WASHINGTON, D.C. — Skilled labor leaders are sounding the alarm about shortages impacting blue-collar jobs across the industry.
However, the artificial intelligence boom could provide much-needed support for skilled labor pipeline. Concerning trends in the skilled labor workforce could be mitigated by construction demand for AI infrastructure. There have been many, very serious concerns about the future of AI itself, but a boost in blue-collar jobs could be one example of how the evolving tech may benefit the U.S.
“We’re a little slow right now,” said Ed Brady, CEO of the Home Builders Institute (HBI).
Brady said a rocky economy, higher interest rates and alarming skilled labor shortages are all factors impacting the residential construction industry.
According to research by HBI, skilled-labor shortages are adding months to home construction timelines and have contributed to nearly 20,000 fewer homes being built each year.
“That’s an $11 billion economic impact on the market,” said Brady.
If not addressed soon, the problem could only get worse.
“The average plumber today is 58 years old,” said Brady. “The average skilled trades is 42. We’re going to retire a third of the skilled trades over the next five years.”
There could be hope for building the pipeline of skilled labor. Recent investments by U.S. tech and financial companies are providing hundreds of millions of dollars for training programs to help build the infrastructure for the artificial intelligence boom — like data centers and power grids.
Brady said those investments are critical and will support blue collar labor across the board. However, he argues the investments needs to be expanded, and that the government has an important role to play.
“We also need government to rebalance their investment in higher education to skilled trades,” said Brady.
“What are we talking about jobs wise? Are there going to be jobs, not just a job, but a family sustaining job,” said Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa.
Job growth during the AI boom is paramount for lawmakers, including Congressman Mike Kelly.
However, some experts are wary about long-term jobs for data centers.
“During construction and building, sure, they’re going to do probably around 1,500 jobs during that period. But once the construction is over, you could probably drop down to a tenth of that or less in permanent jobs,” said Chris Ciabarra, CTO & co-founder of Athena Security.
Brady said a lack of skilled trades could create national security concerns. If the U.S. does not have the workers needed to build power grids and data centers, it could give the upper hand to China on multiple fronts.
