What trades are in demand?

ifeelabreeze · 21-02-2022 9:46pm #1

I'm in the final weeks of a Business degree.

I'm really not sure what to go at but I know I eventually want to start my own business, so I want to learn a skillset/business and go from there.. basically setting myself up to (eventually) work for myself.

I know a surprising number of young fellas who are going down the electrician route and I've heard there's a back log.

But what trades are most in demand?

Obviously I'm looking more so at the construction side of things but across the board what's in demand, or what's going to be (if we've a fortune teller among us).

Even outside of traditional 4 year apprenticeships, I know my mother had trouble finding someone to refinish hardwood floors.

Capt'n Midnight · 21-02-2022 10:03pm

Iceland has agreed to stop whaling.

So there's a gap in the market for a whale farmer.

Deregos. · 21-02-2022 10:04pm

I'd of thought all the trades are in great demand at the moment.

There is going to be a massive opportunity in the insulating and upgrading of housing which the government are gonna throw a ball of money into apparently.

Plumbing is also a very sort after trade that pays well.

daheff · 21-02-2022 10:05pm

Gonna be plenty of call for soldiers soon from the look of things

ifeelabreeze · 21-02-2022 10:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670083#Comment_118670083

Asthma nips that opportunity in the bud

ifeelabreeze · 21-02-2022 10:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670077#Comment_118670077

I'd say trades across the board are in demand, but with the likes of electrical I'm not sure but I'd question if the demand for electricians is being met - I know a lot of fellas who dropped out of college and went into it because they saw it as a step above wet trades. If enough young fellas have the idea, I want to be doing something else!

I'd actually looked into that after seeing a few houses that had the cavity insulation work done, would I just be best getting a job with a company that does that type of work and then going it my own down the line?

Also considered plumbing, I've heard it's quite hard to find a decent plumber around me. Last guy we had out to the house left us with a leaky sink and pipework that's currently being held up by a piece of timber

L1011 · 21-02-2022 10:58pm

The only trades I haven't had severe trouble finding (as a punter - both for domestic and some commercial work) have been sparks. And even those aren't that easily available.

fryup · 21-02-2022 11:40pm

Prostitution - oldest trade ever, always in demand, inflation proof too😶

Gant21 · 21-02-2022 11:47pm

The dole

YFlyer · 21-02-2022 11:57pm

Upgrading building BER?

French Toast · 22-02-2022 12:00am

Literally all of them. Take your pick.

Local builder reckons his plasterer is taking home 55-60k per year. Tough work but it's paying him.

johndaman66 · 22-02-2022 12:07am

The Government made an announcement today that they will be targeting to have 1,000,000 electric cars on the road by 2030. Although that's an optimistic target there will be hugh demand for the installation of charging points to build up that infrastructure, be they outside residential houses and apartments, workplaces and commercial (I always thought it was a good game to get into before any announcement). The equivalent of the insulation bubble of 15-20 years ago, although that one will be rejuvenated again also.

fryup · 22-02-2022 12:07am

Toolmaker - handy number

anewme · 22-02-2022 12:15am

Electrician/ and even more so Plumber …and if you have the background if a business degree that could lead to you setting up your own business, then it’s better than any middle management corporate job.

ifeelabreeze · 22-02-2022 12:27am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670808#Comment_118670808

I was actually an apprentice electrician for a brief while between changing college courses, I had a few months between courses so I started an electrician apprenticeship, ended up finishing out my degree but I've often thought about going back (or more so regretting leaving), hence how I know so many fellas in the trade.

But I think if there's a lot of fellas going for that line of work I should look elsewhere..

I was always interested in the work the pipe fitters were doing on site, welding has always interested me for god knows what reason, I just don't know if that's a good trade to get into.

I know the company was technically a plumbing company but they exclusively did large scale pipe work for pharma plants.

The fellas I admire and aim to emulate are all self employed in 'blue collar jobs', well one runs an IT installation/service provider, another is in accident recovery, hardware stores, plant hire etc. I've always had a 'head for business', so I just feel learning a trade or getting stuck into something hands on is the best route for me.

Deeper Blue · 22-02-2022 12:30am

OP haven't you said in previous threads that you've started an apprenticeship in the past but hated it and dropped out? If that's the case what makes you think going back down that route is a good idea?

ifeelabreeze · 22-02-2022 12:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670846#Comment_118670846

I actually referred to that just above your comment.

When I started that apprenticeship I was changing courses, I was in a business degree that I didn't like (lots of maths, stats and economics) and I was commuting via bus, sitting in college all day with no friends to speak of (I had joined in with a group in my first year but we grew apart over the summer and I was essentially forgotten about it), hated it.

So I was taking time out, fairly certain I was going back to do something in college (notions of engineering, but maths), digital marketing and eventually back to Business because it didn't have as much maths, stats etc. But I still haven't enjoyed it.

I didn't fancy working full time in a shop for the few months I was out, so I went into an apprenticeship (after having worked with my uncle who's a carpenter and enjoying that, but not the 1:20 commute).

Electrician seemed like the smart option.

Went with a large, well known crowd, got a tool set off them and I can safely say I've used maybe 1 screw driver and the hack saw (which I used at home and broke). Spent a few days sweeping a factory roof, spent most days pulling cable, ended up getting roped into the (handy) health and safety work.

I think that pissed off a few fellas, like I was taking the easy way out, which in a sense I was. I think that coupled with the fact that I was p*ssed off at pulling cables for days on end, standing out in the rain staring up at a fella on a ladder, I got short sighted and decided, sure I'm going back to college anyway, may as well get a handy number. Went into a warehouse on double the money and I hated it.

The last few weeks of the apprenticeship I worked alongside a new fella who was actually teaching me and who I got on well with, but my time came to an end and I left, I second guessed myself for months following that.

So I think if I was to go back - I wouldn't go back with that crowd, I'd get more stuck in, try to keep my eyes on the end goal, put the head down and concentrate on the fact that when I was sitting on my hole for double the money I was far more miserable - so this is where I want to be at.

That's the long story.

Tl;dr - I didn't like the crowd I was with, was a little sh*t, I've matured and I've seen both sides of the coin (construction vs office work) - I know which one I want to be doing, I won't be a little sh*t going forward

Stone Deaf 4evr · 22-02-2022 4:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670903#Comment_118670903

To quote the bodybuilding Legend, Ronnie Coleman - 'Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, nobody wants to lift no heavy ass weight'

In short, you can chalk your first year or more to being the 'low man' on the job, cleaning, guntering, pulling and dragging. And in fairness, rightly so, given the high risk nature of electricity, but this is true for all trades.

What trades are in demand?

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