In Part 1: Roofing's Future Depends on Winning Over Gen Z, we explored the growing crisis facing skilled trades—an aging workforce, a massive skills gap. Here, in Part 2, we look at how industry leaders and companies are responding with innovative solutions, and explore why the future may be brighter than current trends suggest.

A widening gap between retiring skilled workers and new apprentices has sparked a recruitment crisis, prompting American companies to roll out innovative programs designed to draw Generation Z into the trades.

Despite a cultural stigma that has long pushed young Americans toward four-year colleges, a growing number of employers believe they can change minds with competitive pay, clear career paths, and a key selling point: jobs that can't be automated away. 

The challenge is significant. While 91% of Americans agree that trade jobs are as important as white-collar positions, only 38% of Gen Z think skilled trades offer the best opportunities today. But industry leaders aren't giving up: they're adjusting their recruitment strategies to connect with a generation that values psychological safety, meaningful work, and development opportunities more than traditional pay packages. 

Recruitment Strategies

Harris Poll found that 90% of Americans view companies more positively when they support skilled trade programs. Employers are responding with hands-on skills training, paid internships, and scholarship programs, with major retailers and manufacturers offering high school students job opportunities worth up to $70,000 per year.

"Some of Roof Maxx's dealers have started partnering directly with high schools in their region and offering paid summer internships where students get paid experience," said Michael Feazel, CEO of Roof Maxx, a roof rejuvenation service based in Westerville, Ohio. "In our recruiting and interview process, we also strive to showcase the career ladder, particularly for specific roles. Seeing that front and center helps build trust and excites people."

Fraser Patterson, CEO at Skillit, a data-driven recruitment platform for the construction industry, said that key improvements are needed. 

"Financially, apprenticeship programs need to be more competitive (it's hard to attract young talent when a first-year apprentice earns less than they could at McDonald's)," he said. "Paying apprentices better would improve retention, reduce vacancy costs, and strengthen the long-term workforce pipeline."

Jennifer Wilkerson, VP of innovations and advancements at the National Center for Construction Education & Research, sees this disconnect firsthand: "I've been at contractor meetings before and I'll say, 'How many of you recruit from high schools?' None of them raise their hand. 'How many of you have issues right now with hiring people?' All of them raise their hand. I say, 'How many of you know the closest high school to your project site?' Nobody raises their hand."

Since the 1960s, SkillsUSA has partnered with high schools and career and technical education (CTE) programs to promote over 120 skilled trades. After years of advocacy, the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) successfully added roofing as an official SkillsUSA trade and developed a standardized curriculum based on TPO roofing systems.

To expand the program, NRCA worked to gain state-level approval and encouraged local CTE schools to adopt roofing training, emphasizing the importance of support from local roofing professionals. Their efforts led to growing participation—students from four states competed nationally in 2023, 12 states in 2024, and 15 in 2025, including California’s first competitor.

Exposure for roofing as a trade has grown through student participation at the national SkillsUSA competition, attracting schools’ interest and helping spread the program nationwide.

12 Ways to Recruit Gen Z

There are several ways to recruit and retain Gen Z workers the skilled trades.

1. Promote Purpose-Driven Messaging: Highlight how roofing protects communities, supports sustainability, and offers tangible impact—values that resonate with Gen Z.>
2. Offer Hands-On Experiences: Invite students to jobsite tours, ride-alongs, or short internships so they can experience the trade firsthand.
3. Streamline the Hiring Process: Simplify applications and shorten response times with digital forms, quick interviews, and clear next steps.
4. Use Cutting-Edge Hiring Tech: Showcase innovation in the industry with drone demos, virtual site tours, or gamified skills assessments.
5. Recruit Students Early: Connect with high schools, tech centers, and community colleges to introduce roofing careers before graduation.
6. Build Long-Term Talent Pipelines: Partner with trade programs and workforce agencies to create ongoing apprenticeship and training paths.
7. Highlight Real Role Models: Feature young roofers and mentors who have built rewarding careers in the industry to inspire new talent.
8. Show Up Where Gen Z Is: Use TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to share authentic content that celebrates teamwork, craftsmanship, and career pride.
9. Offer Flexibility and Balance: Provide options like flexible scheduling, local projects, or four-day workweeks where possible.
10. Prioritize Well-Being Benefits: Emphasize safety, health coverage, mental-wellness programs, and a supportive team culture.
11. Create Clear Career Pathways: Map out advancement opportunities—from apprentice to crew leader to project manager—to show long-term growth.
12. Be Transparent About Long-Term Rewards: Communicate openly about earning potential, job stability, and benefits that make roofing a future-proof career.

