Worrying new research has found that almost a third of skilled professionals are considering leaving the trades industry, as they struggle with tough workloads, low pay, and poor mental health support.
Health and safety products brand Arco surveyed 500 UK tradespeople, and found that 31% of trade professionals admitted they are considering changing careers because of challenges they are facing at work.
According to Arco, the most prominent challenge mentioned by the respondents was managing workloads, which was cited as a contributing factor by 35% of study participants.
Three-in-ten also mentioned dealing with difficult clients (31%), and a quarter (24%) said health and safety concerns were making them consider changing careers.
The single age group with the highest number of tradespeople considering leaving the industry was found to be 35 to 44 year-olds, of which two-in-five (42%) said they wanted to leave the trades. This was followed by 25 to 34 year-olds, in which roughly one-in-three (31%) are considering changing careers.
The trade professions with the highest number of potential leavers were also found to be window fabricators, bricklayers and building surveyors.
This is concerning finding, as according to the House of Commons, job vacancies are higher than they were before the pandemic, but labour supply figures fall far below where they were before the pandemic.
As part of its research, Arco also asked participants what they believed barriers to entering the trade might be. A third of those polled (33%) said that both a lack of adequate training and a lack opportunities for career progression were likely the biggest deterrents for those looking to enter the trade industries.
Low pay was found to be the second-most popular reason, with roughly a quarter of workers (26%)saying it was why they were considering leaving their positions. A similar number (23%) said that a lack of mental health support was also a factor.
This research is roughly consistent with the British Institute of KBB Installation (BiKBBI)’s annual state of the industry survey from last year, which found that a majority of installers would be tempted to leave the industry if the circumstances were right.
