The race to build artificial intelligence data centers is heating up as companies like Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI scramble to scale the infrastructure needed to power their ambitious AI plans. But a growing bottleneck threatens to slow that expansion: a shortage of skilled trade workers.
Demand for electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, and ironworkers is rising faster than supply, while many workers in those fields are nearing retirement. It’s also a problem top of mind for BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.
On Wednesday, the firm announced it would invest $100 million in skilled trade training programs, deploying funds through nonprofits and workforce development partners across multiple states. The initiative aims to reach 50,000 workers over the next five years.
“Throughout our history, tradespeople have built our country,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in conjunction with the announcement. “America needs an estimated $10 trillion in infrastructure investment by 2033 to modernize aging systems and build new energy, digital, and AI infrastructure. Capital alone is not enough—people are central to building our nation’s future.”
For BlackRock, the buildout of AI is more than just a workforce issue—it’s closely tied to the firm’s investment strategy. The company is among the biggest investors backing Meta’s massive Hyperion data center, which is expected to sprawl to four times the size of Manhattan’s Central Park. In October, it was reported that BlackRock purchased more than $3 billion in bonds tied to financing the project.
BlackRock also led a group of investors in acquiring Aligned Data Centers in a deal valued at about $40 billion, underscoring the scale of capital flowing into AI infrastructure. At a time when many white-collar roles face disruption from AI itself, the boom is also creating an unexpected opportunity for Gen Z: high-paying skilled-trade careers that don’t require a four-year degree.
Larry Fink warns the U.S. is running out of electricians—and Gen Z could earn six figures filling the gap
Fink has long warned that the shortage of skilled trade workers—especially electricians—could become a serious constraint on the AI boom.
“I’ve even told members of the Trump team that we’re going to run out of electricians that we need to build out AI data centers,” Fink said last year at CERAWeek, an energy conference hosted in Houston. “We just don’t have enough.”
Electrical work alone accounts for 45% to 70% of total data center construction costs, according to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Over the next decade, more than 300,000 new electricians are expected to be needed to meet AI-driven demand. That’s on top of over 200,000 electricians who are expected to retire over roughly the same period.
And depending on the region, salaries can exceed six figures right outside of training. Union electricians at IBEW Local 26 near Washington, D.C.—home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers—apprentices start at about $26 an hour.
After completing a five-year apprenticeship, journeyman electricians earn roughly $59.50 an hour, or more than $120,000 annually, plus benefits such as health insurance and pensions. With overtime or supervisory roles, annual earnings can approach $200,000.
It’s not just BlackRock—leaders at Google, Nvidia, and Microsoft are worried about the skilled trade deficit
BlackRock isn’t alone in its concern about the lack of skilled trade workers. Executives across the tech industry warn that a lack of electricians and other tradespeople could slow the rapid buildout of AI infrastructure.
Microsoft’s President Brad Smith said last year that electrical talent shortages were the “single biggest challenge for data center expansion in the U.S.” In some cases, the company has had to ask workers to commute as far as 75 miles away or even be temporarily relocated to fill critical roles.
Google has raised similar concerns. In a policy report, it warned that a lack of electricians “may constrain America’s ability to build the infrastructure needed to support AI.” In response, the tech giant pledged $15 million and formed a partnership with the Electrical Training Alliance (etA) to help expand the pipeline of electrical workers.
And just this week, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang wrote in a blog post that the skilled workers needed to build the physical backbone of AI—from chip factories to data centers—are already in short supply.
“The labor required to support this buildout is enormous. AI factories need electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, steelworkers, network technicians, installers and operators,” Huang said.
“These are skilled, well-paid jobs, and they are in short supply. You do not need a PhD in computer science to participate in this transformation.”
