The stat about tradespeople retiring in the next 5 years shocked me

I was looking into career paths for my nephew who doesn't want college and stumbled on a report from the National Association of Home Builders. It said over 40% of current electricians and plumbers are 55 or older and planning to retire within 5 years. That means a MASSIVE gap in skilled workers coming up. I double-checked the numbers on the Bureau of Labor Statistics site and they matched up. My own dad is an electrician and he's been saying the same thing about his crew for months. If you're young and thinking about a trade, this is the time to jump in before the demand spikes even higher. Has anyone else seen these numbers for their specific field?

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blair6262mo ago

That 40% stat is dead on, tell your nephew to start an apprenticeship yesterday lol.

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mason8472mo ago

Told my nephew the same thing. Kid thought he could just wing it with YouTube videos. Took him three months to realize he was just making poodle fluff look like tumbleweeds. Apprenticeships are everything in trades. I still mess up and look like a moron sometimes, and I've been doing this nine years. Better to learn while someone else eats the cost of your mistakes than to bleed money on your own.

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