It’s time to end the snobbishness about manual labour. There are plenty of good careers out there

Not all the recent news is grim – last week there were more jobs advertised than any time since lockdown began, according to the Recruitment and Employment Federation.

Although the Bank of England has predicted that unemployment could rise as high as 11 per cent later this year, some trades are in high demand. Gardening (up 24.8 per cent), debt collecting (up 20.9 per cent – not surprising, given the number of businesses folding) and construction trades (up 15.8 per cent) have all seen high increases in the number of vacancies on offer. The construction industry is busy again, and there’s plenty of work for painters and decorators (up 14.1 per cent).

As we’ve spent more time at home, gardeners (providing you can afford them) are being sought to do all the major jobs we no longer want to tackle.

A few years ago, two of my friends’ teenage sons (neither particularly academic) were wavering about trying to get into university. I encouraged them both to become apprentices – and am proud that one is a now a successful electrician and the other a plumber. I’d say to any teenager who wants to earn a good living and be their own boss, learn a trade.

The legacy of the Tony Blair years is that far too much emphasis is still placed on getting into university and not enough funding goes into apprenticeships and technical training. Time to end the snobbishness about manual work.