.BlackRock is splashing $100 million on training plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians as its CEO Larry Fink flags a skilled trade worker shortage. The race to build artificial intelligence data centres is heating up as companies like Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI scramble to scale the infrastructure needed to power their ambitious AI plans. But a growing bottleneck threatens to slow that expansion a shortage of skilled trade workers. Source: [Fortune/Getty] 14/03/2026
Hyperscale Power is the latest startup to challenge 140-year-old transformer tech, The iron-core transformer is the 140-year-old technology that props up both the electrical grid and AI companies. The devices are clunky but reliable, which explains why they’re still in use: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In the last few months, startups specializing in solid-state transformers have raised $280 million.
Source: [Tech Crunch/Getty]
Plans for one of the UK’s largest data centres to be built in North Lincolnshire have been approved. The artificial intelligence (AI) data centre campus, called Elsham Tech Park, will be developed next to Elsham Wolds Industrial Estate.
North Lincolnshire Council said the facility could attract up to £10bn of investment and would bring about 900 highly skilled long-term jobs to the area.
Source: [BBC/Holly Phillips] 10/03/2026
Renewable energy company Sunly wants to build Baltics’ largest Data Centre in Estonia.
Renewable energy company Sunly has submitted an application to build the largest data centre in the Baltic states in Lääne County, western Estonia, costing approximately €1.7 billion. The company says the 180-megawatt-capacity facility in Risti, Lääne-Nigula Municipality, would become Estonia’s largest electricity consumer and create more than 150 new jobs. Source: [ERR]
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More details https://careers.abb/global/en/students [12/03/2026]
Nvidia’s chief executive has urged people to become plumbers and electricians if they want to cash in on the world’s artificial intelligence boom..Speaking at the World Economic Forum previously the Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said it was a great time to be a tradesperson because the AI boom is creating demand for manual labour to build data centres…
Source: [ Patrick T. Fallon / AFP//Getty] [09/03/2026]
.Preparations for interpack 2026 are in full swing. Around 2,800 exhibitors from all over the world will be presenting their latest developments in Düsseldorf in May and providing impetus for the future of a globally networked industry.
Against this backdrop, interpack 2026 will focus on specific themes with its Hot Topics Smart Manufacturing, Innovative Materials and Future Skills. Smart Manufacturing is synonymous with data-based, resource-efficient production – from AI to robotics.
Future Skills examines the changing world of work and the skills required for increasingly digitalised and automated production. [10/03/2026]
BIG names, Exciting innovations, Great opportunities.It’s all coming your way at the UK’s leading free-to-attend processing and packaging machinery event – The PPMA Show® 2026 held at Birmingham’s NEC from 22-24 September 2026.
Explore the very latest in machinery, robotics, vision systems, and automation, as well as state-of-the-art materials, containers, and packaging design all under one roof. Gain actionable insights from industry leaders on topics like sustainability, smart manufacturing, and operational efficiency.
Meet peers, suppliers, and industry experts to exchange ideas and foster collaborations. [08/03/2026]
