68% of Skilled Trade Workers Feel a Desire to Work with Innovative, Non-traditional Tools, NFPA Survey Finds

The National Fire Protection Association released its 2023 Industry Trends Survey, which reveals insights around employee sentiment on training and labor shortages, use of technology on the jobsite and how technology supports their top priorities.

Nearly half of respondents (45%) said a shortage of qualified workers would be their biggest challenge at work in 2023. Additionally, 42% said they anticipate their budgets will focus on increased hiring to replace or add jobs in 2023.

Closely following concerns around a hiring shortage, 42% of respondents cited lack of knowledge sharing and collaboration as their top challenge, while 32% said codes and standards requirements continuously evolving would be their greatest challenge in the new year.

Thirty-two percent of respondents are utilizing technology on the jobsite on a day-to-day basis, while 22% utilized technology multiple times a week. With this in mind, nearly one-third (28%) of trade workers anticipate their organizations’ 2023 budgets will be focused on updating manual or outdated equipment.

These potential budget increases are in line with employee priorities: the survey also found that 68% of respondents felt a desire to work with innovative, non-traditional tools on a jobsite, while 17% found that the lack of job-enabling technology was one of their biggest challenges on the jobsite in 2022.

Further, 40% of respondents believed the biggest opportunity for technology to improve their day-to-day work on the jobsite would be for ease of communication between team members:

• 25% believed it would improve accuracy and safety
• 13% believed it would resolve code and inspection disputes more quickly
• 11% believed it would provide quick and easy access to codes and standards
• 10% believed it would give customers confidence in their organization’s ability

When asked what they most prioritize on a jobsite, 37% of respondents said quality of work, while 31% identified safety and security as top priority. To that end, 25% of respondents believe technology implemented in their day-to-day job functions would improve accuracy and safety.