SKILLED TRADE: THE AI-PROOF PATH TO SUCCESS

Artificial intelligence is reshaping many industries—but not the skilled trades. No algorithm can wire a home, repair a boiler, or pour a foundation. These professions are hands-on, human-driven, and essential. Rather than replacing trades, AI is strengthening them by simplifying the business side.

Digital tools now automate paperwork, billing, scheduling, and compliance—giving tradespeople leverage without threatening the work itself. While many white-collar roles face automation, skilled trades remain stable, in demand, and growing.

• 649,000+ annual openings projected in construction and extraction fields through 2034 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
• Electrician demand expected to exceed 400,000 openings over the next five years through growth and replacement.
• Plumbers and pipefitters continue to face national shortages, driving wage increases of 20% or more in some markets.
• Across the trades, wages consistently outperform the national median.
   

This convergence—AI-proof skills combined with a historic labor shortage—creates one of the strongest windows in decades to turn a trade into a business.