Skilled Trades Are Open to Technology, Survey Finds

An industry trends survey conducted in late 2023 by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) explored how employees feel about the current state of labor, training, and technology on the jobsite within the skilled trades industry. NFPA collected responses from 310 U.S.-based workers in industries including electrical, manufacturing, construction, engineering, and architecture/design, among others.

For respondents, the skilled labor shortage clearly remains a concern and will continue to be an area of focus in industries such as construction, which rely on skilled tradespeople. 

Implementing labor-saving technologies and digital tools is one way to help ease that labor shortage, and among several trends revealed by the survey data is that integration of technology is a priority for the skilled trades:

When asked what additional skills or knowledge areas they believe are essential for the future success of professionals in their field, the survey found:

• 46.4 percent of respondents identified tech integration as a crucial skill
• 46 percent noted digital tools will help increase communication methods
• 28 percent believe technology will help improve accuracy and safety in day-to-day operations (up from 25 percent in 2023)
• 70 percent said they would be interested in trying new, diverse tools on the jobsite (up from 68 percent in 2023)

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