Gen Z Can Fill the Workforce Gap

7/18/2024

We may have done a disservice to the Gen Z group of young people. Facility management professionals often label them as "lacking work discipline," more interested in the balance of life than work, and not eager to learn how our organizations really function. The last few years, however, seem to demonstrate the inaccuracy of our labels as we find the Gen Z cadre of potential workers are smarter than many may have credited them. 

We know the skills shortage in facilities management is real. The construction industry alone is facing a gap of more than a half million workers. Many more plumbers, electricians and other skilled trades workers chose to retire during the pandemic or shortly thereafter than replacements to fill the void have been found. The hemorrhaging of knowledge about how things work inside a facilities department continues and an ongoing pipeline of potential employees has yet to be established.  

A partial answer to the problem of the shortfall in skilled trades may lie in the Gen Z generation if our industry can hold on for a few more years. Gen Zers are starting to evaluate the cost/benefit of matriculating to a four-year educational institution and opting instead to focus on becoming skilled trades workers.  

Open to the trades 

According to a survey by the Washington D.C. think tank, New America, more than half of Gen Zers believe it is possible to get a well-paying job with just a high school diploma if they acquire additional skills. Couple this belief with the results of the Education Data Institute study that found the average cost of college in the United States has more than doubled in the 21st century, and the stage is set for vocational and technical training to serve as a career option for the Gen Z cohort.  

According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of students enrolled in vocationally focused programs rose 16 percent last year to its highest level since 2018. The ranks of students studying construction trades rose 23 percent during this timeframe and enrollment in HVAC and vehicle maintenance and repair programs increased 7 percent. 

Gen Zers are also factoring in other changes happening in the world of work. According to Nitzan Pelman founder of Climb Hire, with artificial intelligence on the rise, Gen Zers see the skilled trades as less vulnerable to replacement from emerging technology than traditional office workers.  

In addition, skilled trades workers face stable employment regardless of economic fluctuations. They are finding higher paying jobs with greater potential for promotions and salary increases in fields such as welding, plumbing, HVAC, and machine tooling. Jobs involving solar panel and wind turbine installation often provide salaries over $100,000 per year with little or no associated educational debt to reduce earnings.  

For many Gen Zers, it becomes a no brainer for them to consider skilled trades as an alternative to a four-year college degree, which previously was the gold standard path to successful employment. Kate Cinnamo, executive director of Explore the Trades, says Gen Zers see the value of what the trades have to offer — lifelong skills, on the job training, and the opportunity to take pride in the fact they have built, installed and repaired something that contributes to the business mission or their company. Isn’t that what facilities management is all about?  

Parents of the Gen Z population, who in many instances are footing the bills for their children’s education, are warming to the trend in skilled trades vocational training. According to a recent Gallup poll, in the past decade the percentage of Americans who express a lot of confidence in higher education fell from 57 percent to 36 percent. A decline in undergraduate enrollment since 2011 has translated into three million fewer students on college campuses. Half of the parents of college-age students say they would prefer not to send their children to a four-year college even if there were no obstacles, financial or otherwise.  

Stormy Friday is founder and president of The Friday Group, an international facilities services consulting firm.