Part 2 of ‘Built Here’ – a series on the Southeast’s build-out and the training behind it.
Some buildings can’t go down. Hospitals, data centers, utilities and many modern plants have to keep their power on and their equipment cool every hour of every day. The industry calls them critical facilities, and the Southeast is building a lot of them.
Metro Atlanta now has more data center capacity under construction than any other major market in North America, according to CBRE. In Mississippi, Amazon has announced plans to invest a total of $25 billion in data centers across the state. In northeast Louisiana, Meta’s Richland Parish campus will need more than 7,500 construction workers at its peak.
Most of the attention on projects like these goes to what’s inside. But a critical facility, at its core, is a building that moves a huge amount of electricity in and a huge amount of heat out, around the clock. That makes it work for electricians, HVAC technicians and controls specialists, and those are skills taught in CTE programs and technical colleges across the Southeast.
This post looks at what critical facilities ask of those trades, what some colleges in the region are already doing, and how to check whether your electrical and HVAC labs are ready.
What does a critical facility need from the trades?
A critical facility needs skilled trades twice: first to build it, then to keep it running.
During construction, the biggest demand is for:
- Electricians to install switchgear, transformers, backup generators, battery systems and the power distribution that feeds the equipment
- HVAC and mechanical technicians to install chillers, cooling units, air handling and the controls that tie them together
- Pipefitters for chilled-water systems and, in newer facilities, the piping for liquid cooling
- Controls and commissioning specialists to test that every system works together before the building goes live
Once it’s operating, the facility runs 24 hours a day, and even a short outage is expensive. The people who keep it running are often called critical facilities technicians. They are electrical and mechanical specialists who maintain the power and cooling systems, respond to alarms, and troubleshoot problems before they turn into downtime.
The common thread is troubleshooting under pressure. Installing equipment is one skill. Figuring out why a cooling unit is alarming at 2 a.m. is another, and it’s the one employers talk about most.
How big is the demand?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects:
- Electricians: 9% employment growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 72,700 openings a year. BLS names data centers and rising electricity demand among the drivers.
- HVAC mechanics and installers: 11% growth over the same period, with about 40,600 openings a year. BLS lists commercial construction, including data centers, as a primary factor.
Both are much faster than the average for all occupations. In the Southeast, the individual projects add up quickly. Amazon says its Mississippi facilities will create 2,000 jobs. Meta expects about 1,000 permanent roles in Richland Parish once construction is done.
What are colleges in the region already doing?
Some colleges near these projects have moved quickly:
- Louisiana Delta Community College in Monroe launched four-week data center technician and construction craft programs, each with five industry credentials, and has graduated more than 100 students since January 2026. Meta gave the college $5 million, which Meta calls the largest gift in the college’s history.
- Atlanta Technical College opened a Microsoft Datacenter Academy simulation lab in May 2026, with students starting this fall.
- In Mississippi, Amazon and the state have invested more than $12 million in workforce development since 2024. That includes $1 million for fiber optics training and community college pre-apprenticeships.
Many of these first programs focus on entry-level roles: fiber installation, IT hardware and construction basics. They’re a fast way to get local residents onto a job site.
The deeper skills that critical facilities depend on, such as electrical systems, refrigeration and controls, take longer to build. They usually come out of existing electrical, HVAC/R and industrial maintenance programs. That’s where many schools and colleges can have the most impact, often with the programs they already run.
Is your electrical and HVAC lab ready for critical facilities work?
You don’t need a specialized simulator to prepare students for this work. You need strong fundamentals, taught on equipment that goes beyond residential systems. Here’s a checklist to walk through with your instructors.
Electrical
☐ Do students work with three-phase power, not just single-phase residential circuits?
☐ Do they learn motor controls and the basics of programmable logic controllers (PLCs)?
☐ Do they understand transformers, switchgear and power distribution, even at a trainer scale?
☐ Are backup power concepts covered: generators, transfer switches and uninterruptible power supplies?
☐ Is electrical safety built into every lab, including lockout/tagout and arc flash awareness?
☐ Can students troubleshoot faults with a meter, not just wire a circuit that already works?
HVAC and mechanical
☐ Do students work on commercial refrigeration and cooling systems, not only residential split systems?
☐ Are chillers, chilled water and hydronic systems covered?
☐ Do they learn how airflow and precision cooling work in a room full of heat-producing equipment?
☐ Are controls and building automation part of the program, so students can read sensor data and change setpoints?
☐ Are students prepared for EPA Section 608 certification for refrigerant handling?
☐ Are instructors watching liquid cooling, which is spreading in newer high-density facilities?
Across both
☐ Can students diagnose problems on trainers that let instructors insert faults?
☐ Do they get enough time on the equipment? One trainer shared by a whole class doesn’t produce technicians.
☐ Do students leave with recognized credentials, such as OSHA 10, EPA 608 or NCCER, that employers ask for?
☐ Is an employer or contractor involved in reviewing what the program teaches?
If you checked most boxes, your program is already preparing students for critical facilities work, and it’s worth telling employers that. If several boxes are empty, those are your upgrade priorities.
How should a program prioritize upgrades?
- Start with a conversation, not a catalog. Find out what’s being built near you and who the electrical and mechanical contractors are. Ask what skills they’re short on. Their answer is the best guide to what to buy, and it makes for a strong letter of support in a grant application.
- Fill the fundamentals first. Three-phase power, motor controls and commercial refrigeration come before anything specialized.
- Add troubleshooting. Trainers with fault insertion turn a lab from a place where students build things into a place where they diagnose problems. That’s the skill employers pay for.
- Add controls. Building automation connects electrical and HVAC work, and it’s where much of a facilities technician’s day happens.
- Fund it the way the region already does. Perkins V, state CTE grants and employer partnerships are all being used for this. Amazon and Meta are both investing in local training, and the contractors building their facilities may be willing to partner as well.
What if there’s no big project near you?
You don’t need a major project down the road for this to matter. Every hospital, water treatment plant, manufacturing plant and distribution center in your area runs on the same electrical and cooling systems, and every one needs technicians who can keep those systems running.
The large projects in Atlanta, Mississippi and Louisiana are simply the clearest sign right now of how much demand there is. A program that prepares students for critical facilities work prepares them for jobs in nearly every community in the region.
Frequently asked questions
What is a critical facility?
A building that can’t afford to lose power or cooling, even briefly. Hospitals, data centers, utilities, water treatment plants and many manufacturing plants all qualify. They rely on backup power, redundant cooling and technicians who can keep both running around the clock.
What jobs do critical facilities create?
During construction, mostly electricians, HVAC and mechanical technicians, pipefitters, and controls and commissioning specialists. Once a facility is running, it needs critical facilities technicians to maintain power and cooling.
Do students need a special program for this work?
Not necessarily. Strong electrical, HVAC/R and industrial maintenance programs that cover commercial systems, controls and troubleshooting already teach most of what these employers need. Short specialized courses can build on that foundation.
Which certifications help students get critical facilities jobs?
Common ones include EPA Section 608 for refrigerant handling, OSHA 10 for job-site safety, and NCCER credentials in electrical and HVAC. Employers and contractors in your area can tell you which ones they value most.
How TTA helps
Technical Training Aids supplies HVAC/R, electrical and industrial training equipment to high schools, technical colleges and workforce programs across the Southeast. We can help you find the right training equipment and solutions to support your program’s goals and prepare students for tomorrow’s workforce. Contact our team today to learn more about our electrical and HVAC training solutions or request a lab consultation.
