Unions tie data centres to skills and power supply

Data centres should be examined alongside AI tools in Australia’s first royal commission into artificial intelligence, as electrical unions push for a wider inquiry into the physical systems behind products such as Claude and Gemini.

On Friday 14 August 2026, the Electrical Trades Union and its South Australian affiliate, the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union, urged the South Australian Government to write data centre construction, electrical training and energy supply into the terms of reference.

Australia has faced a shortage of electrical workers since 1981. Jobs and Skills Australia has forecast a shortage of about 100,000 electrical workers by 2050, even before extra demand from AI and data centre construction is counted.

Meanwhile, the data centre boom is already changing the trade. One in 10 ETU members now works on data centre construction, up from zero only a few years ago.

John Adley and Michael Wright

CEPU South Australia secretary John Adley said those projects could train badly needed workers. “Data centres are the physical infrastructure powering AI, and they represent a major training opportunity for Australians who want rewarding, secure work in electrical trades,” he said.

Adley also pointed to heavy demand for entry into the trade. The union says there are 600 applicants for every advertised position, which suggests the bottleneck is training capacity rather than interest.

Because of that gap, the unions want data centre projects to create openings for young South Australians to enter the trades. They want the inquiry to test whether new builds add training places instead of just competing for the same pool of qualified labour.

The proposal also covers electricity supply. According to the unions, the terms should examine whether data centres add new renewable generation rather than push up wholesale power prices by bidding for existing sources.

ETU national secretary Michael Wright said the inquiry should measure projects on both skills and energy transition outcomes.

Housing, infrastructure, energy projects and data centres are all expected to lift demand for electrical skills in coming years. As a result, the unions want the royal commission to look beyond software and consider the buildings, power connections and workforce needed to run AI systems.

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