The Truth About Data Center Talent

Tradespeople are the Heart (and Hands) of the AI Boom

Imagine an industry where America is by far the world’s leader. One with fast-growing demand for tradespeople looking for high-paying jobs. One that brings enormous capital and growth opportunities to local communities. Well, that industry is already a reality — but it isn’t mining or manufacturing.

It’s the factories of the digital age: data centers.

According to JLL’s 2026 Global Data Center Outlook, the Americas represent about 50% of global data center capacity. The U.S. is driving most of that activity, accounting for about 90% of that capacity — despite representing only about 5% of global population. Fueled by the AI boom as well as still-growing cloud requirements, demand for data center capacity continues to rise. (Developers will need to build 2-4 times as much data center capacity in the next five years as in the previous 25, according to analysis by McKinsey.)

In addition to playing a key role in the U.S.’s ongoing economic growth, data centers are also driving job creation. Data center employment rose 60% between 2017 and 2023 and the industry could need 140,000 more skilled tradespeople by 2030. Most of these are high-skill, high-wage trade jobs — electricians, HVAC technicians, pipefitters, welders, equipment operators, facilities technicians, who often earn 25% to 30% more than in other industries.

As we think about how the future of our nation’s workers (and larger economic systems) will be fueled, sustained and bolstered competitively, data centers are at this strategy’s center stage. And importantly, these growth opportunities are in the communities where data centers are located, and are open to far more folks than just those with doctorates in engineering.

Shedding light on data center opportunities
Some of the most advanced technological operations of our time happen inside data centers. But this sophistication has created some misconceptions about who can benefit from data center development, and as developers look to partner with local landscapes, it’s time to shed more light on what opportunities are really available in this industry.

Data centers do depend on engineers and other highly technical folks to develop designs and manage operations. But tradespeople are the backbone of data center development and operations. As recently noted in Forbes, some of the most urgent and large-scale work in our industry isn’t that of software engineers or solutions architects crafting earth-shattering new innovations. We’re lucky to have many of those, but without the hands-on work of tradespeople, these ideas and optimizations wouldn’t be realized, making trade workers some of the most vital talent around. Jensen Huang, CEO of the AI chipmaker Nvidia, put it this way: “If you’re an electrician, you’re a plumber, a carpenter — we’re going to need hundreds of thousands of them to build all of these [AI data centers].”

These critical trade roles have historically flown under the radar. This makes it difficult to convey data centers’ value on the local level, but perhaps more importantly, it also means many individuals and communities might be unknowingly missing out on this industry’s strong growth and high-paying, stable jobs. For large-scale, multi-phase hyperscale developments, construction employment can span the better part of a decade — lending added career stability to what are often thought of as ‘short-term’ data center development jobs.

Ultimately, employment of tradespeople is one of the key ways a data center can enrich its local community. This is a story worth telling, and doing so stands to benefit everyone on both the industry and non-industry sides.

The hands-on work being accomplished by tradespeople
Trade jobs are those that rely on hands-on technical skills learned through apprenticeships, trade schools or on-the-job training rather than a four-year degree. A large share of data center employment — especially during construction, a long-term phase where any one of our given developments creates hundreds or perhaps even thousands of jobs — consists of these skilled trade jobs. What’s more, many operations roles function as modern trades even if they don’t carry traditional trade titles. For instance, among our own ranks, our facilities operators can be electricians by trade, adapting their existing skills or expanding their knowledge with on-the-job training to pursue this career.

Demand for skilled tradespeople is far outstripping the current supply of such workers. In fact, trade talent shortages are even threatening to derail developers’ time to market. 52% of data center equipment manufacturers, engineers and construction companies surveyed by Uptime Institute reported that staffing shortages had caused business disruptions in 2025, up from 43% in 2024.

The imbalance between demand and supply of trade talent is a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity — for developers, communities and the tradespeople who train, work and live in the places where we operate. There is a world of value here that developers want and need to share, and making this value known and accessible is part of why we seek to partner with communities — not only to shed light on these opportunities, but to establish local programs that help even more individuals take advantage of rich careers in this high-growth industry.

