City’s tradespeople love reading literature, keeping fit and getting their ‘five a day’!
- Out: bacon sandwiches and fry-ups. In: five-a-day
- Tradespeople enjoy four political discussions each week
- Eight in ten tradespeople in Edinburgh are happy in their career
New research from Local Heroes, a digital service that helps people to find trusted local tradespeople, has highlighted that while tradespeople in Edinburgh still enjoy tea, biscuits and a bacon sandwich, most skilled labourers are shrugging off their old-fashioned image and challenging stereotypes.
According to the independent national research*, four in ten tradespeople in Edinburgh said that the most common misconception about them is that they are untidy, whereas three in 10 said people thought they were both sexist and unreliable. Despite this, the vast majority (88%) of tradespeople in the region said they were happy in their career.
Challenging the misconception that tradespeople lead an unhealthy lifestyle, seven in 10 said they visit the gym at least once a week and two thirds (68%) eat more than their five-a-day most days. Furthermore, the notion that tradespeople regularly eat bacon sandwiches, fry-ups and pies is questionable – respondents in Edinburgh most commonly said they ate these food items just once a week.
When it comes to refreshments, local tradespeople are no strangers to a hot drink while on the job. On average, labourers in Edinburgh drink 12 cups of tea and nine cups of coffee each week. Both are accompanied by 10 chocolate biscuits, with Bourbons being the biscuit of choice.
It is no surprise that tradespeople in the area are constantly on the move. The findings show that each week they clock up an average of 67 miles in their van, drop-off or collect children from school most days and, whilst doing these activities, sing along to six songs on the radio.
The stereotype of tradespeople discussing only sports, cars and sex is also shown to be unfounded—the survey shows that in fact, tradespeople in Edinburgh engage in political discussions on average four times a week, and also read a book as often as six times a week.
Mat Moakes, Director of Local Heroes, commented on the survey: “The findings may be surprising to some, but we know from the interaction we have with the 1,900 independent tradespeople in our network that this is the true picture — it confirms our view that tradespeople in Edinburgh love their jobs, work hard and look after their health.
“For anyone looking to hire a tradesperson to carry out work in their home, you can get peace of mind by making sure that you look for fully qualified and insured professionals, and obtain a full quote before work commences.”
The average Edinburgh tradesperson in weekly figures:
- Eats 8 Bourbon biscuits
- Drinks 12 cups of tea
- Drinks nine coffees
- Has four political debates
- Drives 67 miles
- Sings along to six songs
- Reads a book six times
- More than half clean their vehicles
- Sends 13 texts to the other half
- Spends 6 hours on social media
- 88 per cent are happy in their career
- 85 per cent said they would choose the same career if they had their time again
- Spends 3 hours in the pub
- Drinks 6 pints
And finally, 78 per cent of tradespeople in Edinburgh describe themselves as ‘very’ or ‘quite’ sensitive!
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