The data center industry has spent the past two years obsessing over power constraints, AI density, and supply chain pressure. But according to longtime mission critical leader Dennis Cronin, the sector’s most consequential bottleneck may be far more human.
In a recent episode of the Data Center Frontier Show Podcast, Cronin — a founding member of 7×24 Exchange International and board member of the Mission Critical Global Alliance (MCGA) — delivered a stark message: the workforce “talent cliff” the industry keeps discussing as a future risk is already impacting operations today.
A Million-Job Gap Emerging
Cronin’s assessment reframes the workforce conversation from a routine labor shortage to what he describes as a structural and demographic challenge.
Based on recent analysis of open roles, he estimates the industry is currently short between 467,000 and 498,000 workers across core operational positions including facilities managers, operations engineers, electricians, generator technicians, and HVAC specialists.
Layer in emerging roles tied to AI infrastructure, sustainability, and cyber-physical security, and the potential demand rises to roughly one million jobs.
“The coming talent cliff is not coming,” Cronin said. “It’s here, here and now.”
With data center capacity expanding at roughly 30% annually, the workforce pipeline is not keeping pace with physical buildout.
The Five-Year Experience Trap
One of the industry’s most persistent self-inflicted wounds, Cronin argues, is the widespread requirement for five years of experience in roles that are effectively entry level.
The result is a closed-loop hiring dynamic:
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New workers can’t get hired without experience
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They can’t gain experience without being hired
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Operators end up poaching from each other
Workers may benefit from the resulting 10–20% salary jumps, but the overall talent pool remains stagnant.
“It’s not helping us grow the industry,” Cronin said.
In a market defined by rapid expansion and increasing system complexity, that approach is becoming increasingly unsustainable.
The Multiplier Most Policymakers Miss
Cronin also pushed back on a common criticism of data centers in state incentive debates: that facilities create relatively few direct jobs.
Like oil refining, he noted, data centers operate with lean on-site staffing but generate a substantial employment multiplier across the broader ecosystem.
Beyond direct employees, the sector drives demand for:
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UPS and generator service firms
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Security and monitoring providers
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Cleaning and facilities contractors
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Electrical and mechanical manufacturers
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Field service technicians
Many of these adjacent sectors are already struggling to hire fast enough to keep up with demand.
“The manufacturers can’t keep up,” Cronin said. “The service companies are scrambling.”
Why Internal Training Isn’t a Silver Bullet
Hyperscalers and large operators have responded to talent pressure by expanding in-house academies. Cronin views these efforts as necessary but incomplete.
The core limitation is structural: most internal programs produce discipline-specific specialists rather than operators with system-wide awareness.
Modern AI facilities demand cross-functional thinking. During an incident, personnel must understand how electrical, mechanical, and controls systems interact, often under severe time pressure.
“You have to know your facility,” Cronin emphasized. “You can’t go running to a book.”
Commercial Training’s Structural Gap
Commercial training providers, Cronin stressed, generally deliver strong technical content. But their business model targets professionals already inside the industry.
Typical programs, often costing around $1,000 per day per person, are rarely accessible to newcomers without employer sponsorship.
That leaves a large portion of the potential workforce effectively locked out at the entry point.
Community Colleges: The Scalable On-Ramp
MCGA’s strategy increasingly centers on community colleges as the most practical path to scale.
Advantages include:
Programs gaining traction include Cleveland Community College in North Carolina, Northern Virginia Community College, and Southside Community College in Virginia.
Roughly 30 schools nationwide are now exploring or developing data center curricula, though many still face funding constraints.
Building a Real Workforce Ecosystem
Cronin outlined what he sees as the necessary architecture for a sustainable talent pipeline:
Progress is underway, but apprenticeships remain particularly difficult because they require long-term employer buy-in, something not all operators have fully embraced.
Replacing “Five Years” with Certification
Among Cronin’s most notable proposals is shifting from experience-based screening to entry-level certification that validates baseline readiness.
Such certification would demonstrate:
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Familiarity with industry terminology
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Ability to read one-line drawings
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Understanding of SOPs/MOPs/EOPs
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Basic electrical and mechanical safety awareness
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Situational awareness in white space and plant environments
The goal is not to create instant experts, but to ensure new hires arrive safe, confident, and trainable.
The Funding Reality
Ultimately, Cronin argues the workforce gap cannot be solved without meaningful industry investment.
With roughly $60 billion in data center projects announced this year, he is calling for a coordinated funding effort spanning operators, vendors, contractors, and manufacturers.
“Give us a billion dollars and we’ll get the people trained,” he said.
Workforce as the Next Constraint
The data center industry has proven it can scale capital, land, and power to meet AI demand. The open question is whether it can scale people at the same pace.
Cronin’s warning is clear: without systemic change in hiring, training, and funding, workforce readiness could become the limiting factor in the industry’s next phase of growth.
For an ecosystem entering the gigawatt AI era, talent development is no longer a background issue.
It is mission critical.
