Your Survival Guy is a big fan of Mike Rowe and his efforts to increase participation in the trades. But nothing gets people motivated like money, and the boom in artificial intelligence building is bringing renewed interest in electrical and other trade jobs as facilities are built to power America’s AI efforts. Lynda DePillis reports in The New York Times:
The data center boom is on everybody’s mind at the Detroit Electrical Industry Training Center, where about 850 apprentices train between long days on the job. The megaprojects are pulling skilled trade workers into remote locations with some of the highest pay and bonuses that the industry had ever seen.
The next generation of electricians is also top of mind for the artificial intelligence companies spending hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure they have enough people to build and run their data centers.
That commitment includes this training facility, which is one of 270 supported by a partnership between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and contractors. As part of a $50 million program from Google, the group plans to boost annual apprenticeship enrollment to 30,000 from 19,500 for the next three years in locations selected by Google. Another grant from BlackRock, the asset manager, would widen training pipelines for its data centers in Texas, part of a $100 million effort to expand the skilled trades.
Mark Straussman and Samantha M. Wender wonder at CBS if the supply of trade workers can keep up with demand. They write:
Data centers now compete with factories and manufacturing plants for electricians and plumbers. As older blue collar workers retire, younger people look at college and white collar jobs.
Roughly 400,000 skilled trade jobs are unfilled in America, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2033, it’s estimated that number could hit close to 2 million, according to Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute.
AI may be displacing some workers in certain industries, but it is also creating a boom of demand for other workers in the trades. That’s encouraging for many young people who are daunted by the increasing costs of college and the questionable ROI of getting a degree.
Action Line: Like all booms, this one may end, but even if it does, it will leave America with skilled electricians, carpenters, HVAC technicians, and plumbers the country desperately needed. If you know someone entering the workforce after graduating from trade school, encourage them to begin saving for retirement. Give them a copy of my Special Report: How to Invest After Graduating College. Whether you finish trade school or university, it’s important to begin saving early to put the power of compound interest to work for you. And when you need help with your retirement, email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com.
