“We always have many more people applying than we actually accept into our internship programs,” Madello explains. According to him, how many interns are admitted largely depends on how many union members are expected to retire in the coming years.
One problem, however, is getting people trained quickly enough to work on data center projects. Quinonez says the job itself isn't much different from other plumbing jobs, but data centers are built to strict schedules, leaving little room for delays or errors.
This is important because apprentices typically learn on the job, working 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 delay a project.
“It can be very expensive for a contractor if something goes wrong,” he explains. Apprentices and interns, he added, may have to undergo “more rigorous training” before being assigned to help build a data center.
David Long, CEO of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), says the group has done a good job of keeping up with retirements by training new electricians. But the scale and technical demands of data center projects have made it a “challenge” – which he says NECA is meeting appropriately – to ensure all employees are on board quickly and safely.
Charles White, who oversees regulations at PHCC, tells WIRED that there are plenty of incentives for plumbers, pipe layers and HVAC technicians to work on data centers. The projects typically offer higher wages than other types of construction, in part because of their tight schedules, which make workers more likely to work overtime.
White adds that the high demand for plumbers is driving workers to change employers, and they are often enticed by the longer hours and therefore better wages that data center developers offer.
“I actually hear these stories all the time,” Quinonez tells WIRED. “You get paid quickly because you're dealing with an Amazon, or a Google, or a big tech company. So there's competition across the board.”
“The competition is going to be fierce,” Quinonez added. “And part of the problem is there just aren't enough plumbers and HVAC technicians.”
In any industry, companies are always competing for a limited amount of manpower. But in construction, Madello says, some of the pressure is offset by the reluctance of traveling tradesmen, who are willing to show up “any time you're building something in the middle of nowhere.”
It's unclear how long demand for skilled workers will last after the artificial intelligence boom eventually begins to wane. When construction ends, data centers typically keep a small crew on site 24 hours a day, along with a network of third-party contractors who handle repairs for multiple facilities.
“When the project is done, it won't be crawling with people,” White tells WIRED. “But you have all these things that need to be maintained and systems that need to be operated. So a certain number of those people are going to stick around and end up in a maintenance crew or an operations crew.”
If construction eventually declines, there may not be enough alternative jobs left, especially if the U.S. economy enters a recession. But for now, things are going well, and how things will end remains anyone's guess. “Is it sustained growth? Is it crashing spectacularly?” says Basu. “Does activity gradually decline once the heart of the boom is over?”
