Younger workers are turning to trade jobs after high school and college as wages in the construction industry are rising, reported Delaware Business Times.
Construction job salaries in Delaware have increased over the last five years, with the average construction worker who works 40 hours a week earning $61,318 in 2023. Those salaries have increased 16% in Delaware since 2016.
For those in Generation Z — those born in 1997 and after — entering the trades, attending a vocational school or becoming an apprentice after high school is becoming an increasingly popular career path.
The National Student Clearinghouse found vocational focused institutions are experiencing steady growth in enrollment. There was a roughly 17% increase in enrollment from spring 2023 to spring 2024.
The people going into the trades are more diverse than the people entering the industry 20 years ago, the Delaware Business Times reported. Whereas then the majority of people entering the construction trades had a family member who worked in the industry, now many people are coming from trade schools and apprenticeship programs.
