> This is the markdown version of https://www.classet.ai/use-cases/data-centers/columbus > Learn more at https://www.classet.ai Data Center Staffing in Columbus # Staff Your New Albany Build Before Intel Does About 25,000 construction workers are already on data center sites in the New Albany business park, and ABC Central Ohio's president calls the trades shortage almost at crisis level. Joy interviews your applicants the moment they apply, day or night. [Get a Demo](/demo?ref=use-case-data-centers-columbus-hero)[Try an Interview](/interviews) Get Started 5.0 on G2 Deploy in minutes 24/7 screening Active Call 02:34 ![Joy AI Recruiter](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2F_avatars%2Fjoy.png&w=256&q=75) ### Joy AI Recruiter #### Recent Interviews AI-screened candidates ![Marcus](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2F_avatars%2Fconstruction_glasses_lady.png&w=64&q=75) Marcus Data Center Electrician Outreach ![Sarah](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2F_avatars%2Fsupport_lady.png&w=64&q=75) Sarah HVAC/Mechanical Tech Interviewed ![David](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2F_avatars%2Fmanufacturing_guy.png&w=64&q=75) David Facilities Technician Offer 15 candidates screened today Updated October 6, 2026 ## What is data center staffing in Columbus? Data center staffing in Columbus is the hiring of the electricians, pipefitters, HVAC and controls technicians, and facilities staff who build and run the data center campuses in New Albany, Johnstown, Licking County, and the rest of central Ohio. The New Albany International Business Park alone has opened 40 data centers since 2010, has 28 more planned or under construction, and has about 25,000 construction workers on site, according to News 5 Cleveland. Joy, Classet's AI recruiter, phone-screens each applicant the moment they apply. Joy asks about the licensed contractor the applicant worked under, medium-voltage and UPS experience, travel and per diem, and shift availability, then sends the recruiter a structured summary with the transcript and recording. A human on your team decides who moves forward. Electrical subcontractors drawing from IBEW Local 683, general contractors on hyperscale builds, staffing firms placing travelers, and operators filling 24/7 technician shifts use Joy for the first conversation. ## Results Columbus data center employers can expect 88% of candidates who start the phone screen finish within 20 minutes of applying Classet: Classet platform data, completed interviews across customer accounts 55% of applicants apply outside business hours Classet: Classet platform data, completed interviews across customer accounts $64,700 median annual wage, Columbus metro electricians, May 2025 [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: OEWS May 2025, Columbus, OH MSA: electricians (47-2111) and HVAC mechanics and installers (49-9021), employment and median wage](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_18140.htm) 25,000 construction workers at the New Albany International Business Park [News 5 Cleveland (WEWS): Ohio's data center boom really started in New Albany (40 data centers opened since 2010, 28 more planned or under construction, about 25,000 construction workers on site), 2026](https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/ohios-data-center-boom-really-started-in-new-albany-we-went-there-to-see-what-it-looks-like) Read together, the four numbers say that 88% of candidates who start a Joy phone screen finish it within 20 minutes of applying, 55% of applicants across Classet accounts apply outside business hours, the median Columbus electrician earned $64,700 in May 2025 before any data center premium, and about 25,000 construction workers are on site in one New Albany business park, according to News 5 Cleveland. The first two figures are Classet platform data. The last two describe the market you are hiring into, where a journeyman who applies after a shift has often heard from Intel's contractors or a battery plant by morning. ![Cox-Powell HVAC logo](/_next/image?url=%2Fcustomer-logos%2Fcox-powell.jpg&w=256&q=75)skilled-trades > This has been a fantastic partnership. I am happy 150%. You guys do all the hard work for me. I have not hired a single tech anywhere else since we started using you. ![JD](/_next/image?url=%2Fcustomer-logos%2Favatars%2Fjd.jpg&w=96&q=75) JD Service Operations Manager at Cox-Powell HVAC ## Trusted by contractors and trades employers [![Cox-Powell](/_next/image?url=%2Fcustomer-logos%2Fcox-powell.jpg&w=256&q=100)](/case-studies)[![Envocore](/_next/image?url=%2Fcustomer-logos%2Fenvocore.png&w=256&q=100)](/case-studies)[![Goodsmith](/_next/image?url=%2Fcustomer-logos%2Fgoodsmith.png&w=256&q=100)](/case-studies)[![Ace Handyman Services](/_next/image?url=%2Fcustomer-logos%2Face-handyman-services.png&w=256&q=100)](/case-studies) ## Why Columbus data center hiring is hard right now Columbus data center hiring is hard because central Ohio is building data centers and several megaprojects at once from the same pool of trades. A University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center and Joyce Foundation analysis found Ohio's data centers had created about 22,300 construction jobs against 4,500 permanent ones, and expects 77 more facilities in the state by 2030, according to WOSU in January 2026. The trades groups say the pool is already thin. "Columbus had a workforce shortage before the data center boom even happened," Barton Hacker, president of ABC's Central Ohio chapter, told Midstory in August 2026, adding that the shortage is now "almost at crisis level." Intel's Ohio One fab in New Albany moved its first building to 2030, but contractors there are still bringing on workers, per Hoodline. The L-H Battery plant, a $3.5 billion Honda and LG Energy Solution project in Jeffersonville with 2,200 jobs, is hiring from the same region. ## Columbus electrician wages and employment The Columbus metro employed 7,210 electricians in May 2025 at a median annual wage of $64,700, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, slightly above the national electrician median of $63,190. The metro also employed 3,000 HVAC mechanics and installers at a median of $64,440. The metro electrician median works out to about $31.10 an hour. That wage shapes who answers your posting. A commercial journeyman near the $64,700 metro median weighs a data center offer on rate, per diem, and phase length, and Vantage's New Albany campus and Cologix's Johnstown site are hiring from the same 7,210 electricians. Ohio also licenses electrical contractors through the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board rather than issuing a statewide journeyman card, so your first conversation has to establish what the applicant has built and under whom. ## Who is building data centers in central Ohio The central Ohio campuses hiring the most trades in late 2026 sit in New Albany, Johnstown, and Licking County. Vantage's New Albany campus is a $2 billion, 192 MW project on about 70 acres with Turner Construction as general contractor, according to Construction Dive. Cologix bought about 154 acres in Johnstown for eight data centers and 800 MW of capacity, an investment of more than $7 billion, per the company. Mid City Electric, based in Columbus, built the electrical scope for a 300,000-square-foot New Albany data center campus with Holder as general contractor, including prefabrication and modular manufacturing. AEP Ohio's data center tariff, effective July 23, 2025, applies to new loads of 25,000 kW or more, so the campuses with power agreements in place are the ones staffing now. ## Where Columbus data center trades train IBEW Local 683 runs the union pipeline through the Electrical Trades Center. In an August 2023 IBEW report, Local 683 counted more than 2,200 members and about 600 apprentices with a target of 1,000, and business manager Pat Hook said, "We have a dramatic need for workers." The non-union pipeline runs through ABC Central Ohio, whose chapter is also a partner in Meta's America's Workforce Academy. Meta committed $115 million to that academy, a free four-week construction program run with CBRE and the Associated Builders and Contractors. The first Columbus cohorts graduated in early August 2026 with an NCCER credential and a guaranteed job on a Meta data center construction site, according to Midstory. For operations roles, Columbus State Community College runs a Data Center Technician certificate with Amazon scholarships of $1,000 a semester, up to $3,000. Joy asks which of these programs an applicant came through and which contractor supervised the work. ## What Joy does on a Columbus data center application Joy is the AI recruiter Classet runs on each application, and the call starts the moment the applicant applies, whether that is 6pm from a truck on State Route 161 or 9pm from home in Newark. For a Columbus electrician, Joy asks which licensed contractor the applicant worked under, how many years of commercial and industrial work they have, which voltage classes they have worked (usually 15 to 35 kV on campus distribution), and what