The mines have long drawn tradies away from the typical construction sector, but as data centre buildouts ramp up, there is growing demand for specific skilled labour. Some tradies such as electricians are reporting to make $300,000 a year, particularly on tunnelling and data centre projects Tim Cullen, the CEO of TradieSpec says. "It think it's evidence of a blue collar gold rush that's happening in real time. "There's a huge opportunity for young guys and girls umming and ahhing about what field to go into," he said. Meanwhile unions are warning the housing sector is at risk of haemorrhaging electricians to data centre developers if better pay and training conditions are not provided.