data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction workers have been staying at their jobs, with their quit rate down to 1.3%. They’re also experiencing job satisfaction, with 77% saying they would choose to go into the trades again.

So, why the gap between job openings and job hiring? According to the study, artificial intelligence (A.I.) is not to blame. Of those surveyed, 36% express no concern about being replaced by A.I. In fact, 55% believe that automation has changed the tools they use but has not reduced their workload.

For years, the worry has been that an aging workforce is retiring, leaving positions unfilled. However, the trades actually have a slightly higher incidence of older workers than nontrade occupations. According to public 2024 American Community Survey data, for every five older workers in the trades (60+), there are six young workers (aged 16–25) stepping in to take their place. This is better than nontrade professions, which has a slightly lower rate of 5.5 young workers entering for every five workers aged 60+.

Instead, the problem slowing workforce growth seems to lie in the lack of an “on-ramp” to a career in the trades. According to the study, workers found their way to the trades through a disjointed path, rather than a centralized one, with half of workers learning on the job, as opposed to just 14% completing a registered apprenticeship.

The Inflation Reduction Act offers incentives aimed at increasing formal training programs for young workers getting started in the trades. Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded $162 million to expand registered apprenticeship programs in specialized industries. But even where apprenticeships are available, information about them lags behind. Word of mouth about job openings remains the key way 51% of trades workers learn about opportunities.

To combat the “fractured pipeline” and lack of formal upskilling, industry leaders, educators and public-sector partners must expand and simplify pathways into the trades by creating clear pathways through centralizing and digitizing the discovery of trade programs to help high school students and career-changers find apprenticeships and vocational training programs; investing in structured upskilling through training; and systematizing knowledge-sharing by incentivizing experienced, older workers to mentor the incoming generation.