Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2020 - 29

The majority of receptive students believe the trades provide skills that will always be in demand, provide a clear
path to ownership opportunities and deliver financial stability.
POSITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD SKILLED TRADES
Completely Disagree/Disagree

Completely Agree/Agree

Provides me with skills that will always be in demand
Offers a good opportunity to own my own business
Avoiding college debt is very important to me
I understand what I'll do in the job
Provides a clear career path
I don't want to work at a "desk job" my whole life
Enables me to know how much money I can really make
It would be easy to support myself/family
A skilled trades career gives me the opportunity to do what I enjoy
Offers jobs with health insurance benefits
Easy to find training I need
Skilled trades are a great fit for me
My first choice for a career is in the skilled trades

CLOSING THE INFORMATION GAP

The information kids want to know about skilled trade careers covered a wide
range of areas, from career paths to training opportunities, to application
processes, work conditions and salary ranges. The more info that is shared
and the earlier that it's provided, the better. 
When asked for their preferred methods of learning about the field,
respondents ranked personal interaction the highest, including trips to
local businesses and one-on-ones with people skilled in a trade. Career
days and technical college field trips were not far behind. Social media,
particularly YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, are additional avenues for
providing an early introduction to skilled trades where there is considerable positive messaging from young people already in the trades. Training
programs, online-training courses, four-year colleges and trade schools
also scored well.
Preferred ways of receiving training include hands-on paid experiences/
apprenticeships, conversing with those in the field, high school classes and
hands-on volunteer experiences. 

ABOVE Source: NKBA "Skilled

Trade Candidate Attitudinal
Assessment" study

WHAT WE'VE LEARNED

Based on this NKBA research, we know the
kitchen and bath industry needs to provide more
hands-on opportunities to kids and to connect
them with professionals and information. NKBA
NextUp initiatives such as the BridgeYear/NKBA
Career Tours, opening KBIS tours and panel discussions to local high school students and an upcoming philanthropic Community Restoration
Project with NKBA's Rocky Mountain Chapter
accomplish both. But much more is needed. With
this research providing a roadmap, NKBA and its
chapters will continue to lead the way to finally start
closing the gap that has long plagued skilled trades. 
NKBA research reports are available in the
NKBA store under "Market Research Reports"
at store.nkba.org.


29
28-29_KBB_0920_ResearchRoundup.indd 29

8/17/20 6:56 PM
http://store.nkba.org
Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2020
