After spending three years at college, Nizier Lawrence changed direction. The New Yorker enrolled at Apex Technical School in Manhattan to train as an electrician. Within weeks, he felt certain he had made the right choice.
"I'm learning more in three weeks than I did in college in three years," Lawrence said.
His decision reflects a wider change in the United States. Skilled trades, once treated as a less desirable alternative to university, are attracting more young adults. At Apex, staff members say the student body is getting younger, with more people arriving directly from high school.
For years, Lawrence recalled, students were usually encouraged to attend college and earn a four-year degree. Trade and vocational schools received far less attention. That attitude now appears to be shifting.
Artificial intelligence is part of the background. Although students at Apex do not talk much about AI itself, they often discuss job security. Lawrence believes more people will move toward skilled trades because electricians will continue to be needed. His classmate Anthony Byrd shares that confidence. "Everything is powered by electricity right now," Byrd said.
The expansion of AI may itself create more work for some trades. Data centers require extensive electrical systems, and their rapid construction has increased demand for electricians and other skilled workers. US labor projections published in 2025 estimated that employment for electricians would grow 9% from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Training time is another attraction. Apex says its electrician program takes about seven months on average, compared with at least four years for a university degree. The program costs around $18,000, which is still a major expense, but students may be able to enter the workforce sooner.
The school also trains plumbers, heating and cooling technicians, welders and cooks. Staff members emphasize that buildings will continue to need pipes and wires, no matter how advanced digital technology becomes. Their argument is not that these jobs will never change, but that much of the work still requires people to solve physical problems in real places.
The social side of practical work is another attraction. Lawrence values the chance to meet people, while students in the culinary program are drawn to the shared activity of a working kitchen.
For this new generation of students, trade school offers more than protection from automation. It provides a shorter route into skilled work, visible results at the end of the day and the human connections that are difficult to reproduce on a screen.