In the age of AI, artificial intelligence has become a true accelerator, reshaping how businesses operate, compete and scale. From generative AI models and cloud platforms to edge computing and advanced analytics, AI’s rapid adoption is fundamentally altering the global digital infrastructure that supports it.
At the heart of that transformation sits the data center.
Once largely invisible to the broader economy, data centers have become mission critical assets. These facilities must be designed, built, powered, cooled, secured and continuously maintained to keep AI systems running at scale. For organizations investing billions into AI-driven growth, the question is no longer if they need more data center capacity, but how fast they can build and operate it without introducing risk.
That urgency places unprecedented pressure on one of the most difficult variables to control: talent. As AI drives explosive growth in data center construction and expansion, organizations are discovering that access to the right engineering, construction and facilities expertise can determine whether projects move forward or stall.
How AI’s Explosive Growth Is Redrawing the Data Center Map
AI adoption is reshaping economies and societies at a pace few technologies have ever matched. As organizations generate and process exponentially more data, the demand for secure, high-performance computing environments continues to surge. Cloud adoption, IoT proliferation and AI workloads now require data centers with greater density, redundancy and resilience than ever before.
ManpowerGroup and Uptime Institute research underscores the scale of this shift:
- Global data center capacity is projected to grow at roughly 15% annually, yet even this pace may fall short of meeting AI-driven demand.
- Power consumption is rising sharply, with global data center energy usage expected to increase by 50% by 2027.
- By the end of the decade, energy demand could surge by more than 165%, driven largely by AI workloads.
- Approximately 10 gigawatts of new IT load is being added globally to support generative AI, further intensifying infrastructure requirements.
To keep pace, data center growth is expanding beyond traditional hubs. According to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report, while established markets like Northern Virginia and Dallas remain critical, new facilities are increasingly being built in emerging and rural markets. From Pennsylvania and the Carolinas to Texas, Oregon and the Midwest, these new markets offer land and power availability that can support largescale builds.
But these locations introduce a new challenge: specialized talent pools are often thin or fragmented, even as the complexity of operations, construction and design continues to rise.
From Talent Scarcity to Sustainability: The Challenges Facing Data Center Growth
For data center owners and operators, AI-driven growth brings a unique convergence of pressures:
- Speed to market is critical. Delays in construction, commissioning or ongoing operations can rapidly escalate costs on already capital-intensive projects.
- Specialized skills are scarce, particularly in rural or emerging markets where many new data centers are being built.
- Sustainability and efficiency expectations are rising, requiring expertise in power optimization, HVAC systems, energy management and environmental controls.
- Workforce costs must be tightly managed to offset increasing capital and energy investments, while still maintaining uptime and performance.
- Operational risk is nonnegotiable. Data centers must function continuously, with little margin for error once live.
In the U.S. alone, data center growth helped create an estimated 4.7 million jobs between 2017 and 2023, with each direct role generating up to seven ancillary jobs in surrounding communities. Today, these numbers are exploding.
This scale of impact is both an opportunity and a challenge, particularly when projects require rapid ramp up of engineering and facilities talent in locations where such expertise may not already exist.
In this environment, with widespread talent scarcity, companies need a proven data center staffing partner. To maintain the rapid pace of growth, data centers require a provider that understands not only staffing, but also the operational realities of building and running highly complex infrastructure.
How Manpower Engineering Supports Data Center Staffing
This is where Manpower Engineering plays a critical role.
Data centers are physical assets first. Their success depends on the quality, availability and continuity of engineering and technical talent across the entire facility lifecycle. ManpowerGroup Engineering specializes in delivering the skilled professionals required to build, maintain and optimize operations at scale.
Our data center staffing capabilities ensure you source top talent and build talent pipelines around the roles you need most, including:
- Construction and civil engineering professionals who support site development, structural integrity and largescale builds.
- Mechanical, electrical and HVAC specialists essential for power distribution, cooling systems and energy efficiency.
- Facilities and maintenance talent responsible for uptime, reliability and ongoing optimization once data centers are operational.
- Project based and scalable staffing models that enable rapid ramp up without compromising quality or compliance.
By aligning engineering talent strategies to the real-world challenges data center clients face — speed, specialization, cost control and risk mitigation — Manpower Engineering helps organizations move from buildout to steady state operations with confidence.
A Full Lifecycle Advantage Through ManpowerGroup
And that’s not all. Data center success doesn’t stop at construction and facilities management. As part of ManpowerGroup, Manpower Engineering — with the support of the ManpowerGroup family of brands — is uniquely positioned to support the entire data center lifecycle. Here’s how:
- Experis provides specialized IT staffing and project-based solutions across networking, computing, data storage, cybersecurity and AI infrastructure, capabilities essential to commissioning, scaling and evolving data centers. Experis’ deep understanding of the data center talent landscape helps organizations address skill gaps created by rapid AI adoption.
- Talent Solutions supports workforce strategy, talent development, MSP services and RPO solutions, helping data centers manage contingent talent, scale permanent talent quickly and implement business transformation effectively.
Together, ManpowerGroup’s brands create a connected ecosystem of talent expertise, from engineering and IT to workforce strategy and leadership. With this level of end-to-end support, today’s data centers can ensure the growth, reliability and optimization of their largescale infrastructure investments.
Powering the Age of AI — Together
AI is redefining what’s possible, but only if the infrastructure behind it can keep up. In the age of AI, Data centers sit at the intersection of technology, energy and human expertise. The organizations that succeed will be those that treat talent as a strategic asset, not a constraint.
Manpower Engineering, backed by the full strength of our parent company, ManpowerGroup, helps data center leaders build, operate and scale with confidence. We deliver the skilled engineering and facilities talent required to support AI-driven growth today and into the future.
Ready to support your data center growth with a world-class workforce partner? Contact us to learn how we can support your operations, mitigate risk and power what’s next., mitigate risk and power what’s next.
About the Author
Julie Loucks
Head of Vertical Strategy, IT and Communications, ManpowerGroup North America
With 25 years in workforce solutions, Julie leads teams to deliver tailored strategies for tech, communications and gaming. She excels at building high-performing teams, aligning strategy with execution and driving long-term success for ManpowerGroup and its clients.
