Until recently, school leavers choosing to go into a trade rather than attend a tertiary institution have tended to be looked down upon in this country, with the perception that tradies are lower class, lacking in academic intelligence, predominately male, and all in all, just a bit ‘rough’. Trades were seen as something you only did if you weren’t terribly clever, although just one day spent working with an experienced electrician will poke a few holes in that assumption!
In 2024 the upshot of this attitude is becoming glaringly obvious, with a significant shortage of skilled tradespeople across the board, from carpenters, plumbers, and electricians to brick layers and machine engineering specialists. This shortage is having a significant effect on industry around the globe, and as more Baby Boomers near retirement, the problem is only going to get worse.
The expectation that a three or four-year degree from university will set up our children for life is a hard one to shake, so let’s take a look at the career prospects for trade versus academia (these statistics don’t take into account specialised degrees such as Law and Medicine). The following costs are taken from the websites of various tertiary institutions around New Zealand, and are approximate:
- Bachelor of Arts – $6,418 – $7,819 per annum
- Architecture – $7,018 – $8,560 per annum
- Bachelor of Commerce – $7,304 per annum
- Pharmacy – $8,329 per annum
- Bachelor of Science – $6,778 – $10,275 per annum
- Bachelor of Social Work – $6,778 per annum
- Bachelor of Education – $6,778 per annum
- Bachelor of sport – $6,778 per annum
Note that postgraduate study, now a requirement for many employers due to a highly competitive job market, will cost students at minimum a further $7,454, right up to a hefty $25,192 for a Masters in Business Administration.
Of course, along with basic course costs you’ll need to factor in accommodation expenses (if needed), which can total anywhere from $19,000 – $23,500 a year, along with textbook and computer outgoings.
The prevailing fashion for chasing degrees rather than going into a trade will see many young people leaving university in their early twenties with in excess of $60,000 worth of debt. A good number of these will struggle to find employment in their chosen field, and many will be entering the workforce on minimum wage -we’re looking at you, accounting firms – which doesn’t bode well for their credit rating when the time comes for them to step onto that bottom rung of the housing ladder.
At the end of the day, skilled tradies will never go out of fashion, and if your child lands themselves one of the multitude of trade apprenticeships available in this country, they will be earning money straight out of school while looking forward to decades of job security, even in the new era of AI.
If you are still under the impression that tradespeople are semi-illiterate labourers, think again! While there are plenty of jobs that involve pushing wheelbarrows – especially for those young people that haven’t taken advantage of a pretrade class – there are many specialist trade careers that require substantial maths, science, and problem-solving skills.
There are also a number of different trade categories which require quite advanced IT ability, ranging from CNC programmers with their superior software knowledge and excellent problem-solving skills, to Quality Assurance Technicians, Mechanical Engineers, and everything in between.
There are two main options for getting into a trade in New Zealand:
Pretrade Training
These training courses will not only give students an idea of whether or not their chosen path is something they’ll enjoy; they will also equip them with the necessary skills to obtain an apprenticeship. Pretrade courses are offered by Te Pukenga ( The New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology), or private institutions such as the Trade Academy and SIT in Christchurch.
Most New Zealand high schools now offer pre-trade training off campus at Trade Academies for those students who are showing a preference for practical work over academia, and they also offer trades-related credits and work experience under the Gateway Programme for students in Years 11-13.
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships have fallen out of favour in previous decades as companies have been forced to tighten their belts, but the tide is slowly turning, and more and more employers are offering positions to people who have demonstrated a commitment to the trade by attending some form of training. Savvy company owners have realised that through the apprenticeship system they stand to gain a skilled, all-round employee that has been trained the way that they want them, and clued-up school leavers know that there are very few industries outside of the armed forces where you get paid to learn on the job!
Gaining an apprenticeship in New Zealand should be treated much the same as a traditional job hunt, don’t expect to just turn up and be offered a position, you’ll have to sell yourself. This will often involve pretrade training or offering to put in the hard yards during the school holidays, but the results will be well worth it.
Clint Thorburn from BTS Engineering in Christchurch is a grassroots supporter of getting young people into the field of Mechanical Engineering, and he currently has his youngest two members of staff studying the old Fitting and Turning manuals in order to get the best possible grounding they can before moving onto machining. His goal is to produce Mechanical Engineers that will be headhunted by companies from every corner of the globe, and these young Kiwis are guaranteed a well-paid career for life.
If you think a trade might be the right pathway for you, there are a number of websites that can point you in the right direction, including: