New survey findings suggest women tend to see the skilled trades as a more plausible career path for others than for themselves. In total, 15 per cent of this year’s participants work in the skilled trades, up slightly from 13 per cent in the previous year. Results show a year-over-year uptick in the percentage of respondents who have considered a career in the skilled trades — rising from 40 to 43 per cent. Parsing by gender, 56 per cent of male respondents say they have strongly (24 per cent) or somewhat (32 per cent) considered the skilled trades versus 31 per cent of female respondents. This year, a slightly higher percentage — 11 per cent versus 9 per cent in 2024 — has a family history in the skilled trades.