Why Plumbers, Electricians and Builders Are Winning
There's a question we ask children almost as soon as they can talk.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
And without even realising it, the answers we celebrate and the ones we quietly steer away from shape what our children believe is possible for them. For decades, the unspoken message has been clear: academic studies equals a successful career. University equals job security.
Everything else? A backup plan.
It's time to change that story. Not because education doesn't matter - it absolutely does - but because the world our children are growing up in has more doors than ever before. And some of the most exciting ones have a spanner or a set of wire cutters on the other side.
The World Is Changing - And It Needs Skilled Hands to Build It
Here's something worth thinking about for a minute.
Every time someone mentions AI, the conversation tends to go one of two ways: the jobs it might take, the efficiencies it might create and the fake news or images it may produce.
What rarely gets talked about is what AI actually requires to exist.
AI runs on data centres. Enormous, energy-hungry buildings packed with servers that need to be powered, cooled, wired and maintained around the clock, around the country, around the world.
Every new data centre that opens needs electricians. Lots of them. And as AI becomes more embedded in everyday life, that demand isn't slowing down. It's accelerating.
Then there's the shift to electric vehicles. The roads across the globe are quietly transforming. Billions of households will need home charging points installed. Businesses, car parks, motorway services, supermarkets all of them are adding charging infrastructure right now. Every single charge point was installed by an electrician.
New Homes, New Neighbourhoods, New Demand
Walk through any major UK city and you'll see cranes on the skyline. Apartment blocks, housing developments, regeneration projects. The UK is building at a pace not seen in decades, driven by a genuine housing shortage and targets to match.
Every one of those flats needs plumbing. Every bathroom, every kitchen, every heating system. The bigger the building, the more complex the work and the more skilled the hands required to do it right.
This isn't work that can be sent overseas or handled by software. It's physical, expert, on-site work. The kind that will always need a trained person to show up and do it.
The Trades Were Never Second Best
Here's the honest truth: the stigma around trades isn't really about the work. It's about the story we've told ourselves and each other for a generation.
When a child says they want to be a plumber, the response in many households is still a subtle (or not so subtle) "but have you thought about...". When a child says they want to study law or medicine, we celebrate. Both responses send a message. Children hear them loudly.
At Rebel Rio, we believe the best thing we can do for the next generation is show them ALL the doors and let them walk through the one that fits who they are. A love of how things work. An instinct for problem-solving. A satisfaction in fixing something broken. Those aren't lesser qualities. They're the foundations of a brilliant trade career, in one of the most in-demand fields of the next twenty years.
What This Looks Like in Real Life
Rio the Plumber isn't just a character in a book. He's a conversation starter.
When a child reads about Rio fixing pipes, solving problems and running his own business, something shifts. Not every child who reads the book will become a plumber and that's absolutely fine. But they'll grow up knowing it's a real, respected, rewarding option. One of many doors worth considering.
That's what we're here for. Not to tell children what to choose but to make sure they know the full range of what's available to them.
Rebel Rio is a children's book series designed to inspire the next generation of doers, makers and entrepreneurs. Explore the full range and personalise your book at https://www.rebel-rio.com