Our Digital Nation's Blue-Collar Bottleneck
America is training people to do yesterday's jobs...
For the past couple decades, parents have been telling their kids to learn code.
Since the world is becoming increasingly digital, many view it as the only way to guarantee a job in the future.
Kids have started to listen...
From 2020 to 2024, enrollment in college data-analytics and data-science programs grew 179% annually. Enrollment in these fields' master's programs increased even more. It's by far the fastest-growing area of study.
It's true that the tech sector needs workers. But too many young people are now competing for the same jobs. Only the lucky ones will find work in their field.
Meanwhile, nobody is left for another set of jobs... one that America desperately needs filled.
We need people who work with their hands.
We're talking about electricians, pipe fitters, welders, mechanical specialists, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning ("HVAC") technicians.
Knowing programming languages like Python and SQL is all well and good. But factories are building things... Data centers are running hot... Hospitals need to stay online. And America is running out of people who know how to wire a power system... braze a pipe... or troubleshoot a chiller that's throwing off alarms at 3 a.m.
This isn't a small problem. It's a full-blown crisis.
As regular readers know, we're in the early innings of a massive manufacturing reshoring boom.
A tidal wave of future projects will soon break ground – semiconductor fabs, AI-driven data centers, biomanufacturing plants, energy facilities, and high-tech manufacturing sites.
Every one of these projects will require electrical and mechanical work. Someone will need to wire the power, install liquid cooling systems, and build the physical architecture of the future.
But the workers just aren't there anymore.
Walk onto any job site today and you'll hear the same thing... We don't have the people.
Retirements are accelerating, while trade-school enrollment hasn't kept up. As an example, nearly 10,000 electricians either retire or change careers each year. Yet only 7,000 new electricians enter the workforce annually.
According to an estimate by the Center for Strategic and International Studies ("CSIS"), the unprecedented demand for new factories will require up to 140,000 more skilled tradespeople by 2030.
We've built a digital nation on top of physical infrastructure that fewer and fewer people know how to maintain.
You see, the most profound bottleneck of the entire American industrial renaissance is the shortage of skilled human capital.
We can have the most advanced AI in the world. But without the physical infrastructure – the mission-critical systems hidden behind the walls – the entire digital economy ceases to exist.
This setup creates an economic moat for one company that most investors have never heard of...
While most firms in construction and engineering are struggling to find labor, this company controls one of the nation's largest, most experienced mechanical and electrical workforces.
It employs thousands of the very specialists everyone else is desperate to hire... technicians who can assemble a "clean room" or keep a hyperscale data center's cooling system from tipping into disaster.
Unlike many other fields, these workers cannot be displaced by AI.
When America's tech, pharma, aerospace, and semiconductor giants need the job done right, they call this company.
It has a massive backlog of orders thanks to rising demand for its expertise. Also, it's profitable, has many years of growth ahead of it, and offers plenty of upside for shareholders.
We just recommended buying this global leader in our December issue of Retirement Millionaire. We're up 10% already and continue to rate the company a "strong buy" today.
However, we doubt it will remain in buy mode for long. You don't want to miss this opportunity.
Retirement Millionaire subscribers can read our issue here.
And if you'd like to get the name of this company but aren't a subscriber, consider joining us at Retirement Millionaire. Click here to learn more.
What We're Reading...
- Something different: Streaming captures nearly half of U.S. TV viewing in December on Stranger Things boost.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
January 21, 2026