UPS, switchgear, and commissioning experience they bring, plus OSHA 10 or 30 and NFPA 70E training. Joy also asks where the applicant is based, what per diem they expect, and whether a 6am start in New Albany in January works. Your recruiter sees a structured summary with the transcript and recording, and the knockout results show whether the applicant meets each must-have criterion, from Local 683 or ABC Central Ohio training to a January start in New Albany. A human decides who gets the site interview. The [data center hiring overview](/use-cases/data-centers) walks through the full interview. ## Roles Joy screens on Columbus data center sites Construction electricians are the largest group on a New Albany build, and Joy asks them for contractor history, voltage classes worked, OSHA 10 or 30, NFPA 70E training, and the apprenticeship or out-of-state license behind their experience. For pipefitters and mechanical technicians, Joy covers chilled-water plant experience first, then welding and brazing certifications and any CRAH or CRAC install history. Controls and BMS applicants name the building automation platforms they have programmed, which gives the superintendent a starting point for the controls interview. Facilities and critical-environment technicians, who stay after the construction crew leaves, are asked about 12-hour rotations, on-call willingness, and commute distance to New Albany, Hilliard, or Johnstown. Uptime Institute's guidance is one to two qualified operators on site at all hours once a facility is live, so each New Albany or Johnstown hall needs its own standing roster. Columbus State's data center technician students and Meta academy graduates apply into the same flow, and Joy captures which program each one finished. See Joy interview a data centers applicant Your first 20 completed interviews are free. Card required at signup, nothing charged until the trial ends. [Book a demo](/demo?ref=use-case-data-centers-columbus-mid)[Get Started Free](https://app.classet.ai/signup/) ## Joy vs. manual phone screens vs. a general ATS How the first step of data centers hiring compares across the three ways teams usually run it. Joy (Classet) Manual phone screens General ATS When the first interview happens The moment they apply, 24/7 When a recruiter gets to the list, during business hours Not at all: the application waits in a queue until someone reviews it Applicants who apply after hours (55% across Classet accounts) Interviewed the same night Called back the next business day, often later Seen whenever someone next logs in What your team receives Structured summary, transcript, recording and knockout results The recruiter's notes, if they took any A resume and the application answers Recruiter time per applicant Reading a summary; playing the recording when needed Dialing, voicemail, phone tag and the call itself Reading resumes, then a phone screen anyway Who decides who gets hired Your team Your team Your team Cost Standalone from $249/month (annual), ATS-integrated from $1,995/month Recruiter hours ATS subscription, plus recruiter hours to screen ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I hire data center electricians in New Albany when Intel and the battery plants are hiring too? Hiring data center electricians in New Albany is a race to the first conversation, because central Ohio has more competing megaprojects than most data center markets. A journeyman who applies to your posting has often applied to an Intel Ohio One contractor, the $3.5 billion L-H Battery plant in Jeffersonville, and a Local 683 call the same week. Joy calls each applicant the moment they apply, captures contractor history, voltage classes worked, UPS and switchgear experience, per diem expectations, and earliest start date, and puts a structured summary in front of the superintendent the same hour. Publish the rate and the phase schedule in the posting. The metro electrician median was $64,700 a year in May 2025, so a posting without numbers loses to one that has them. ### How do I verify an electrician's experience in Ohio without a state journeyman license? Verifying an electrician's experience in Ohio means checking work history, because the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board licenses commercial electrical contractors rather than individual journeymen. There is no statewide journeyman number to look up for the person you are hiring. Joy asks how many years of commercial and industrial work the applicant has, which licensed contractor supervised it, which voltage classes and gear the applicant