Young Workers Flock to Heritage Crafts as 728 Applicants Chase 1 AI-Resistant Apprenticeship
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 27
Young Workers Flock to Heritage Crafts as 728 Applicants Chase 1 AI-Resistant Apprenticeship
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 27
Summary
728 applications for one National Theatre apprenticeship role underscore how young workers are pivoting toward hands-on trades they see as less vulnerable to AI than entry-level office and creative jobs.
Fewer than 50 handcraft-operating bookbinders remain in Britain, making the influx a potential lifeline for shrinking trades whose formal training pipelines largely collapsed in the early 1980s.
160 applicants sought just two metalwork apprenticeships at Cox London this year, while employers say demand for human-made premium books, props and artworks is still strong.
27-year-old apprentices in bookbinding, prop-making and metalwork said tactile work, originality and skill development offer both career resilience and an alternative to screen-based, automated work.
The shift highlights a broader labor-market response to AI disruption: young people are reviving heritage crafts even as employers struggle to sift through surging volumes of AI-generated applications.