As tech CEOs predict AI will wipe out millions of roles, about 1,300 Whole Foods employees have been trained in traditional crafts like fishmongering to cake decorating. Other retailers like Lowe’s also have their own trade initiative. The retailer says artisan work is “vital” during a talent shortage and mass automation of human tasks. And it could provide unemployed Gen Zers—who can’t get a corporate gig but hate the idea of becoming a tradie—with an alternative career path.
As AI rapidly disrupts white-collar roles, many workers are scrambling to find a career that is safe from complete automation. Now, skilled traditional trade work is on the rise—and $13.7 billion grocery giant Whole Foods Market is reviving artisan skilled apprenticeships.
Every quarter, the company welcomes up to 300 staffers on its upskilling program‚ giving them a chance to swap working in the corporate head office or behind a till, for becoming a butcher.
“What began as a single program with just a few hundred participants has grown into a portfolio of seven specialized training tracks, with more on the way,” Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, chief merchandising and marketing officer at Whole Foods, tells Fortune.
“This is just the beginning—we’re building something that scales with our business and creates real, lasting career opportunities for our team members.”
Workers can shift from working at a desk to pizza-making in just 13 weeks
Since its launch in 2023, the program has collectively enrolled more than 1,300 of its employees, and recently added pizzaioli to its training offering.
Other lines of speciality include fishmonger, meat butcher, bakery decorator, cheese professional, and produce professional. The shorter apprenticeships, like pizza-making, last 12 to 13 weeks, while more intensive training, like meat butchering, spans anywhere from six to 12 months. Oblisk says that employee wages are increased when they enter the program, with pay varying based on their previous salary and apprentice track—unlocking not only specialized skills, but a stronger career pathway.
“We’re not only helping them, one, learn more about this area where they’re deeply engaged and interested. Two, actually give them a credential,” Oblisk continues. “I always say I want people to have a long career at Whole Foods and do whatever they want to do. But the reality is, we know people do leave, and so my hope is that I send everyone back into the world better than they came to me.”
It could be a way for workers to even AI-proof themselves a little. After all, trade and artisan jobs are seen as safer from technological disruption compared to white-collar jobs like consulting or customer service. AI can’t taste, touch, or smell the quality of artisanal cheeses—but certified cheese professionals can, and Whole Foods has trained more than 370 workers in the skill, making up more than a quarter of all these cheese artisans worldwide.
“Many of our alumni go on to advance their careers within the company, using their apprenticeship as a springboard,” Oblisk explains. “This is more than training—it’s a career accelerator.”
The rise of apprenticeship and trade work in the era of AI
Many Gen Z are ditching the college-to-office-job path as tuition skyrockets and AI continues to automate thousands of roles. About 78% of Americans even said that they have noticed a spike in young people turning to jobs like carpentry, electrical work and welding.
Like all of Whole Foods’ apprenticeship specialties, many of these AI-proof jobs require humans to work with their hands, whether that be going into truck driving, cooking, or nursing. Young people making that switch can make a pretty penny. People can enter technical fields of work, like surgical equipment sterilization, without a college degree, and earn up to $70,000 right off the bat. Typically, all that is required is a short training program—just like the apprenticeships at Whole Foods.
Even Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison advises people to take up physical jobs, like electrician work, or manning a cash register, as AI comes for the corner offices. The retail giant also has its own program to support craft work, with Lowe’s Foundation committing $50 million over the next five years to boost the training of 50,000 tradespeople. Ellison said it’s an opportunity to revive vital speciality work, as there’s currently a shortage of craftspeople.
The same is true when it comes to Whole Foods’ apprenticeships; specialized physical trades like fishmongering and bakery decorating can also be seen as AI-proof career paths. Oblisk says that the Whole Foods’ apprenticeship program is a professional accelerator in the era of AI.
“Retail is a balance of art and science. AI is bringing incredible value in the form of efficiency, speed and precision to the science of retail,” she says. “To complement this, programs like the [Whole Foods Market] apprenticeships remain critical to raising the bar on the art of retail…Apprenticeships are an accelerated career [driving] business results in the age of AI.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