handled, and whether the applicant completed an IBEW Local 683 apprenticeship, an ABC Central Ohio program, or holds a journeyman license from another state. The answers land in a structured summary with the recording attached, so the superintendent can confirm the history with one reference call. Local 683 had about 600 apprentices in 2023 with a target of 1,000, so a growing share of applicants will name a program you can check. Joy captures the information, and a person on your team decides. ### Can Joy screen travelers coming into central Ohio? Joy is a practical first screen for travelers coming into central Ohio because the first call covers what decides whether a traveler shows up. Joy asks where the applicant is based, whether the move is a relocation or a weekly commute, what per diem and housing the applicant expects, and how the applicant will reach a 6am start in Licking County in January weather. According to News 5 Cleveland, about 25,000 construction workers are on site in the New Albany business park, and a crew that size draws from well beyond Franklin County. Joy also asks which state issued the applicant's license and which contractor the applicant last worked for, so your team can check the history before the traveler books a room. Across Classet accounts, 88% of candidates who start the phone screen finish within 20 minutes of applying, so the answers reach you while the traveler is still choosing a call. ### Does Joy work for 24/7 operations roles at central Ohio campuses? Joy is a fit for 24/7 operations hiring in central Ohio because the interview runs at any hour, so a facilities technician coming off a night shift can finish the screen at 7am. Operators in New Albany, Hilliard, and Johnstown use Joy for facilities technicians and critical-environment technicians, the roles that stay once construction ends. Joy covers 12-hour rotation history, on-call willingness, and the commute from places like Newark or Hilliard, and anyone who cannot cover the shift moves to a separate stage through a knockout. According to Uptime Institute, a live facility should keep a minimum of one to two qualified operators on site 24 hours a day. The UVA Weldon Cooper Center counted about 4,500 permanent data center jobs in Ohio, a small number next to 22,300 construction jobs, which makes each operations hire harder to replace. Across Classet accounts, 55% of applicants apply outside business hours. ### How fast can a Columbus contractor be live, and what does it cost? A Columbus contractor can be live the same day on Starter or Scale. Paste a job description and Joy writes the screening questions; share the interview link or connect a job board account, and central Ohio applicants get calls the same afternoon. Starter is $249 a month billed annually ($349 month-to-month) with 50 completed interviews included, and Scale is $999 a month billed annually ($1,399 month-to-month) with 250. Only completed interviews count toward the plan. ATS-integrated deployments start at $1,995 a month and are scoped in a discovery call around volume and the number of campuses you staff. For a contractor mobilizing on a New Albany or Johnstown campus, that puts the screening step in place before the first crew badges in. [Book a demo](/demo) to map out a New Albany ramp, or [try an interview](/interviews) to hear Joy's call yourself. ### Does Joy write candidate records into our ATS? Yes. Joy uses ATS Sync, which connects Classet to 95 applicant tracking systems such as Greenhouse, Workday, Lever, Bullhorn, and iCIMS, to write each Columbus candidate record into your system. The summary, transcript, recording, and knockout results attach to that record, so no one copies a phone screen out of an inbox by hand. Contractors with no ATS can work in Hiring Hub, Classet's built-in candidate management, which comes with a direct Indeed connection, applicant import, and a Kanban pipeline. For Columbus contractors moving from one New Albany campus to the next, the record matters after the hire: the electricians you screened for a Vantage building are already in your system when the next Cologix hall starts calling for hands. Across Classet accounts, 88% of 10,167 rated candidates described the interview positively, so the applicants you keep on file are not put off by the first call. ## Sources 1. News 5 Cleveland (WEWS): [Ohio's data center boom really started in New Albany (40 data centers opened since 2010, 28 more planned or under construction, about 25,000 construction workers on site), 