The Real AI Talent War Is for Plumbers and Electricians
“We always have way more people applying than we actually accept into our apprenticeship programs,” Madello says. The number of interns admitted, he adds, largely depends on how many union members retire in the coming years.
One problem, however, is training people quickly enough to work on data center projects. Quinonez says the work itself isn’t much different from other plumbing jobs, but data centers are built on strict schedules, leaving little room for delays or errors.
This is important because apprentices typically learn on the job alongside more experienced plumbers on active construction sites. When it comes to data center projects, Quinonez says, companies are much less willing to take risks because even small mistakes can slow down a project.
“A problem could cost a contractor a lot of money,” he explains. Apprentices and interns, he adds, may need to undergo “more rigorous training” before being assigned to build a data center.
David Long, CEO of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), says the group has done a good job keeping pace with retirements by training new electricians. But the scale and technical demands of data center projects have made the need to ensure all workers are onboarded quickly and safely a “challenge” – one that NECA says is addressing appropriately.
Charles White, who oversees regulatory affairs at PHCC, told WIRED that there are plenty of incentives for plumbers, pipe layers and HVAC technicians to work in data centers. The projects generally offer higher wages than other types of construction, in part because of their tight schedules, which make it more likely that workers will work overtime.
White adds that the high demand for plumbers is prompting workers to change employers, and they are often attracted to the longer hours and therefore better salaries offered by data center developers.
“I actually hear these stories all the time,” Quinonez tells WIRED. “You’re going to get paid quickly because you’re doing business with Amazon, or Google, or a big tech company. So there’s competition at every level.”
“The competition is getting fierce,” adds Quinonez. “And part of the problem is that there just aren’t enough plumbers and HVAC technicians. »
In any industry, businesses are always competing for a limited labor pool. But in the construction business, Madello says, some of the pressure is offset by the supply of traveling craftsmen, ready to show up “any time you’re building something in the middle of nowhere.”
It’s unclear how long the demand for tradespeople will last after the artificial intelligence boom begins to fade. When construction ends, data centers typically maintain a small team onsite 24 hours a day, as well as a network of outside contractors who handle repairs to multiple facilities.
“Once the project is finished, they’re not crawling with people,” White told WIRED. “But you have everything that needs to be maintained and the systems operated. So a number of those people are going to stay and join a maintenance team or an operations team.”
If construction eventually stops, there may not be enough alternative jobs, especially if the U.S. economy enters a recession. But for now, business is good, and no one knows how things will end. “Is it a sustained boom? Is it crashing spectacularly?” Basu said. “Does activity gradually decline once the heart of the boom has passed?