A Shifting Landscape

There are signs the tide may be turning. NPR dubbed Gen Z workers entering skilled trades the "toolbelt generation", young people making deliberate choices to sidestep college pressure and pursue careers where salary potential and employer demand remain high.

"There are stereotypes surrounding skilled trade work that are slowly but surely being dispelled," said Greg Dyer, Chief Commercial Officer at Randstad USA, a staffing and recruitment agency. "This new generation is more open to entering the skilled trades workforce and the fulfilling careers it can offer than more recent generations, given economic uncertainty coupled with the hefty cost of a college education."

Andre Kazimierski, co-owner and president at HomeHero Roofing in LaGrange, Ill., sees the momentum building.

"I do think that we are starting to see more Gen Zers enter into trades like roofing," he said. "This is for a combination of reasons. One is that these kinds of careers can have a more streamlined path that requires less schooling, but that are vital to communities and are thus in high demand and pay well. You can avoid massive student loan debt, which is huge."

The Ready to Hire study reveals how these workers find their path: 64% discover opportunities through family and friends, and 49% develop expertise through hands-on apprenticeships. Social connections and experiential learning remain the most powerful recruitment tools.

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RELATED: Gen Z, Roofing's Workforce of Tomorrow, Gathers at SkillsUSA

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Future-Proofing Against Automation

One of the strongest selling points for skilled trades is their resistance to automation—a compelling argument for a generation that is watching AI disrupt white-collar industries.

"Roofing is future-proof," Feazel said. "You can't automate climbing a ladder, diagnosing storm damage, or building trust with a homeowner face-to-face. Of course, things will evolve (drones and software can assist with inspections and measurements, for example). However, ultimately, it still requires skilled hands and human judgment to deliver quality roofing work. That's not going away."

Dan Staupe, co-owner of Compass Exteriors in Elko, Minn., echoes this sentiment: "That's the other thing about the trades vs. college degrees: AI isn't taking my job. It may make it more efficient in some ways, faster, more precise, but AI is never getting up on this roof and installing shingles, and that makes it future proof."

"Roofing is both high-risk and high-skill, which makes it a prime candidate for augmentation rather than automation," Patterson said. "Given the physical danger and repetitive nature of many roofing tasks, semi-autonomous robotics will likely handle the hazardous, heavy, or precision-demanding parts of the job. But human oversight, problem-solving, and quality control will remain essential."

For employers, the message is clear: attracting Gen Z to skilled trades requires systemic change. McKinsey researchers recommend making jobs more flexible, turning managers into leaders rather than taskmasters, connecting work to community impact, restructuring roles using technology, and investing heavily in career development.

Part of that change also requires better communication about the industry's impact.

"Here's the thing about construction: we don't do a good job telling our stories," Wilkerson said. "We don't tell the personal stories of success, or how a skilled trade changes their lives."

"As someone who has worked in the trades and built a fantastic career and life through this route, it is essential to better educate students and young professionals at the community and policy levels," Feazel said. "Many schools still promote four-year college degrees as the gold standard and view trades as a fallback. That needs to change."

For Gen Z, the choice has never been more consequential. The question is whether America can bridge the gap between recognition and action before the skilled labor shortage becomes a crisis.