September 5, 2025
Al Phillips, President
YOU CAN’T GO FAR these days without hearing about artificial intelligence. We’re hearing about it pretty much every day now.
The technology comes with plenty of small, day-to-day benefits.
It can write you an e-mail. It can lay out a monthly family budget. It can make you a meal plan and a grocery list to match.
But there’s plenty of bad, too.
Even by the most conservative estimates, AI will be incredibly disruptive. Especially when it comes to the way people work.
AI is already replacing workers in customer service, accounting, graphic design and the legal profession. As the speed of technological advancements increases, so will the job market disruption.
But do you know what AI cannot do?
AI cannot install or repair a piping system like our plumbers and pipefitters do.
AI cannot install or repair an electrical system like our electricians do.
AI cannot climb tall structures to tie rebar like ironworkers do.
I could go on and on.
Jobs in the trades require real-world troubleshooting, physical dexterity and an ability to work in unpredictable environments. These jobs require a tremendous amount of skill, hard work and focus. What we do cannot be replicated by AI. And with that fact comes a lot of pride and security.
The doomsday scenario for many workers is that AI is coming for their jobs. And while that fear may be well-founded for some, I am here to tell you, Artificial Intelligence or not, good-paying, family-sustaining jobs in the trades are here to stay.
And that is just another reason that our next generation of young people should be flocking to our union trades schools to pursue a career in the trades. As if the excellent pay, good pension and benefits, ability to travel and dynamic nature of the work weren’t enough, you can rest assured that an investment in a career in the trades will pay off with major benefits down the road. And Artificial Intelligence will not replace you.
Accounting firm Deloitte conducted a recent global survey that included Canada. Deloitte wanted to understand what drives Gen Z and millennial workers. The survey found that 89 per cent of Gen Z and 92 per cent of millennials “consider a sense of purpose to be important to their job satisfaction and well-being.”
If you’re a young person who wants meaning at work, you’ll find it in the trades.
You’ll work hard to develop real skills that will be in high demand throughout the industry and across the country. You’ll be able to bring those skills into your daily life as well.
Every day, you’ll build tangible things that will be used by your friends, families and neighbours. You’ll build bridges, roads, schools, hospitals and more.
And while you’ll start as an apprentice, as you grow in your career, you’ll have the ability to help mentor and train the young people who come up behind you. To pass along what you’ve learned to the next generation. You’ll build relationships and help out others looking to make their way in the trades. And what could be more meaningful than that?
AI may change the way some people work, and it may even change our society as a whole, but it will not change the fact that jobs in the trades are meaningful, rewarding and provide a foundation for living a good life.
By Al Phillips,
President