Female apprentice engineer operating CNC machine at factory
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The CEO of the world’s largest recruitment agency told CNBC that the days of going to college to secure a well-paying career are over, as wages for skilled trade workers have increased 30% in the past few years.
Sander van’t Noordende, CEO of leading Dutch staffing company Randstadrecommended a skilled trades career track for young people in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.
“I would say the days of going to college and doing things in an office are over,” Noordende said. “You have to be smarter than that. I think technology, any kind of technology, is still a good career trajectory.
“Skilled trading is increasing rapidly. I say you can have a good career and make good money in skilled trading. It’s definitely a career track,” he added.
Trade professionals now offer salaries competitive with traditional office jobs, with wage increases of 30% in the US, 21% in the Netherlands, 18% in Germany and 9% in the UK over the past four years, according to the latest data from Randstad shared with CNBC.
The average salary for a mechanic is currently $79,000 in the Netherlands and $76,600 in Germany, while average salaries in the broader housing and construction sector in the UK reach more than $78,500.
The number of data centers (specialized facilities driving the AI boom) is growing rapidly, and supporting them requires a large physical workforce, including skilled trade workers. This has led to a surge in demand for trade workers in recent years.
“The digital revolution requires a large-scale physical infrastructure,” Noordende told CNBC in March. “Debates around the impact of AI on the labor market are often focused entirely on whether generative models will displace white-collar jobs. But an important reality is completely overlooked: AI cannot build its own data centers.”
Big tech companies including Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon have pledged to spend a combined nearly $700 billion in capital investment this year to build out their data centers, creating opportunities for thousands of employees.
A Randstad analysis of 50 million job postings in March showed that demand for data center workers will grow rapidly from 2022 to 2026, with job openings for robotics technicians increasing by 107%, job openings for HVAC engineers by 67%, and job postings for industrial automation technicians by 51%.
Wage premium for AI skills
Randstad’s latest data also highlights that entry-level workers with AI skills are paid up to 25% more as graduates continue to face a job shortage.
“AI is a fast track to promotion and pay for new entrants to the labor market,” Noordende said. “If you can combine that with social skills… softer skills, judgment, cooperation, empathy… you can advance your career faster.”
The premium is most noticeable in technical jobs such as software development. With the addition of AI expertise, starting salaries in the US jump from $85,000 to $105,000. Meanwhile, Randstad data shows that employees with AI certifications are promoted up to 3.5 times faster than other employees.
Young people are graduating into an increasingly competitive job market and are struggling to secure roles as AI displaces jobs from entry-level workers. AI has been cited in about 50,000 job cuts in the U.S. so far this year, according to April data from consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
But as employers increasingly demand AI skills and eliminate low-level jobs, interest in human-centered skills is also growing. According to Randstad data, the demand for emotional intelligence and creativity has soared by 173% and 168% respectively.
Noordende explained that while technical skills are “easy” to acquire, not everyone is good at communication or empathy, and building relationships with customers is a more complex skill to master.
