HCM & HRIS

AI has drawn Google, Meta and other tech companies into construction business

August 13, 2026
www.ETHRWorld.com
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TOI Tech Desk

< />The massive appetite for AI’s computing power is turning construction into one of the best-paying trades in the US. Google, Meta and other tech giants are now pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into training the electricians and skilled workers needed to build their data centres, a report has said.<br><br><!– PROMOSLOT_M –>For example, one of the data centers being built in Detroit, backed by OpenAI, is being called the single biggest private investment in Michigan’s history, as per a report by The New York Times, it needs hundreds of electricians working 10-hour shifts, seven days a week, and it’s paying accordingly.<br><br><div class=” article-detail-ad-slot=”” captionrendered=”1″ data-src=”https://etimg.etb2bimg.com/photo/132793201.cms” height=”442″ loading=”eager” src=”https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/images/default.jpg” width=”590″></img></p> </div> <h2><b>A training centre caught in the middle</b></h2> <p>The pull of data centre money is the main topic of conversation at the Detroit Electrical Industry Training Center, where roughly 850 apprentices are currently training, the report added. It’s one of 270 such centers across the country now getting direct support from AI companies, who are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into making sure there are enough skilled workers to build their facilities.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Google alone has put in $50 million through a partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, aimed at nearly doubling the union’s annual apprenticeship intake from 19,500 to 30,000 over the next three years, at locations Google has picked out itself.</p> <p>Asset management giant BlackRock has chipped in with its own grant as part of a separate $100 million push to widen training pipelines for its data centers in Texas.</p> <p>The report notes that the data centre growth is starting to squeeze everything around it: land and raw materials and workers. According to an analysis by the job site Indeed, hourly installation and maintenance jobs at data centers now pay 42% more than comparable roles in other industries.</p> <p>In hotspots like Dallas and Northern Virginia, where data centre construction is especially dense, workers can jump between projects for bigger bonuses or higher daily rates, and contractors are increasingly turning to staffing agencies like Aerotek just to keep crews fully staffed.</p> <p>Tech companies training their own workforce isn’t new</p> <p>This isn’t the first time a tech company has taken on the job of training the people who keep its facilities running. Microsoft has been doing something similar since 2018, when it launched its own data center technician training programs. It now runs 39 such locations worldwide and has trained roughly 15,000 people through them. </p> <div> <div aria-label=

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