Jon Gray says AI fuels data center trades hiring
AI might be replacing some desk jobs, but it's actually creating a big need for hands-on workers.
Jon Gray from Blackstone shared that as companies build more data centers to power AI, they're hiring thousands of electricians, HVAC techs, and other skilled pros.
QTS, a Blackstone portfolio company, alone plans to jump from about 10,000 workers on QTS job sites a year ago to 40,000 by the end of this year.
US confronts 2.1 million skilled trade gap
The global data center market could hit $7 trillion by 2030, but there aren't enough trained people to fill all these roles.
In the US alone, there could be 2.1 million unfilled skilled trade jobs by then, costing the economy up to $1 trillion each year.
To help close this gap, Blackstone's charitable arm launched Blackstone Skilled Futures and Lowe's is investing $250 million to train a new wave of tradespeople over the next decade.