In July 2026, U.S. manufacturing activity reached its highest level in more than four years. Data center expansion is credited for much of that increase, and it’s not just manufacturers who are benefiting. Logistics, transportation, maintenance, infrastructure, and support services are also experiencing growth as a result of rapid data center construction.
That’s good news for those sectors, but it comes with a challenge: finding workers to fill new jobs.
A soft labor market and skills shortages continue to hinder hiring, especially in manufacturing. At the same time, stringent requirements on security protocols, specialized skill needs, and aggressive timelines make it difficult for suppliers to ramp up quickly and meet new demand.
So what’s the solution? There are actually several. Below, we outline four things employers should do now to ensure their workforce strategy is strategic and forward-looking. Each recommendation is based on the experiences of Employbridge recruiters who support clients in the data center supply chain.
1. Align your background checks, screening, and onboarding with end customer expectations.
Data center projects often involve creating or working in high-security, safety-sensitive, and quality-critical environments. As a result, their workforce requirements for contractors are often more restrictive and rigorous than what the contractors themselves may require.
If you work in logistics, manufacturing, or transportation, we recommend aligning your hiring strategies to meet your customers’ or potential customers’ expectations, project requirements, and compliance standards. If you’re working with a staffing partner, be sure they are willing and flexible enough to adjust their recruiting and hiring processes to meet your end customers’ requirements. For example, our recruiters have customized screening and background checks to meet the requirements of our clients’ data center customers.
The onboarding process also gives you an opportunity to align your programs with the specific needs of data center customers. This could include a detailed overview of how each person is responsible for reinforcing and supporting your customers’ security, safety protocols, and operational expectations, which may go beyond what’s typically expected for manufacturing, logistics, or transportation environments.
By being proactive, you’ll be best positioned to respond to new opportunities.
2. Add assessments to ensure the right fit.
Assessing candidates before hiring offers several benefits, including:
- Confirming the skills and experience a candidate lists on their resume.
- Identifying people who have transferable skills.
- Providing insight into how quickly someone will become fully productive after hiring.
There are also benefits beyond candidate quality. Assessments can support your overall retention efforts, and better retention reduces hiring and related training costs. Assessing candidates for skills before hiring can help determine whether they’re the right fit for a job, and research shows that candidates who are a good fit are more likely to be happy, successful, and engaged in their work.
At Employbridge, we assess candidates based on the skills that our clients require. For example, we often assess manufacturing candidates for dexterity, math, and measuring skills. For logistics jobs, we want to ensure candidates can recognize differences on labels and demonstrate attention to detail.
For forklift and other powered industrial truck (PIT) operators, our assessments are even more involved and include knowledge tests and skills verification on equipment or using VR simulators.
Skills assessments can seem like an extra hurdle when you are trying to hire quickly; however, they decrease the risk of turnover and production delays that can come with hiring candidates who aren’t the right fit.
3. Partner with recruiters and workforce partners who know your market and industry.
Is data center growth a bubble or a long-term bet? No one can say for sure, and fears that the bubble could burst have made some employers reluctant to hire. As a result, workforce providers across the United States, including Employbridge, are seeing an uptick in demand for temp-to-hire and other staffing services.
If you are considering using an outside recruiter or staffing provider, here are two recommendations:
- Look for a partner that specializes in your industry. Generalists may lack the background and experience needed to recognize quality talent and fill roles quickly. Recruiters who specialize in your industry may better understand the roles, skills, and experience needed for success in your environment.
- Choose a partner that has recruiters and offices in your market. A staffing partner with local offices and recruiters should be able to provide market-specific data on talent availability, wage trends, and companies that may be competing for the same talent.
Here are questions to ask any recruiter or workforce partner you are considering:
- Where can qualified talent be found?
- What compensation is needed to remain competitive?
- Which skill sets are in the shortest supply?
- How can hiring timelines be accelerated?
In addition, ask providers if they have experience supporting data centers or data center suppliers. The team at Employbridge, for example, has first-hand knowledge of what data centers typically require from customers in terms of hiring, screening, and assessments.
4. Build a scalable talent pipeline before demand spikes.
Talent shortages can delay production, service delivery, or project timelines for data center customers, who are notorious for tying hefty penalties to delays and missed targets.
Proactive recruiting and pipeline development can help improve your workforce readiness. Through assessments and upskilling, you can identify candidates who are ready for more skilled roles. Another option is to add gig or flex workforce models. These innovative solutions can help you attract people who want part-time work, which opens up a new potential source of talent.
Employbridge has successfully filled roles that support data centers with gig and flex workers, who we classify as W-2 employees. Like all our associates, they complete Form I-9 verification and E-Verify before being placed with our clients.
If you have a talent development program, great. The time to review and scale it is now. If not, you need to invest in one ASAP. Whether you develop your own or turn to a staffing provider, you’ll be better able to respond to opportunities or react quickly to workforce disruptions.
Are you ready to support the supply and logistics demands of data centers?
Companies that support data center operators are competing in an environment where security, quality, speed, and specialized skills matter more than in other environments. Organizations that align screening and onboarding with customer requirements, leverage industry-specific recruiting expertise, understand local labor markets, and proactively develop talent pipelines will be better positioned to support data center growth and win new business.
That’s what we’ve learned through our own recent experience with clients that support data center operations. We’ve supported manufacturing, logistics, and transportation clients for decades and have been able to leverage that experience to support their data center customers.
To learn more about our workforce solutions or for case studies about how we support data center growth, fill out the contact form or contact your local representative.