Young people already see the value in the trades. The rest of us need to catch up.

The expansion of universities and student finance made Higher Education increasingly mainstream throughout the 2000s and 2010s, with universities seen as a natural and ingrained next step for academically capable pupils.

Today, young people are challenging that assumption - not least due to the spiralling cost of university. In 1999 tuition fees were capped at £1,000 per year. By 2012 they had risen to £9,000.

At the same time, student loan interest rates became significantly higher for many students, while means-testing of tuition fees was removed.

At a time of rising youth unemployment, the value of a university education is understandably being debated. Parents and young adults alike are weighing the cost of a degree against what it delivers in an increasingly uncertain job market.

What was once a relatively low-cost system that almost guaranteed a good job at the end has shifted to a system based on substantial graduate borrowing, and where, according to the latest Higher Education Statistics Agency data, just 56% of UK graduates are in full-time employment 15 months after graduating.

But this shouldn't be a debate about university versus the trades.

University can be hugely valuable. The point is that vocational education deserves to be seen as an equally valuable route into a successful career - and, for some young people, a better fit.

Young people don’t necessarily need convincing. Our recent research surveying 750 16-251 year olds reveals that more would now rather take up an apprenticeship (39%) than go to university (32%), while nearly half (48%) are considering a career in the trades - suggesting a growing appetite for practical, hands-on careers.

And it’s not just a response to rising costs. Recent conversations I’ve had with young people working in the trades suggest something more fundamental is also at play: they’re not just opting for a different route into work, they’re choosing a different vision of what a successful career can look like.

One example of these recent conversations is Callum Brazier, who started his own business as a sole trader at just 24. For him, the decision wasn’t simply about avoiding student debt. It was about having the freedom to shape his own career - stepping away from the traditional 9-5, setting his own schedule and building a business he could truly call his own.

And that decision has paid off - Callum was able to save enough to buy a home within four years - while his business is thriving on our platform. His success saw him recognised as Checkatrade’s Sustainability Champion 2025, with the Minister for Energy Consumers presenting Callum with the award at our national final last year.

Callum's story reflects a broader change in mindset. Young people increasingly understand that a career doesn't have to follow the traditional path. For many, trade careers are moving from a last resort to a first-choice career, offering the chance to earn, build a business, work independently, and see the tangible results of their work from a young age.

Many of our trades on site now earn over £100k, proving that a skills-based career can be fruitful financially, as well as rewarding.

Parents are catching up - 62% now favour on-the-job training for their children. But more widely, the trades are still often framed primarily as a pragmatic response to economic uncertainty - a sensible option when university isn't viable, rather than a first-choice career in its own right.

That's the mindset we need to change.

A career in the trades isn't a fallback. It can be lucrative, flexible and entrepreneurial, with the added benefit of resilience to the disruption AI is bringing to other parts of the labour market.

Driven by concerns over automation, 80% of young people say AI has made them concerned about the job security of traditional office-based careers, and 75% want to prioritise a career where a machine can’t easily replace their skills and experience.

Most importantly, it can be a career people actively choose.

Young people are already recognising that.

The rest of us need to recognise it too: in 2026 the trades aren't an alternative to ambition. They are one of the best ways to achieve it.

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Jambu Palaniappan is CEO of Checkatrade, an AI-powered British business connecting 100,000 tradespeople with millions of consumers searching for quality fixes and upgrades to their home.

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