When I hear people say that trade jobs are the way to go, I can’t help but think they’re overlooking a major issue. The assumption is that trades are safe from the impact of AI, but I’m not so sure. With AI set to replace a significant chunk of white-collar workers, the question becomes: what happens when all these displaced workers flood the blue-collar job market? Suddenly, we’ll have a surplus of workers vying for a limited number of trade jobs. It’s simple economics – when supply far exceeds demand, wages plummet. And that’s exactly what I foresee happening if we don’t address this issue.
The reality is that there just aren’t enough trade jobs to absorb the number of workers who will be laid off due to AI. And when you factor in the competition from automation, it becomes clear that trade jobs aren’t as safe as we think. It’s time to start thinking about how we can upskill and reskill workers to thrive in an AI-driven economy.
So, what do you think? Are trade jobs really as safe as we’ve been led to believe, or are they just as vulnerable to the impact of AI?