The local benefits of data center development
Building a hyperscale data center campus is a huge long-term infrastructure project that can last over a decade and employ thousands of tradespeople at peak. More so than other roles, trade jobs represent local hiring opportunities. Career pathways include apprenticeships, union labor, community college programs, and the military — our own internal team boasts professionals from all these backgrounds, among others. Furthermore, data center trades offer long-term employment resilience and clear pathways into careers in other sectors.

Indeed, one of the benefits that is often missed in conversations about data center development and employment is the local construction jobs required to develop enormous data center campuses. In metro Phoenix, for example, our Goodyear campus will eventually have seven buildings. Each takes about two years to build, so with some overlap, the campus will be under construction for 10-12 years, with between 500 and 2,000 people on site every day.

Data center development also generates peripheral benefits for local skilled craft labor and construction-related businesses. With predictable revenue, these local businesses can invest in upskilling and marketing themselves to other developers; this industry represents a huge opportunity for growth. These are long-term benefits that can last well beyond a 10–12-year construction period.

Building talent supply chains locally
As exciting as the data center opportunity is for tradespeople, too few of us are aware of it. To capitalize on the opportunity to acquire, grow and retain talent from the communities in which we operate — that is, to build local talent supply chains — we must build awareness, look beyond ‘traditional’ talent pools and nurture internal career pathways.

People can’t pursue careers they don’t know exist. We must build awareness — among people of all ages and all walks of life — of career opportunities in the data center industry. This means broader awareness of the role of data centers in our lives, as well as the types of careers and the variety and number of career pathways available in a given market or on a given project. This work is most effective when it’s collaborative, which is why we’re proud to be a founding partner of Infrastructure Masons and happy to support its education and workforce development initiatives.

Developing a local talent supply chain requires looking at both conventional and ‘non-traditional’ sources: universities, community colleges, and trade schools, yes, as well as other industries requiring similar skill sets. For example, as our team has grown over the years, it’s no accident that we’ve maintained a significant population of military vets, whose skills and talents are invaluable for data center scenarios. Tradespeople with experience in adjacent industries like utilities, energy and manufacturing are another crucial source of data center talent.

Finally, solving the talent challenge requires a focus on people-first culture and a commitment to supporting career pathways within the company, including by offering opportunities for upskilling and reskilling. For example, we’ve developed growth pathways from entry-level roles into leadership positions and a structured mentorship program that connects experienced technicians and trade professionals with new hires, including veterans and career switchers.

At Stream, a focus on people first is literally in our vision statement: We invest in and empower great people to collaborate with customers and communities to develop and operate safe, secure, reliable and sustainable data centers. In addition to investing in and empowering our teammates through mentorship and professional development opportunities, we work hard to ensure that Stream is a place people love to work. Because at the end of the day, that is the best way to attract, grow, and nurture talent at all levels — and that benefits our customers, it benefits our people, and it benefits the communities where we operate.

Bottom line
As our global economy continues to digitalize and mature, data centers’ economic support and workforce opportunities become more vital. Data centers present rich career opportunities within local economies, and their national growth helps weave together a new foundation of industry where legacy industrial careers in mining and manufacturing have carried many for so long — but now have also declined in many markets. Still, transparency continues to be step one.

If developers don’t give trade work its due, they’ll starve themselves of crucial talent. Furthermore, if communities continue to think that data centers are inaccessible to anyone but software developers and engineers, they’ll also preclude themselves from this value. As we all work to enrich communication, become more transparent about our work and share the wealth (both literally and figuratively) of our digital economy, it’s time we start telling the truth about the talent that gets us there — and in that truth, uncover a path forward that builds the best possible opportunity for all.

Insights shared by Rick Crutchley, Stream’s Chief Operating Officer, as a contribution on Data Center Knowledge.