Australian tradies have more in common than high-vis vests and hard hats. New research suggests they are a monocultural group who have defied the march of cultural and gender diversity.

It shows that 19-year-old apprentices have a small number of traits in common: they are most likely to be male, Australian-born and public-school educated. They achieved low maths and English scores at school, come from poorer family backgrounds, might be Indigenous, and from regional areas.