"AI Can't Replicate This"... Young Britons Leave Offices to Learn Handcraft Skills

Young People Turn to Traditional Skills Amid Job Uncertainty
160 Applicants Compete for 2 Metalworking Apprenticeships

As the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) heightens employment uncertainty, more young people in the UK are seeking to learn traditional crafts such as bookbinding and metalworking. They are choosing occupations that require hand skills and craftsmanship—areas that are difficult for AI to easily replicate—as new career paths.

The photo is unrelated to the specific content of the article. Pixabay

The Guardian reported on the 27th (local time) that entry-level white-collar jobs such as accountant, software engineer, and lawyer have become destabilized by AI, leading young workers to take an interest in traditional crafts.

Erin Rowley, 27, who majored in political science, has chosen to work as a bookbinding apprentice at Ruddle Bookbinders in Shropshire, UK, instead of pursuing a career in the digital sector after graduating from university. She stated, "It wasn't good for me to stare at a screen for too long," adding, "I wanted to do work that I could touch and create with my own hands." She feels a greater sense of value in items made by people themselves.

Bookbinding work is mostly done by hand using presses and foil stamping machines dating back to the Victorian era, as well as brushes for applying glue. Some say they experience satisfaction through the process of repeating the same motions and refining their skills.

Paul Kidson, CEO of Ruddle Bookbinders, estimates that there are fewer than 50 companies in the UK that still bind books by hand. He explained that since the official apprenticeship system disappeared in the early 1980s, the industry has had to train its own workforce.

Manual bookbinding work at Ruddell Bookbinders in the UK. Screenshot from Ruddell Bookbinders' YouTube.

Young people’s interest is not limited to bookbinding. The artisan metalworking company Cox London received more than 160 applications this year for just two apprentice positions.

Nazifa Tabassum, an apprentice at Cox London, said, "AI can serve as a tool to support manual work where needed, rather than replacing skilled handcraft." She believes that while it is important to utilize AI, it is also essential to continue developing the expertise and hand skills that are difficult to automate.

The National Theatre in London has also seen a surge in applicants for technical apprenticeships in disciplines like wig-making, costume, props, and metalworking. Recently, as many as 728 applications were received for a single position. However, with a large number of applications written by AI, staff have found it increasingly difficult to manually review every single submission.

As the job environment changes due to AI, young people are discovering new possibilities in human craftsmanship and accumulated experience. Traditional skills, once on the verge of disappearing, are emerging as new career options in the AI era.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.