From South Korea to the United States: Blue-Collar Jobs Are Gaining Popularity Thanks to AI

Artificial intelligence is rewriting the value logic of the labor market. The appeal of four-year university degrees, once considered a "safe bet," continues to decline, while skilled blue-collar professions such as electricians, welders, and plumbers are facing historic demand gaps and wage premiums. From vocational schools in the United States to semiconductor production lines in South Korea, the new generation of young people is reconstructing their judgments on education and careers through practical actions.

This shift is supported by clear data. A report released in June 2025 by market research firm Validated Insights showed that revenue for U.S. vocational schools grew by 11.4%, exceeding $19 billion, nearly double the original forecasted increase. Meanwhile, data from employment consulting firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas indicated that in May 2025, layoff plans in the United States due to AI reasons reached 38,579, setting a new monthly historical record and accounting for 40% of all layoff announcements that month.

The pressure on white-collar jobs from AI substitution, combined with the massive physical demand brought by the expansion of data centers and infrastructure, is pushing both supply and demand toward skilled workers. Labor experts point out that the convergence of these two forces may fundamentally change existing perceptions of educational paths and career choices in the United States and even globally.

This transformation is particularly prominent among the younger generation. A survey conducted by Resume Templates in January this year of 1,250 Generation Z adults found that six out of ten plan to engage in blue-collar work in 2026, primarily because they believe these professions offer better long-term job security in the face of AI disruption.

Vocational Education Surge: "Truly Exploding" in Six Months

Brady Colby, head of market research at Validated Insights, an institution studying trends in higher education and vocational training, stated that interest in vocational education has been growing slowly and steadily in recent years, but has "truly exploded in the past six months." He attributes this phenomenon to a dual drive: on one hand, young people are actively seeking careers that are not easily replaced by AI; on the other hand, strong labor demand resulting from infrastructure construction and the expansion of AI-related facilities provides additional momentum. "Now, it is more difficult to find suitable candidates for certain highly technical professions than to hire computer programmers," he said.

Cyrus Kennedy, behavioral analysis expert and CEO of The Ad Firm, characterized this trend as "a combination of a mathematical problem and a psychological shift." "Generation Z has witnessed older Millennials incur six-figure debts for degrees that do not guarantee employment," he said. He also pointed out that this shift is accompanied by growing fatigue among young people with "purely digital, screen-dependent work styles." In Kennedy's view, technical professions not only offer immediate income potential but also provide an entrepreneurial path without bearing the economic pressure of a four-year degree.

Mike Nager, author of "The Student Guide to Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0," noted that the logic of the four-year degree as the default option is disintegrating. "In many cases, this choice is no longer worth it," he said, calling on the industry to actively intervene and fill the "cognitive gap" in public perception of technical careers through promotional programs.

Wage Inversion: Blue-Collar Income Catching Up to or Surpassing White-Collar

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that median salaries for skilled professions have matched or even surpassed those requiring four-year degrees in many cases. The technical worker professions reported to have the most severe shortages in 2026 include electricians, welders, HVAC technicians, plumbers, and heavy equipment mechanics.

Steven Morgan, a licensed master plumber and certified HVAC technician at 24hr.Supply, stated that the apprenticeship model offers a path of "earning while learning" rather than "spending to learn," and that such jobs cannot be outsourced overseas or replaced by software. "No one can replace a licensed plumber with an App," he said. However, Morgan also reminded job seekers not to underestimate the physical toll of these professions, "Truly high wages only come after years of licensing and accumulating practical experience."

In South Korea, this trend is even more direct. According to The Korea Herald, 96.4% of students at Chungbuk Semiconductor High School had received job offers upon graduation last year, with about one-quarter joining Samsung Electronics directly. Last year, the average annual salary of Samsung employees was approximately $107,300; according to the latest union labor agreement, if profit targets are met, employees in the semiconductor division could receive bonuses of up to approximately $400,000 next year.

Retirement Wave and Infrastructure Expansion Create a "Double Gap"

The shortage of skilled workers is facing structural pressure. According to an analysis by Georgetown University, before 2032, 18.4 million workers aged 55 to 64 with post-secondary education in the United States plan to retire, while only 13.8 million young people aged 16 to 24 with equivalent education will enter the labor market during the same period, creating a supply-demand gap of 4.6 million.

Meanwhile, the expansion of data centers and infrastructure is driving up demand from the other end. An analysis by human resources consulting firm Randstad shows that demand for robotics technicians rose by 107%, demand for HVAC professionals rose by 67%, and demand for construction-related positions rose by 30%.

Facing this gap, companies and financial institutions are accelerating their layouts. According to supporting materials, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon announced an investment of $24 million to support submarine manufacturing and employee training, stating that major industrial projects such as shipbuilding will urgently need 300,000 electricians and welders in the next five to ten years; Meta launched a $115 million "American Workforce Academy" project, focusing on training data center technicians and guaranteeing employment; Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison announced an investment of $250 million to train 250,000 skilled workers in plumbing, carpentry, and electrical fields over the next decade.

Reshaping Perceptions Still Faces the Challenge of a "Cognitive Gap"

Although market signals are becoming increasingly clear, skilled professions still face resistance from historical inertia at the level of social perception. For many years, vocational education has been widely regarded as leading only to labor-intensive or low-paying jobs, a bias that has to some extent maintained society's path dependence on traditional university education.

The Philadelphia Technical Training Institute points out on its website that more and more Generation Z young people are choosing vocational colleges precisely because these institutions can provide "fast, practical education that leads directly to careers with stable incomes."

Cyrus Kennedy pointed out that the external assumption that technical professions have a "low career ceiling" is also being re-examined. "In fact, the technical industry is one of the fastest paths to entrepreneurship," he said. "Apprentice plumbers or electricians not only learn how to fix pipes, they also learn how to run a business."

Both Brady Colby and Mike Nager stated that natural growth in interest alone is not enough to fill the talent gap. Nager emphasized that the industry needs to proactively establish field contact and promotional programs targeting teenagers to truly bridge the gap between public perception and market reality—and this gap is one of the most difficult roots of the current labor shortage problem to solve.

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