Data centers have become a flashpoint in the debate over AI, with critics raising concerns about their impact on local communities, including water use, electricity demand, and noise pollution. But data centers are also creating massive demand for workers—especially people interested in the skilled trades.
“Currently there are hundreds of thousands of skilled trade roles open across the U.S. just waiting to be filled,” Tim Chadwick, Google Data Center Operations Area lead for Ohio and Indiana, wrote in a blog post. “These are jobs like master electrician, lead pipefitter, and project manager—high-growth careers that offer long-term financial stability.”
These openings are part of a much larger shortage of blue-collar workers. An estimated 2.1 million skilled trades jobs in the U.S. could go unfilled by 2030, according to U.S. Department of Education estimates cited in a JLL report. For workers, that translates into a growing pool of career opportunities that don’t require a four-year college degree, but can instead offer pathways to develop specialized skills through technical training, apprenticeships and on-the-job experience.
As thousands of data centers continue to be planned, workforce pressures are expected to accelerate. Worldwide, data centers are projected to require $6.7 trillion in investment through 2030 to keep pace with demand for computing power, according to McKinsey.
Despite the abundance of jobs, data center construction firms are struggling to find enough labor
The career opportunities created by the AI infrastructure boom have also caught the attention of some of the technology industry’s biggest executives.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, a vocal critic of AI ‘doomsday narratives,’ believes the world is on the cusp of what he’s called the “largest infrastructure build-out in human history”—one that will create “a lot of jobs.”
“The skilled craft segment of every economy is going to see a boom,” Huang told Channel 4 News in the U.K. in 2025. “You’re going to have to be doubling and doubling and doubling every single year.”
General Motors CEO Mary Barra has similarly argued that the U.S. faces a “societal problem” in treating skilled trades as less desirable than white-collar professions.
“[We need to] really make sure high school students understand this is a great career and frankly maybe a little more AI-proof than some others,” Barra told Fortune, adding that a technician could make $80,000 to $90,000. “Potentially even higher, depending on how many hours they work.”
But even with some of the most prominent CEOs predicting a boom, getting enough people into the skilled trades remains a challenge.
For decades, the U.S. education system and labor market have emphasized the path from high school to a four-year degree, while vocational and technician training has received less investment—and even been stigmatized. That has left employers in many skilled trades struggling to replace an aging workforce and train enough new workers to meet demand.
The jobs themselves also come with trade-offs that make them harder to fill. Skilled trades can be physically demanding, require long hours, and involve working outdoors in extreme weather. Construction work is also largely project-based, meaning workers may have to move from one site to another—or even across the country—as projects are completed.
That presents a particular challenge for data centers. Their construction can create hundreds or even thousands of jobs at a single site, but once a facility is operational, the number of workers needed to maintain it drops significantly to a few dozen.
A 2026 survey of construction firms working on data center projects found that 58% reported increased competition for skilled workers, while 49% reported increased wage pressure. Another 37%, however, cited the availability of workers or subcontractors as their biggest challenge in pursuing or delivering data center projects.
From Ford to Bank of America, corporate giants are joining forces to rebuild America’s skilled trades pipeline
Many companies have taken it upon themselves to address the reckoning happening at the intersection of education and the labor market.
Earlier this year, Ford, Carhartt, BlackRock and Google formed the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades, a partnership focused on building pipelines for vocational skill development.
“We must change the kitchen table conversation and encourage more young people to take that first step toward a career in the skilled trades,” the company leaders, including Ford CEO Jim Farley, wrote in a July Fortune op-ed. “Providing clear, accessible pathways into the trades ensures that more people can transition into fields that offer greater stability, higher wages, and create long-term opportunities in their careers and economic impact for their communities.”
Similarly, in early September, the Lowe’s Foundation launched the Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition to change the perception of careers in the skilled trades—and invest in ways for education, workforce, and industry to work together. NVIDIA, AT&T, Bank of America, Carrier, General Motors, DEWALT and Duke Energy joined as early partners.
