The New York Times examines the unprecedented demand for skilled trades workers driven by the AI data center build-out, and what it means for the electricians, contractors, and training programs racing to keep pace. DataBank VP of Construction Tony Qorri is featured as a leading voice on how developers are thinking about workforce strategy years into the future.

The scale of the labor challenge is hard to overstate. Data center installation and maintenance jobs pay 42 percent more than similar roles in other fields, according to an Indeed analysis, and in high-activity markets like Dallas and Northern Virginia, workers routinely jump between projects chasing bonuses and higher per diem rates. Tech companies including Google, BlackRock, and Meta have collectively committed hundreds of millions of dollars to expand apprenticeship and training pipelines.

“Even some folks that are graduating high school, these companies are going after them saying: ‘We’ve got to train you up — this is the way to make money.'”
— Tony Qorri, VP of Construction, DataBank

Qorri describes spending considerable time with contractors planning workforce strategy years in advance, asking them to forgo other jobs to staff DataBank projects when labor is tight. The challenge cuts both ways: The boom is pulling skilled workers away from other sectors including housing, office, and commercial construction, creating the potential for labor tension.

The article also raises longer-term questions about what happens to the workforce when the current build-out cycle eventually slows, a question that hangs over an industry still very much in the middle of its gold rush moment.

Read the full article at The New York Times.