We talk to tradies every day, but lately, the conversations have shifted. Take a peek at our top insights from a trade in transition.
Truth 1 of 10
Tradies are still busy, but there’s less to show for it.
Despite talk of jobs slowing, rising material costs and a shaky economy, the work is there. The real issue is margins – customers can’t see what a job actually costs to deliver.
The squeeze has moved from the diary to the invoice, and tradies are learning to live with less on every job.
Truth 2 of 10
AI is changing the office before it changes the worksite.
It’s showing up in quotations, variations, safe work method statements and compliance paperwork. One tradie told us admin that used to take him four or five hours now takes just two or three minutes.
So the trade skill isn’t what’s under threat. The paperwork around it is.
Truth 3 of 10
One trade now runs at two different speeds.
AI adoption is splitting the trade. Some tradies are using it to save hours on admin, while others are sticking to familiar ways of working.
As the gap widens, so does the difference in how efficiently businesses can operate.
Our take
As tradies change how they work, learn, connect and cope, the brands that keep pace will be the ones paying attention.
Truth 4 of 10
The biggest fear is the callback.
Tradies aren’t losing sleep over the competition. They’re worried about product failures, compliance issues and getting called back to fix a job after they’ve left the site.
It’s not the work that keeps them up. It’s the work coming back.
Truth 5 of 10
Problem-solving is the fun part.
Ask a tradie what makes a good day on site and it’s rarely the heavy lifting. It’s working out what’s gone wrong, finding a way around it and getting it right.
The problem isn’t what gets in the way of the job. It is the job.
Truth 6 of 10
YouTube is where tradies go to learn.
Chances are someone has already filmed a walkthrough (that takes 90 seconds, not 90 minutes). For plenty of products, that someone isn’t the company that made it.
Whoever explains a product shapes how it’s understood.
That’s only part of the story
There are 10 trade truths shaping what happens next. Download the full report.