Wales' rapidly expanding data centre pipeline could create a significant new source of work for the country's construction and engineering sectors, but new analysis has raised questions over whether the Welsh skills base is large enough to capture the opportunity.
Wales has accounted for around 13% of Britain's data centre schemes lodged since the beginning of 2024, despite being home to only around 4% of its electrical installers.
The imbalance comes as the pace of proposed development accelerates sharply. Of the 24 data centre schemes proposed in Wales since 2000, 16 have been lodged since the beginning of 2024.
That means around two-thirds of the country's data centre proposals over more than 25 years have emerged in just the last two and a half years.
Analysis by powered access specialist Horizon Platforms estimates there are around 10,000 electrical installers in Wales. If Wales' share of Britain's electrical workforce were equivalent to its share of recent data centre proposals, that number would be around 32,000.
The comparison does not mean Wales requires another 22,000 electricians to build the proposed developments. Instead, it illustrates the scale of the difference between the geographical concentration of new data centre investment and the existing skilled workforce.
It also raises a wider economic question for Wales: whether the growth of a potentially important new industry can be used to create more skilled employment, apprenticeships and supply-chain opportunities within the country.
Data centres require substantial numbers of electrical, mechanical, heating, cooling and specialist engineering workers during construction and fit-out.
But these are not skills exclusive to the data centre industry. Many of the same trades are already required by manufacturers, infrastructure projects, hospitals, schools, commercial developments and the energy sector.
If several major developments progress simultaneously, competition for those workers could therefore intensify.
Without a corresponding expansion of the domestic skills pipeline, contractors could increasingly need to recruit workers or bring specialist construction teams into Wales.
That would not prevent projects from generating wider economic benefits, but it could reduce the proportion of construction spending and employment captured within the Welsh economy.
The figures consequently point towards an opportunity for colleges, training providers, employers and policymakers to consider whether the emerging data centre pipeline can support new apprenticeship and technical training routes.
Across the UK, planning applications also suggest that many proposed developments are likely to progress. Of 580 data centre applications to have reached a council decision since 2000, 563 were approved and 17 refused, representing an approval rate of around 97%.
Marco Maccio, Digital Director at Horizon Platforms, said the concentration of recent proposals in Wales was remarkable but questioned whether sufficient workers would be available if multiple developments entered construction simultaneously.
He said the growth could provide opportunities for Welsh construction businesses and tradespeople, but warned that demand exceeding local supply could result in large construction crews being brought into Wales.
The challenge for Wales will therefore be about more than accommodating a new generation of data centres.
With investment arriving at pace, the bigger opportunity may be ensuring that the workforce, training capacity and domestic supply chain grow alongside it — allowing more of the jobs and economic value generated by the boom to remain in Wales.
The Welsh Government said:
“Wales is increasingly being recognised as a strategic location for the infrastructure needed to support the digital economy. Investment in data centres has the potential to create new economic opportunities and support skilled employment. The Welsh Government recognises the importance and potential of these investments and is working with the industry to realise benefits that can be felt by businesses, communities and in the wider Welsh economy.
“A comprehensive national skills audit is underway to map current and future workforce needs across Wales, identifying shortages and inform investment decisions. A new national strategy is also being developed, to support learners in a changing labour market and promote both vocational and academic pathways.”
Dave Hagendyk, Chief Executive of Colegau Cymru said:
“Where there are proposals to develop data centres local colleges will work be working closely with developers and planners to firstly understand the skills need for the construction of sites but also the ongoing operational and maintenance requirements.
“The challenge is partly about the lead in time for the projects and how quickly skills are needed, but also about the ongoing shortfall in funding facing the further education sector and our ability to meet learner demand. Meeting demand from the local foundational economy and from large infrastructure projects can be a significant challenge and government funding must be adequate to do both.
“Longer-term it is also important that we think beyond just the construction and maintenance of data centres but also about the opportunities that they can bring to support wider economic development. Building centres is just a first step, the real value for local economic growth will come from giving businesses the capacity to grow, to innovate and improve productivity, and for new firms to start up and scale.”