2026](https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/ohios-data-center-boom-really-started-in-new-albany-we-went-there-to-see-what-it-looks-like) (accessed 2026-10-06) 2. WOSU Public Media: [Columbus will become second-largest data center hub in the Great Lakes region, report says (UVA Weldon Cooper Center and Joyce Foundation: 22,300 construction jobs, 4,500 permanent jobs, 77 more data centers by 2030), January 19, 2026](https://www.wosu.org/2026-01-19/columbus-will-become-second-largest-data-center-hub-in-the-great-lakes-region-report-says) (accessed 2026-10-06) 3. Midstory: [Data centers are taking over Ohio. Meta wants to train the workers who build them (America's Workforce Academy, $115 million, four weeks, Columbus cohorts graduated early August 2026), August 21, 2026](https://www.midstory.org/data-centers-are-taking-over-ohio-meta-wants-to-train-workers-who-build-them/) (accessed 2026-10-06) 4. IBEW Local 90 Government Affairs Newsletter: [Building boom turns Ohio local into a training model (Local 683: 2,200+ members, 600 apprentices, target of 1,000), August 2023](https://www.ibewlocal90.org/content/building-boom-turns-ohio-local-training-model) (accessed 2026-10-06) 5. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: [OEWS May 2025, Columbus, OH MSA: electricians (47-2111) and HVAC mechanics and installers (49-9021), employment and median wage](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_18140.htm) (accessed 2026-10-06) 6. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: [Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: electricians (47-2111), national median](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes472111.htm) (accessed 2026-10-06) 7. Construction Dive: [Turner wins $2B Ohio data center job (Vantage, New Albany, 192 MW, about 70 acres), November 2024](https://www.constructiondive.com/news/turner-wins-ohio-data-center-vantage/732190/) (accessed 2026-10-06) 8. Cologix: [Cologix expands central Ohio footprint with land acquisition for new AI-ready 800MW data center campus (Johnstown, 154 acres, eight buildings, over $7 billion), November 20, 2024](https://cologix.com/news/cologix-expands-central-ohio-footprint-with-land-acquisition-for-new-ai-ready-800mw-data-center-campus/) (accessed 2026-10-06) 9. Mid City Electric: [New Albany Data Center Campus project page (300,000 square feet, general contractor Holder)](https://www.midcityelectric.com/portfolio/project/new-albany-data-center-campus--1/) (accessed 2026-10-06) 10. Hoodline: [Intel's New Albany chip factory delayed to 2030 in slow-burn buildout, March 2, 2026](https://hoodline.com/2026/03/intel-s-new-albany-chip-factory-delayed-to-2030-in-slow-burn-buildout/) (accessed 2026-10-06) 11. L-H Battery Company: [L-H Battery Company ($3.5 billion, 2,200 jobs, Jeffersonville, Fayette County, Ohio)](https://lhbattery.com/) (accessed 2026-10-06) 12. AEP Ohio: [AEP Ohio Data Center Tariff (effective July 23, 2025; loads of 25,000 kW or more)](https://www.aepohio.com/company/about/rates/data-center-tariff/) (accessed 2026-10-06) 13. Columbus State Community College: [Columbus State Community College Data Center Technician certificate (Amazon scholarships of $1,000 per semester, $3,000 lifetime limit)](https://www.cscc.edu/for-business/amazon/data-center-technician.shtml) (accessed 2026-10-06) 14. Uptime Institute Journal: [Proper Data Center Staffing is Key to Reliable Operations, March 12, 2015 (one to two qualified operators on site 24/7)](https://journal.uptimeinstitute.com/data-center-staffing/) (accessed 2026-10-06) 15. Classet: Classet platform data, completed interviews across customer accounts (accessed 2026-10-06) 16. Classet: Classet candidate feedback, 10,167 post-interview ratings on a 4-point scale (accessed 2026-10-06) 17. Classet: [Classet pricing: Starter, Scale, and ATS-integrated plans](https://www.classet.ai/pricing) (accessed 2026-10-06) 18. Classet: [Classet integrations: 95 applicant tracking systems supported by ATS Sync](https://www.classet.ai/integrations) (accessed 2026-10-06) ## Data Centers Recruiting in Other Cities Part of [Data Centers Recruiting](/use-cases/data-centers) [Atlanta, Georgia](/use-cases/data-centers/atlanta)[Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas](/use-cases/data-centers/dallas-fort-worth)[Northern Virginia, Virginia](/use-cases/data-centers/northern-virginia)[Phoenix, Arizona](/use-cases/data-centers/phoenix) Your best data centers candidates are applying right now. Joy can interview them the moment they do. [Book a demo](/demo?ref=use-case-data-centers-columbus-bottom)[Get Started Free](https://app.classet.ai/signup/)