Colleges offering courses in construction are struggling to keep up with demand as increasing numbers of white collar workers ditch their desk jobs to learn a trade.As AI capabilities continue to grow more workers are turning to manual labour jobs that cannot be replaced by a computer.The Association of Colleges says 86% of colleges now have waiting lists for construction courses.At Leeds College of Building - the UK's only further education college dedicated to construction - 600 applicants were turned away last September because of lack of space.It currently has more than 300 students on its waiting lists for subjects including plastering, electricals and plumbing.Evening courses are also full, with adult learners on another waiting list to learn a new skill as they look to move out of their day job.Bankers, physios, accountants and logistics workers are among those who have applied for a trade course at Barnet and Southgate College.Arbnor Isufaj, a plumbing lecturer, said the learners have been enticed towards plumbing due to the earnings potential and its relative immunity to AI. Courses for plumbing and carpentry are struggling to keep up with demand as white collar workers look for a stable job which is safe from AI Sophane Grey spent 30 years working as an accountant at Nike and Cisco, before she decided to make the move into construction.The 52-year-old became weary of her old routine and in October 2024, quit her job to train up in a trade.However she soon discovered that the demand for places was high and she was forced to wait nine months before starting a course.She told The Times: 'I tried five different campuses, but everything was full. I’d initially wanted to get onto electrical or plumbing, but the waiting lists were even longer'Ms Grey is now part-way through a qualification in construction skills at Capital City College in Holloway, north London.She is learning carpentry, painting and decorating, and bricklaying in a class where she is the only woman alongside 14 male teenagers.She is hoping to get a place on a course in solar energy and domestic retrofitting in September. Colleges are struggling to cope with the demand for places. At Barnet and Southgate College, the waiting list for places has reached 306.Hardeep Singh, head of the construction department, said he had never seen a waiting list in his 17-year career before demand suddenly exploded.Most colleges have already been forced to close enrolments for courses this September.