Young, skilled and overlooked

As the traditional university route loses its shine for a growing number of young people, the trades are emerging as an unexpected beneficiary. In a recent article for The Times, employment editor Jane Hamilton reported that teenagers disillusioned with the cost and uncertain returns of higher education are increasingly opting to learn trades, choosing work readiness and resilience over lecture halls and student debt.

This quiet but significant cultural shift presents an opportunity for industries like fenestration, where a chronic skills shortage has become a structural weakness. With the sector crying out for fresh talent, the rise of ‘non-traditional’ career paths among school leavers could mark a pivotal moment. But the path forward is far from frictionless.

Today’s young workers are, in many ways, rewriting the narrative their parents followed. Where previous generations chased white-collar professions, their children are learning to sell, to install, to build, with a clear-eyed understanding of the financial and practical benefits of trade work. Door-to-door sales during gap years, apprenticeships in skilled sectors, and hands-on training are forming a new rite of passage into the world of work.

Yet while the interest is shifting, systemic barriers remain. The UK’s current tax, national insurance regime and apprenticeship complexities offer little incentive to employers to bring on younger staff, limiting the scale at which this momentum can be converted into real opportunities.

For fenestration, an industry both highly specialised and in urgent need of new recruits, the battle for young workers is intensifying. Not only must it compete with other trades for attention, but it must also overcome long-standing perceptions of what the sector represents. “There have been far too many young people sold the idea of ‘uni’ only to leave in debt with a pointless degree,” one industry voice observed. “This country desperately needs skilled tradespeople… To do this needs a reversal of the outdated class system and young people being made aware of the significant financial benefits available through trade knowledge.”

The challenge, then, is twofold: changing the image of fenestration and ensuring the infrastructure is in place to support entry-level talent. Apprenticeships remain a key route, but access to them is uneven and often insufficient to meet demand. As one commentator put it, “The availability of suitable apprenticeship schemes is limited… certainly something that needs to be looked into further.”

Even where apprenticeships exist, concerns remain about quality. The erosion of once-revered training schemes such as the old HNCs and HNDs is seen by some as a dilution of standards. “Modern day apprenticeships and qualifications are not valid (in my opinion) and lack substance,” said another industry veteran.

The urgency to fill the gap is only magnified by the looming presence of automation. At CES 2026, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warned of the arrival of the “AI immigrant”—a new wave of humanoid robots designed to take on manufacturing tasks increasingly shunned by human workers.

While AI may promise efficiency, it raises existential questions about the future of hands-on labour and the value placed on human expertise. In sectors like fenestration, where precision and adaptability remain crucial, the role of skilled labour is not so easily replaced. But the pressure to automate could reduce the incentive to invest in human talent just as a new generation begins to show interest.

Some within the industry are responding proactively. Mark Handley, from Building Our Skills, reported that last year alone, he reached nearly 4,000 students to promote fenestration careers, with close to 190 taking up apprenticeships as a result. “Throughout this year we are holding more Careers Festivals,” Handley said. “We need to continue growing the support and commitment from our industry… and offering entry-level opportunities for these amazing students that are pushing for a career and a place in fenestration.”

But outreach alone may not be enough. There are concerns that recruitment remains too insular, prioritising experience over potential. One newer entrant to the sector highlighted this tension: “There’s a massive skills gap and yet I constantly see news of people being recruited from inside the industry… How do we expect to solve the skills gap if we’re not recruiting from outside?” This perspective raises an uncomfortable question: is the sector unintentionally gatekeeping its own growth?

The fenestration industry faces a critical moment. A generation of young people is reassessing its options. Interest in skilled trades is growing. But unless the industry, supported by policymakers, can lower entry barriers, improve training schemes, and shift recruitment mindsets, this interest may never convert into impact. For fenestration, the choice is clear: modernise or miss out.

John Cowie 

Editor

E: john.cowie@windowsactive.co.uk