Demand for skilled electricians is accelerating nationwide, and the rapid expansion of data centers and other power-intensive infrastructure is adding even more pressure to an already strained workforce.
Associated Builders and Contractors estimates the construction industry needs to attract 349,000 new workers in 2026 alone to meet demand, with the rapid expansion of data center construction driving particularly strong demand for electricians. That pressure is already being felt across the electrical industry. In EC&M’s 2026 survey of the nation’s Top 50 electrical contractors, 83% reported labor shortages, with electricians identified as the position contractors are having the most difficulty filling.
For our partners, that workforce gap can mean increased competition for skilled labor, higher costs, and greater pressure on project schedules. We are experiencing those growing pains right along with you. But through market analysis, careful planning, and continued investment in our people, Cummings is preparing now for the workforce demands ahead.
Backed by our latest Texas Workforce Commission Skills Development Fund grant, Cummings is making one of its largest investments to date: a dedicated 23,000-square-foot training and development facility in the heart of DFW, on the site of our former headquarters. This facility and the funding behind it will allow us to build a pipeline of licensed electricians at a scale that goes well beyond typical on-the-job training.
Opening in late 2026, the Cummings Training Academy will double the size of our technical training labs and let us run more classes at once, for more trainees, than ever before. Just as important is what we will be teaching. The expanded curriculum is built around the work our partners need right now: data center courses in battery safety, UPS systems, and cable tray installation, plus industrial applications like rigid pipe and controls for instrumentation and electrical work. When demand shifts, our training shifts with it.
Inside those labs, apprentices will follow a proven path. Our Electrical Training curriculum takes a new hire from their first day with hand tools through blueprints, wire pulling, and complete electrical systems, while pairing classroom instruction with the supervised field experience needed to work toward a Texas Journeyman Electrician license. Along the way, they stack the safety and technical certifications every modern jobsite expects, and increasingly, credentials in areas like programmable logic controls that reflect where the industry is headed.
Under our first grant, hundreds of employees moved through training and dozens earned promotions into new roles, from journeyman electrician to field supervision. With a second, larger grant now underway and the Academy coming along, Cummings is already committed to training 1,000 employees out of our current workforce of 2,000, including 300 new hires and 700 existing electricians. This expanded effort will strengthen our workforce, create new opportunities for employees to advance their skills and careers, and help ensure we have the trained talent needed to support the data centers, industrial plants, and commercial projects our partners are building.
The support of the Texas Workforce Commission has been essential in helping us expand these efforts. Through the Skills Development Fund Grant, TWC has provided resources that allow us to accelerate workforce development, create more opportunities for our employees, and better prepare for the growing labor demands facing our partners and industry.
We are excited about the future we are powering together.