AI giants are recruiting an unexpected demographic to work in their U.S. data centers: veterans

But there’s one area where companies can’t find enough workers: data centers. And, as AI drives massive data center growth, it’s fueling a massive hiring push. For some companies, veterans represent an untapped labor pool.

The data center skills shortage

Tech giants Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are spending nearly $700 billion this year to construct data centers. But there aren’t enough workers to build or maintain them.

“Ultimately, the real constraint on global tech growth isn’t solely related to a shortage of microchips, energy or capital; it is the severe scarcity of the specialized talent required to build it,” Sander van’t Noordende, CEO of recruitment firm Randstad, told CNBC.

There are labor shortages in jobs ranging from specialized engineers and cybersecurity professionals, to electricians, plumbing and HVAC professionals. And there’s a growing need for ‘new-collar’ workers.

New-collar jobs sit at the intersection of white-collar and blue-collar jobs. They require technical proficiency, but not necessarily a four-year academic degree. Rather, skills are learned through training and hands-on learning. And they tend to pay well — often in the six-figures.

“Because these jobs are tied to emerging tech, responsibilities shift more often than in traditional roles,” according to Mercer, a global workforce consulting firm.

That means skills are quickly evolving. “A worker trained through bootcamps or on-the-job learning can gain relevant experience more quickly than someone in a four-year program,” according to Mercer.

And that’s an area where veterans have transferable skills: they understand bootcamps and on-the-job training.

The military veteran pipeline

Salute Mission Critical, a global data center services company, has developed a program that trains and hires veterans that have come out of service.

“They already have certain disciplines and skills that we found as transferable,” Erich Sanchack, CEO of Salute, told Maria Sara Bartiromo on an episode of Fox Business’s Mornings with Maria.

Sanchack said most data center service providers recruit within the industry. Salute has taken a different approach by turning to an often-forgotten talent pool: veterans. The company’s recruitment, training and deployment practices are also based on the principles of military training and practices.

“We know that they have that team orientation. They have the understanding of what the protocols are and why they’re so important,” he said. “And then we can hone in on training them.”

So far, the company has trained more than 10,000 veterans to maintain and service data centers. And, with the AI industry booming, it’s looking to hire more than 10,000 more workers over the next three years.

Another such program is the Military Datacenter Pathway-VETS program, offered by Hiring Our Heroes, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

Veterans with electrical, mechanical, maintenance or HVAC experience can train for critical environment technician (CET) roles in Microsoft data centers. A CET monitors, troubleshoots and maintains critical data center infrastructure.

The training takes eight weeks, including seven weeks of virtual training (about 10 hours per week) followed by one week of full-time, in-person training to apply virtual learnings to the real world. Participants are paid a stipend of $20 an hour while they complete the training.

The AI job paradox

While AI is contributing to layoffs in white-collar jobs, it’s also creating a shortage of workers who can build, design and support data centers that power AI.

According to Randstad’s latest labor market analysis, AI is “actively redefining what it means to work in the skilled trades.”

Digital fluency is now a prerequisite. “This convergence means the skilled trades are moving closer to traditional knowledge work, requiring a global re-rating of these career tracks and a shift toward continuous education and training opportunities,” according to Randstad.

Demand for skilled trades is growing three times faster than professional roles, according to Randstad. Since late 2022, demand for robotics technicians surged 107%, while industrial automation technicians jumped 51%. Demand for traditional skilled trades, including construction workers, welders and electricians, jumped 27%.