Chris Crosby, CEO of Compass Datacenters, says the blue-collar jobs powering the tech industry are finally getting the attention they deserve. And he is glad about it.
Crosby spoke to Fox News Digital about the “war on blue-collar jobs,” saying he is glad it is over and wants blue-collar careers to be taken seriously. His own company is proof of the shift: Compass has built a sprawling campus outside Dallas that employs hundreds of people in roles that do not require a four-year degree.
The Red Oak Campus
Compass began developing its Red Oak, Texas campus about 20 miles south of Dallas in 2019. Today the site has 10 data center buildings totaling about 2.6 million square feet.
More than 900 people work at the campus, including about 600 full-time workers and roughly 300 at Schneider Electric, whose manufacturing facility sits on the same site. Thousands of construction workers have worked there for five years.
Jobs Created Nationwide
Compass and its partners created more than 7,000 permanent factory jobs nationwide.
The Texas State Technical College Partnership
The company also partnered with Texas State Technical College to build a $12.6 million training facility at Red Oak.
Training Without Degrees
Compass created its MEI Pathways program, which stands for Mechanical, Electrical and IT Pathways. The program is open to anyone interested and does not require prior qualifications.
The program is designed to train workers for roles in data centers.
Why Data Centers Matter
Crosby said data centers will drive future economic growth, creating jobs, economic activity and tax revenue. He said they are “where the economic engine is going to be going forward.”
The training programs are part of that push. By working with Texas State Technical College, Compass is building a pipeline of workers who can fill the roles its data centers need.
The Numbers Behind the Boom
- More than 900 people work at the Red Oak campus
- 10 data center buildings, about 2.6 million square feet
- 600 full-time workers on campus; roughly 300 at Schneider Electric
- More than 7,000 permanent factory jobs created nationwide
- $12.6 million training facility at Red Oak
- MEI Pathways open to anyone, no prior qualifications required
The boom is real, and it is still growing.
Source material: “America’s new blue-collar job boom is one nobody saw coming — and it’s just getting started,” Fox News.
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