Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink are emphasizing a significant and growing demand for skilled trades, including electricians and plumbers, fueled by the rapid expansion of AI-driven data centers. The article notes Nvidia's reported $100 billion investment into OpenAI for data center development, contributing to a projected $7 trillion in global capital spending on data centers by 2030, according to McKinsey. This massive infrastructure build-out is creating a severe labor shortage, with the U.S. already facing deficits of hundreds of thousands of factory and construction workers, consequently shifting economic opportunities towards vocational careers and physical sciences over traditional white-collar roles.
Gen Z keeps being told their chances of landing a job are slim as AI threatens entry-level jobs. But in reality, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang says, there are thousands of jobs for young people, thanks to an accelerating boom in data centers. They just have to be willing to go to trade school. “If you’re an electrician, you’re a plumber, a carpenter—we’re going to need hundreds of thousands of them to build all of these factories,” Huang told Channel 4 News in the U.K. “The skilled craft segment of every economy is going to see a boom. You’ve going to have to be doubling and doubling and doubling every single year.” And Huang is not just talking about the need—he’s backing it up with cash. Trade jobs are hot right now: Construction workers can earn more than $100K without a college degree The chipmaker announced last week that it was investing $100 billion into OpenAI to help fund the development of data centers based on Nvidia’s AI processors. Industrywide, global capital spending on data centers is projected to hit $7 trillion by 2030, according to McKinsey. A single 250,000-square-foot data center can employ up to 1,500 construction workers during its build-out—many earning more than $100,000, plus overtime—all without requiring a college degree. Once complete, about 50 full-time workers maintain the facility. But each of those jobs spurs another 3.5 in the surrounding economy. Huang’s call for more electricians and plumbers aligns with his broader view that the next wave of opportunity lies in the physical side of technology rather than the software. When asked earlier this year what he would study if he were 20 again, Huang admitted he’d lean toward disciplines rooted in the physical sciences. “For the young, 20-year-old Jensen, that’s graduated now, he probably would have chosen…more of the physical sciences than the software sciences,” he said. Fortune reached out to Huang for further comment. CEOs agree: It’s out with the white-collar jobs, in with the blue-collar Huang isn’t the only CEO sounding the alarm about a looming shortage of skilled trades. Earlier this year, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said he raised concerns with the White House—arguing that deportations of immigrant labor, combined with a lack of interest among young Americans, are creating a perfect storm for data center construction. “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 at an energy conference in March. “We just don’t have enough.” Just this week, Ford CEO Jim Farley echoed those concerns, pointing to the gap between Washington’s reshoring ambitions and the workforce to make it a reality. “I think the intent is there, but there’s nothing to backfill the ambition,” Farley told Axios. “How can we reshore all this stuff if we don’t have people to work there?” The U.S. is already short 600,000 factory workers and 500,000 construction workers, according to a June LinkedIn post from Farley. And while the U.S. Department of Education has made the expansion of skilled trades programs a priority, some Gen Zers are already catching on. Take Jacob Palmer, a 23-year-old from North Carolina. After graduating from high school, he decided college was not the right fit. Instead, he joined an apprenticeship program at a contracting firm and trained as an electrician. By 21, he launched his own business—and last year grossed nearly $90,000. This year alone, he’s already hit six figures. Unlike many of his peers facing student debt and uncertain job prospects, he said simply: “I don’t owe anybody anything.” Have you made a successful career out of skilled trades? Share your experience with Fortune at preston.fore@fortune.com Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang highlights a significant shift in labor demand, driven by the accelerating boom in AI-driven data centers, creating thousands of jobs in skilled trades like electricians and plumbers. This perspective is reinforced by Nvidia's reported $100 billion investment into OpenAI to fund data center development utilizing its AI processors, signaling a direct commitment to this infrastructure expansion. Global capital spending on data centers is projected to reach $7 trillion by 2030, according to McKinsey, underscoring the massive scale of this build-out. This rapid expansion is creating a severe labor shortage, with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Ford CEO Jim Farley both expressing concerns about the lack of skilled workers, specifically noting a U.S. deficit of 600,000 factory workers and 500,000 construction workers. The economic implications are substantial, with a single 250,000-square-foot data center employing up to 1,500 construction workers earning over $100,000 without a college degree, and each facility spurring 3.5 additional jobs in the surrounding economy. This trend suggests a re-evaluation of educational pathways, with Huang advocating for physical sciences over traditional software roles, indicating a structural shift in future economic opportunities.
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