Skilled Trades Study

To better understand how to reach today’s students and those who influence them about the possibility of a future in trades, Ford partnered with ACRI to conduct a mixed-methods research study. The goal of the study was to understand what drives and what hinders consideration of the trades, and to translate that into actionable guidance for a potential national public education perception effort reaching students, parents, counselors, and other trusted adults.

In addition to qualitative interviews with n=51 participants (28 students, 23 parents), the study included a 20-minute online survey fielded in June and July 2026 to n=5,712 participants (3,009 high school students, 2,501 parents of high school students, 202 school counselors).

What will it take for students and their trusted adults to consider trades as a viable post-high school path? For one, move the conversation beyond a binary choice between college and trades, and help both students and parents better understand what the trades offer. Decision-making lives within a broader ecosystem: students need awareness, parents need confidence to support the option, and school counselors need the knowledge and tools to make trades a viable recommendation.

Messaging-wise, the strongest opportunity is to pair inspiration with action. Communications should challenge the assumption that college is the only default route to success while making the trades feel concrete and attainable. Messages should foreground the benefits that matter most (hands-on experience, earning while learning, financial independence, stability, and real-world career readiness) and then show students and families exactly what comes next. A successful national effort should therefore build awareness among students, equip parents to advocate for the option, and give counselors the confidence and resources to recommend it.

MORE KEY FINDINGS FROM THE STUDY:

1. Students and parents are primarily motivated by the outcomes they associate with a good life: financial security (59%), personal fulfillment (44%), earning potential (42%), and stability (39%). These aspirations create a strong foundation for positioning the trades as a pathway to the same broader definition of success that families already value.

2. The primary barrier is therefore less about negative perceptions of the trades than about limited knowledge. Compared with college, students and families have less understanding of what trade careers exist, how to enter them, what the training process looks like, and what opportunities can follow. This knowledge gap makes the trades harder to imagine as a concrete next step.

3. Stereotypes and stigma still linger, as 61% of teens acknowledged there are stereotypes about the kind of people who work in the trades, and 59% said people are sometimes judged negatively for working in the trades. Two in five students (40%) said women are not encouraged to pursue trade careers.

4. Although teens see themselves as the primary decision-makers about their futures, they do not make these choices in isolation. Parents are the most influential members of their decision-making network (76%), followed by other family members (50%), counselors (39%), and teachers (38%).

5. Students were more likely to choose messaging that provided more concrete details about the trades process and career path (69% vs. 31%).