Gen Z Is Choosing Trades, Raising Prices, and Knowing Your Worth

About this episode

This episode discusses the shift of Gen Z entering skilled trades and the implications for pricing strategies in the contracting business.

Something is shifting in who's showing up to job sites. Gen Z is entering the trades faster than anyone expected, and the reasons go deeper than just a labor shortage stat. This episode gets into what's actually pulling younger people away from university and toward skilled trades, whether it's going to last, and what it means for trade business owners hiring right now. Kosta, Johny, and Charlie also get into the pricing conversation a lot of contractors avoid. With 67% of small business owners raising or planning to raise rates in 2026, the question isn't whether to raise your prices, it's how to do it without losing the clients you've worked to keep. They break down how to communicate a rate increase, how to identify the clients who aren't worth keeping anyway, and why competing on price is usually the wrong game. If you're running a trades company and you're still charging what you charged two or three years ago, this episode is worth your time. Jobtable helps contractors manage quotes, invoices, scheduling, and client communication in one place, keeping operations tight so you can focus on the work. 👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.com New episodes every week. Subscribe…

People in this episode

Hosts: Kosta, Johny, Charlie

Topics covered

• Gen Z in trades
• pricing strategies
• small business challenges
• labor market trends
• contractor advice

Keywords

• Gen Z
• trades
• pricing
• contractors
• small business
• labor shortage
• rate increase

Sponsors

Jobtable

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