The view that a university degree is the main route to a stable\ncareer is beginning to change. Amid advances in technology and the AI\nboom, many technical jobs are experiencing rising demand and significant\npay increases.<\/p>\n
Professions such as mechanics, robotics technicians, and\nair\u2011conditioning technicians are increasingly in demand by employers. In\nfact, in several advanced countries, earnings of skilled trades workers\nare starting to rival those of office staff.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon was revealed by Randstad, the global recruitment\ncompany, through its latest data on labour market trends. Randstad CEO\nSander van \u2019t Noordende said traditional career patterns are beginning\nto shift.<\/p>\n
\u2018I would say that the days of going to university and then working in\nan office to secure a lucrative career are over,\u2019 Noordende said, as\nquoted by CNBC on Friday, 22 May 2026.<\/p>\n
\u2018You have to be smarter than that. I think technology, of any kind of\ntechnology, remains a good career path,\u2019 he added.<\/p>\n
He said that skills-based technical work is now growing much faster\nthan some traditional administrative roles. \u2018Skilled-trade work is\ngrowing very rapidly. I would say you can have a good career and earn\ngood money in this field. That is clearly a career path,\u2019 he\ncontinued.<\/p>\n
Randstad data show that average wages for skilled-trade workers in\nthe United States have risen by up to 30 per cent since 2022. Increases\nhave also been seen in the Netherlands by 21 per cent, Germany 18 per\ncent, and the United Kingdom 9 per cent.<\/p>\n
In the Netherlands, a mechanic can now earn an average US$79,000 or\naround Rp1.38 billion per year. In Germany, a mechanic\u2019s earnings reach\nUS$76,600 or around Rp1.34 billion per year.<\/p>\n
Moreover, workers in the construction and housing sectors in the\nUnited Kingdom have recorded average earnings of more than US$78,500 or\naround Rp1.37 billion per year.<\/p>\n
Rising demand for technical workers is partly driven by the\nconstruction of data centres that underpin the global AI industry. These\nfacilities require a large amount of physical labour, from electrical\ntechnicians, air\u2011conditioning specialists, industrial automation to\nrobotics.<\/p>\n
Noordende argues that the advancement of AI actually shows that\ndigital transformation still requires a lot of human labour on the\nground. \u2018The debate about AI\u2019s impact on the labour market often focuses\nonly on whether generative models will replace office jobs. The\nimportant reality, however, is overlooked: AI cannot build its own data\ncentres.\u2019<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/skilled-trades-salaries-now-overtake-office-workers-some-hit-rp1-8-billion-1779542383", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }