The Times highlights a growing trend of workers leaving white-collar jobs for trades – a shift driven by the rise of AI. Data shows that early careers job advertisements have fallen by almost a third since ChatGPT was launched in 2022, while around 40% of recent graduates are already “underemployed” in jobs that do not require a degree. Institute of Student Employers analysis shows that there are about 140 applications per graduate role. Chris Claydon, CEO of JTL Training, says he has observed a rise in people looking to retrain in a trade, adding: “Increasingly people are realising the value of a degree isn’t equivalent to the cost of one.”
