Data Centre Surge Risks Short-Circuiting Australia’s Housing and Infrastructure Without Urgent Skill

The National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) is calling on state and federal governments to make Australia’s electrician shortage a priority and for data centre developments to bring skills investment, as well their own power and water. NECA has warned the country cannot meet its housing, energy, critical infrastructure and growing data centre ambitions without rapidly expanding the electrical workforce.

Australia was already projected to face a national shortfall of around 42,500 electricians by 2030, before the current data centre boom was factored in.

NECA strongly supports continued investment in data centres and the economic opportunity presented by artificial intelligence, but warns Australia is dangerously underprepared for the workforce demands this growth will create, as housing, renewable energy, transmission and other critical infrastructure projects compete for the same limited pool of skilled electricians.

Rather than simply allowing these sectors to compete for an already constrained pool of workers, NECA is urging governments to focus on expanding workforce capacity, particularly through genuinely new apprenticeships and greater support for the small and medium electrical contractors that employ and train much of Australia’s future workforce.

It has also called for major data centre projects to demonstrate how they will contribute to growing the skills pipeline, including through new apprenticeship commencements, mature-age pathways, local contractor participation and engagement with industry training providers.

John Sofarnos, Executive Director for NECA Victoria, said:

“Simply put, with the additional demand from data centre construction, workforce planning needs for the electrical sector has to become a priority. Australia is trying to build more homes, transform the energy system, deliver critical infrastructure and capture the enormous opportunity presented by data centres and AI - every one of those ambitions depends on electricians.

“The answer cannot be to simply move the same electricians and apprentices from one project or sector to another. We need to increase the number of skilled people coming into the industry and support the businesses that train them.

“Major data centre investment can be part of that solution. If these projects help create genuinely additional apprenticeships and build long-term electrical capability, we can grow the workforce needed to deliver housing, energy, digital infrastructure and the other projects Australia needs.”