Would You Move for Work? The Data Centre Boom, AI & the Future for Electricians

The Electrical Show

The episode explores the massive expansion of data centers in the UK driven by AI and its implications for the electrical trade. Guests Dann

Key takeaways

• Danny Webb notes that many new data center applications are concentrated around London, which may force southern-based electricians to relocate.
• Specialized skills in fire, heat, and smoke detection are identified as key entry points for electricians into the data center sector.

Main topics

• AI-driven data center boom
• Relocating for commercial electrical work

Notable quotes

I have chased where the money's gone and where the big contracts are.

Conclusion

The data center boom presents a lucrative but volatile opportunity req

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) The Electrical Show with Thomas Nargi and Bosch Professional Power Tools. Hard work made easier. On Speaker 3 (0:10) this episode, we're looking at the frankly booming opportunities for electricians around AI and more importantly, AI data centers. And we're going to be asking the question, would you move for work? Now, to help answer that. A company called Horizon Platforms found that just under 700 are data center planning applications have been submitted across the UK since 2000. That's a worrying statistic but we're Speaker 2 (0:36) also going to be joined by Danny Webb who may have written a book or two from Alpha Tech to discuss the opportunities and skills needed to take advantage of them. We'll then chat to Nathan Sheridan about what the data center boom means for the next generation of electricians and whether he'd move for the right opportunity. Now Tom and I will then be able to to put questions to each other, and that question being, would we move for work? Let's get into it, shall we? Before we start the episode, please remember to subscribe to our podcast. I'm Paul Meenan with Thomas Nargi, and today we're looking at booming opportunities for electricians around AI and data centres. So what I thought we'd do is we'd open up the emergency host box that's located underneath the desk, and out has come, to share his thoughts, Mr Danny Webb. How are you, sir? Am I the person who came on Speaker 6 (1:24) because everybody else said no? Everybody was busy. Speaker 3 (1:28) I know it's hard and it's taken me a few years to understand it, Danny, but Paul does respect you. This is just his way of showing it. If I take the Speaker 2 (1:36) mic, it's because I have a deep-rooted love and respect. Yes. Speaker 3 (1:40) I used to think it was belittling, but I've come to realise actually he just loves you. It's just his way. Yes. All right? Yes. Speaker 6 (1:46) I know. I get more grief off of him than anybody. Yes. It's respect. It's Speaker 3 (1:50) not worse than all of the trolls. It's hardcore respect. Hardcore Speaker 6 (1:54) respect. Speaker 3 (1:55) Literally worse than all the trolls. Now, Danny, there's Speaker 4 (1:58) a Speaker 3 (1:58) lot of chat and articles about the opportunities for Sparks around this expansion of data centres. What are your views on it? Is it hot air? Is there money to be made there? Is it a go, a no-go? What's your thoughts on it? Speaker 6 (2:11) Well, yeah, I mean... I mean, you can write a book on it later. Speaker 3 (2:15) Sorry, that was a low blow. I've used one of the data. Speaker 6 (2:17) It's a very good one. Speaker 2 (2:18) Stole my line. Speaker 6 (2:19) But yeah, I mean, is it hot air? I don't really know. I mean, we're all old enough now. You see all the different changes in the industry and in life. And it's a little bit nervy. You're not quite sure what's happening. But what I'm hoping is it pulls a lot of... like sort of the deadwood away from the jobs that we really want to do and there's less competition for the good jobs we're trying to do so I hope that it definitely does go ahead but looking at where they're where they're situating them I mean I don't know how true or not it is they all seem to be around London and just north of London so it's not exactly like you'd need to well for me anyway Dan south, they have to move very far to do that work. But yeah, I want to state what I'm doing so that everybody else can do that, if you know what I mean. Speaker 2 (3:05) Yeah, no, London, it's weird. Some of the old Victorian buildings, they seem to want to be converting into data centres. Is Speaker 4 (3:12) that what they are? Speaker 2 (3:13) Yeah, yeah, they're converting them with modular containers with batteries in them. They're quite complex. You look at an old Victorian building, you wouldn't realise there's a data centre in it. But London needs its capacity local as well. Speaker 6 (3:26) I mean, what we did do, Mike and myself, obviously the business partner that you know, we sort of thought about it a little bit and preempted it by thinking, well, there's going to be a lot of need for, you know, fire and heat and smoke detection in all of these. And we went and did a course with that sort of at the back of our mind last month so that we can commission, design. Right. You know, most electricians could probably install a fire system by just being shown it once. But to actually design it, to be fair, it's a lot more difficult than I thought it was. There's a lot to think about and commission in the system. So, yeah, I mean, with the cause and effects and the heat and smoke detection, you would think that that would create a lot of work. And we're looking at that, the non-negotiables that have to be done in every building. And it might take. A few of those, probably quite a lot, I think they're looking at like 20,000 jobs maybe that they're saying. I don't know how true these facts are, but if that frees up that much work, that's going to take a lot of people away. And yeah, fire Speaker 2 (4:27) seemed our sort of way into that. I think the digitalisation society and the need to have resilient power and data centres, I think there's more work than people can handle. The trouble is it's how it's... how it's embedded, how it's organised, how it's communicated, how it's tendered. And more importantly, it's like that gold rush, isn't it? There's always profit in the start and then people look at ways to just cut, cut, hack, hack, hack, hack. That bit at the very beginning, Speaker 3 (4:52) that's the sweet spot. That's the sweet spot. Where you earn the money, yeah. Solar Speaker 2 (4:55) was profitable 20-odd years ago. Now it's cutthroat, you know, roofers. I was at Solar and Storage today and they've got a plumbing place selling solar to plumbers and you're just like... Really? It's wild. And the plug-and-play revolution now? But we need to get solar companies in to talk about plug-in solar and stuff, get some different opinions on it. Danny, there's a lot of tradespeople working in London, and everyone on every show that Fix Radio does talks about the high costs, the bad traffic, my three-hour journey through London just to get here, and the intense competition. Can you see tradespeople leaving the capital for work on some of these data center opportunities? I can understand why people would do that. As Speaker 6 (5:39) you know, I've done that myself. I did move a few years ago to the centre of the country in the Midlands. So I've always been, not really by wanting to do it, but a bit of a mercenary because like we've touched on on other shows before, just how expensive it is just to actually do anything in your life. I have chased where the money's gone and where the big contracts are. And I situated myself in