Two Birmingham tradesmen-turned-trainers are making the case for human expertise in an age of automation
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the modern workforce, one sector is pushing back against the narrative that automation will replace all human expertise: construction.
While AI dominates headlines and boardroom agendas, the building industry offers a compelling counterargument.
Plastering, bricklaying and other skilled trades depend on hands-on judgement built over years of site experience that no algorithm can replicate.
John Downes, a plastering trainer at BMet’s Erdington Skills Centre in Birmingham, spent more than two decades on the tools before moving into further education. He is clear that technology has its limits when it comes to the realities of site work.
“AI is becoming part of the conversation in every industry, and construction is no different,” he says.
“But trades like plastering are still built on hands-on skills and experience. Every construction job is different, and you need that judgment you only get from years on site.”
A workforce at a crossroads
His colleague Joseph Cummins, who teaches bricklaying and health and safety at the same college after working his way up from apprentice to site manager, shares that view.
“In construction, AI can support the way people work, but real site experience is still essential, from judgement to safety awareness and knowing how to do a job properly,” he says.
The stakes are considerable. The construction sector currently faces more than 140,000 vacancies, with over a third of its skilled workforce expected to retire by 2035.
That looming demographic shift is driving experienced professionals like Downes and Cummins into further education, where they can transfer decades of practical knowledge to the next generation of workers.
Both trainers continue to work within the industry alongside their teaching roles, ensuring their instruction reflects the demands of modern construction sites rather than outdated theory.
Cummins is candid about the risks of allowing enthusiasm for new technology to outpace investment in people. “If we don’t keep investing in people and practical training alongside it, we risk losing the expertise the sector depends on,” he warns.
In an era defined by rapid technological change, the message from Birmingham’s building trade is straightforward: experience earned on scaffolding and with mortar in hand cannot be coded, automated or downloaded.
