America needs workers. The skilled trades are a sure path to a stable career future | Opinion

Every day, skilled trades workers are turning blueprints into buildings, creating structures from scratch, keeping our lights on and water running, and building the hospitals and schools that keep us healthy and support our children. I see this firsthand at General Motors’ Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kansas, where skilled tradespeople are doing incredible work that enables us to produce vehicles such as the Cadillac XT4 and Chevrolet Malibu.

It is fascinating, creative and satisfying work that is essential to many industries and everyday lives.

So, why are skilled trades often overlooked as a successful career path? And why is there a labor shortage for workers with these skills in Kansas City and across the country?

It’s not because of a lack of interest. According to recent research by the home contractor search website Thumbtack, 47% of adults age 18 to 30 are interested in pursuing a career in the trades.

Cultural stigmas around skilled trades and expectations to follow the traditional route of a four-year college degree program certainly contribute to the problem.

However, the most significant issue I see is the lack of understanding that prospective workers have of what skilled trades careers truly are and the benefits they present. This is coupled with a lack of exposure and access to the pathways needed to turn interest into an actionable career plan.

To speak to the benefits, the high demand has multiplied the benefits workers see in this career path. They are seeing increased job security, stability, flexibility and more competitive salaries. This, along with faster entry into the workforce and lower cost of education, can set people up with a long, prosperous career.

Promoting skilled trades isn’t just important to me professionally, but also personally. My father was an electrician for GM , and I have other family members who worked as an electrician, pipefitter and millwright. My dad’s work as a skilled tradesperson provided my siblings and me with a stable upbringing and many opportunities.

In celebration of May 1, known as National Skilled Trades Day, I want to recognize both the opportunity and responsibility we have as a community to reimagine how we bring attention to these careers and how we can invest in providing accessible pathways to those eager to enter the trades.

As a community, we can start by exposing students early on to tools and projects to help build skills. The same Thumbtack story reported that nearly 32% of respondents weren’t offered shop classes in high school — however, 86% of people who did take shop say it was one of their favorite classes. We should capture this interest and encourage students to share what they’ve built with their families and with their community.

Here at GM, we work with Metropolitan Community College, Johnson County Community College, Kansas City Kansas Community College, KC Tech Academy at Northland Career Center and others. We also do outreach to area high schools and participated in a career exposure event at F.L. Schlagle High School in KCK just last week.

Further, it’s vital we give the same value to apprenticeships and the real-world experience they offer as we do to internships in corporate settings. Trades apprenticeships provide paid on-the-job training and experience working directly with tradespeople. They often use highly technical equipment and new technologies to prepare workers for what they will face in future careers.

To open the door for those seeking apprenticeships, we offer the GM-UAW Skilled Trades Apprenticeship Readiness Certificate or STARC program. This online instruction provides workers the foundational skills, such as blueprint reading and industrial processes, needed to succeed in our apprenticeship program and become a journeyperson in a trade of their choice.

The demand for trade jobs is not going away. In 2023 alone, there were more than 770,000 skilled trades posting from nearly 95,000 different employers across the country. General Motors has openings nationwide now.

Our world will always want to build and bring new technology and ideas to life, and we will need skilled trades workers to make it happen.

Tony Henige is assistant plant director of the General Motors Fairfax Assembly and Stamping Plant in Kansas City, Kansas.