A couple weeks ago I came across this New York Times Piece that shines some light on our existing worker shortage in construction. Take a look at what’s happening right now with Gen Z students in high school: These Teens Are Choosing Trade Classes to AI-Proof Their Futures
The video follows graduating seniors in the Bay Area, the heart of America’s tech economy, who are looking at the future and coming to a conclusion a lot of us reached a long time ago: working with your hands is one of the smartest bets you can make. One student put it plainly. He wanted to be a medical student, and now he wants to become an electrician. Another said he’d never even heard of construction as a path until he sat down in a hands-on class and built something with his own two hands for the first time.
What struck me most is the reason these kids are turning toward the trades. They’re watching student debt pile up, they’re watching AI eat into white-collar jobs, and they’re realizing something simple: AI is not going to build a home. AI isn’t going to weld anything. A house still has to be framed, wired, plumbed, and finished by real people. That work isn’t going anywhere, and the young people in this video are figuring that out faster than the institutions around them.
California is paying attention too. Facing a construction labor shortage, the state doubled a grant back in 2021 to fund hands-on trade classes in public high schools. The result is teachers reporting that 95 percent or more of their students had never picked up a tool in their life, now discovering they’re good at this, that they enjoy it, and that an electrician can build a real career, with one student noting they’d heard you can make $200,000 a year.
Why this matters for NHCA members
There’s a part of this story that hits especially close to home for our community. One young woman in the video said she comes from an immigrant family, and the pressure to go to college has been even heavier because of it. Her family is supportive, but a little disappointed she’s not taking the traditional path. A teacher echoed it: a lot of parents, especially in older generations, still see the trades as “less than.”
We know better. The trades built the lives many of our families have today. They are not a fallback, they are a foundation. But that stigma is real, and it’s keeping talented young people, including many in Hispanic households, from a path that could set them up for life. At the same time, the industry is staring down a workforce shortage that needs hundreds of thousands of new workers just to keep pace. The math is simple: there is a generation of kids looking for a future-proof career, and there is an industry that needs them. Our job is to close the gap.
That’s exactly the kind of work NHCA exists to do. Through the Build the Builder Pilot and our broader workforce efforts, we’re trying to make sure the next generation of builders sees a clear, respected, well-paying path into this industry, and sees people who look like them already walking it.
Here’s how you can help:
Connect with your local high school. Ask whether they have a trade or construction program, and if they do, see how you can support it, as a guest speaker, a mentor, a jobsite tour host, or a connection to real opportunities. If your local school doesn’t have a program yet, that’s where we come in. NHCA wants to help schools that are ready to bring the trades into their curriculum, and we need members on the ground to help us find them and build those partnerships.
If you know a high school that wants to collaborate, reach out to us. Let’s bring the trades to the next generation, together.
Si conoces a un joven buscando su camino, o una escuela lista para abrir las puertas a los oficios, conéctate con NHCA y construyamos ese futuro juntos. Hazte miembro hoy.
If you know a student, educator, or contractor who wants to help shape the future of construction, this is a must-read. Explore the full article and learn how you can get involved here.