White-collar tech roles have faced waves of layoffs in recent months, as companies like Amazon, Meta and Oracle trim headcounts in the name of efficiency. But the same firms culling workers are running into a roadblock with their AI ambitions: a severe shortage of skilled workers needed to build and maintain data centers. And the talent shortfall is in the hundreds of thousands.
Demand for robotics technicians has jumped 107%, HVAC engineers increased 67%, and construction roles grew by 30% since late 2022, according to an analysis of more than 50 million job postings by Randstad. Roles like welders and electricians are also on the rise, up 25% and 18% over the past three years, respectively.
But supply has yet to keep up. In the manufacturing space in particular, for every 100 young people entering the manufacturing sector, 102 leave, according to the report. Randstad CEO Sander van’t Noordende said the imbalance is creating a major opening for Gen Z workers to step into lucrative, AI-resilient careers.
“For a long period, societies generally pushed a narrative that the ultimate marker of success is a four-year university degree and a desk job,” Noordende told Fortune in an emailed statement. “This outdated perception led to skilled trade work becoming overlooked. However, AI is now revealing just how critical these roles are and how elevated they are becoming.”
