Opinion

America needs thousands of blue-collar workers to manufacture our AI future

Electricians, welders and HVAC technicians are in short supply as data center spending hits $700B

By Rob Portman Fox News

Published August 13, 2026 5:00am EDT

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The future of artificial intelligence may depend less on coders than on construction workers, electricians and factory technicians.

Tech companies are pouring money into new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers at an astounding clip, with Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon expected to spend roughly $700 billion this year alone. And that doesn't include the costs of grid modernization and semiconductor capacity. But those ambitions keep running into the same problem – there aren't enough skilled workers to build the infrastructure that will power the AI economy.

By one estimate, the United States will need 140,000 additional skilled trades workers like electricians, HVAC technicians, welders and construction workers by 2030........

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