Six in ten young Brits are keen to emigrate

​​​​​​​Research shows that a career in the skilled trades could offer opportunities to work overseas

Six in ten UK adults aged 18-34 are interested in jobs that could allow them to emigrate, yet almost half are unaware that a career in the skilled trades could offer opportunities to work overseas, according to new research.

The study from MyBuilder.com shows that more than a third of UK workers are interested in exploring careers that offer the chance to emigrate to other countries.

However, the study also revealed that, despite this desire, 41% of Brits were unaware that a career in the skilled trades could offer this opportunity.

Among 18–34-year-olds, a staggering 60% of respondents said they would like to explore jobs that would allow emigration to countries such as Canada and Australia.

Yet 49% of this age group did not know that working in the trades was a strong choice for this aim.

 Residents of Yorkshire and Humberside were the most interested in exploring careers that allowed emigration, with 54% of all respondents stating they would consider this.

Those in London were close behind, with just over half (52%) saying that emigration was interesting to them. Overall, across regions, at least 40% of respondents said careers that would take them abroad were appealing.

After conducting a study last year on attitudes around the trades as a vocation, Mybuilder ran a further survey to ascertain whether attitudes were beginning to change.

 The results showed that a fifth of those asked said they had considered retraining as a plumber, electrician, or in another skilled trade; among the younger demographic, this rose to 34%.

The industry has historically struggled to recruit women, and while female respondents were still slightly less likely than male respondents to consider the trades, a promising 19% said they had considered retraining in this sector.

 The research also showed concerns around the rise of AI, with 50% of men and 46% of women asked being worried about the impact AI would have on their careers. 

This concern, however, grew further when people considered the impact AI might have on their future careers. More than half of those asked (51%) were worried about how AI would affect their future career opportunities, and this rose to 62% among those aged 18-34.

Andy Simms, from MyBuilder.com, said the findings highlight a disconnect between career aspirations and awareness of the opportunities the skilled trades can provide.

 “Skilled trades are in high demand across the globe - it's not just the UK that has a shortage of tradespeople.”