Virginia needs
sheet metal workers for its data centers

Virginia is building 13.4 GW of new AI data centers across 70 sites. On a data center, sheet metal workers build and hang the ductwork that moves cool air through the rooms.

Sheet metal workers — worth training up: YES, tight. The data centers need about 804 sheet metal workers at the busiest point — close to all of the ~968 sheet metal workers Virginia has free for this kind of work. Expect overtime, steady work, and builders willing to train.

Virginia has 70 data-center sites in the works, with 13.4 GW still to build. That keeps sheet metal workers busy for years: as one job winds down, the next one is starting, so the work does not dry up after a single build.

Virginia sheet metal workers earn about $58,490 a year on average. Data-center work pays more than that, and when a trade is short, overtime can push experienced sheet metal workers well over $100,000 a year, with health care and a pension through the union.

It is the same across the country: builders cannot find enough skilled workers. The U.S. needs about 140,000 more trade workers by 2030 to build all the data centers, and most builders say hiring is their hardest problem. Microsoft's president has called the shortage of electricians the biggest thing slowing data centers down.

The building work runs a few years, not forever — but Virginia has enough lined up to keep you busy, and the skills carry over to every other big job in the state. To start, look at the Virginia sheet metal workers apprenticeship programs. That is the way in. Sources: a national survey of data-center building plans, plus U.S. jobs and pay data.