Fearing AI job losses, some young workers in Britain shift towards skilled trades

In a labor market where artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly transforming and sometimes replacing jobs, student Maryna Yaroshenko wanted to find a future-proof career that offered long-term stability.

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Like a growing number of young people in Britain and beyond, 18-year-old Ms. Yaroshenko opted for a skilled trade and is now training to become a plumber.

“That’s something AI won’t take over,” said Ms. Yaroshenko, who is originally from Ukraine and is studying at the City of Westminster College (CWC) in London.

White-collar jobs are viewed as more vulnerable to disruption by AI and automation than manual labor. In Britain, one in six employers expect the use of AI tools to allow them to reduce their headcount in the next 12 months, according to a survey last month conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a professional human resources body.

Ms. Yaroshenko sees AI as a useful tool, but not one that could replace the hands-on nature of plumbing, which many shy away from due to its physical demands and a lingering stigma around trades such as electrical work, carpentry, and welding.

“We will definitely work with it (AI) but only a human can make those unique things AI cannot,” she said. “No AI can do plumbing, no AI can do real engineering, no AI can be an electrician.”

DEMAND FOR HANDS-ON COURSES GROWING