By Andy Tonsing, vice president, future of work at Stand Together
Childress is a city of about 7,000 people in Northwest Texas, near the state border with Oklahoma. It’s a rural community with ample open space and abundant energy resources — the ideal environment for the data centers driving today’s digital economy. The talent to fill them was always there — someone just needed to recognize, invest in, and help it grow.
That’s where IREN came in. It’s a next-generation data center company that uses renewable energy to power AI and other emerging technologies. In 2022, the company broke ground on a 420-acre data center in Childress when it encountered an obstacle: The local workforce it needed for the new facility couldn’t be found using a traditional talent strategy, which screens out applicants without a college degree or highly specialized prior experience.
How did IREN build a thriving data center without having the data center technicians, electricians, network engineers, and other skilled professionals to staff it?
The company pivoted. Rather than looking solely at people’s past jobs or where they attended college, IREN prioritized skills and aptitudes.
While IREN’s traditional hiring strategy suggested the workforce it needed for its new data center was in short supply, the company expanded its talent pipeline by giving people the chance to learn new skills and harnessing their motivation to contribute. IREN accomplished this through four talent development programs, which offered people options such as apprenticeships in skilled trades and financial assistance to pursue relevant careers.
The company filled all its open roles in Childress, developed a more loyal, high-performing team, saved money, and improved the city’s economic opportunity and mobility.
Today, IREN continues to build a world-class workforce by cultivating local talent through an emphasis on their potential, their unique skills, and their interests. David Shaw, IREN’s chief operating officer, says this mindset can benefit any employer, regardless of location.
“Any company, in any industry, can close workforce gaps by looking beyond traditional hiring and investing in people and communities,” he said. “It leads to stronger local economies and a more inclusive and sustainable workforce across the nation.”
The surging demand for data center talent
Data centers store, process, and distribute the information that powers much of today’s world. Shaw calls these facilities “the backbone of the digital economy” because they anchor technologies such as generative AI, cloud services, fintech, the bitcoin network, and global communications.
The rising need for computing power to fuel these technologies means the demand for data centers is rapidly increasing. But, as IREN discovered in Childress, staffing them with the data center technicians, network engineers, facility managers, and other skilled professionals these facilities need can be challenging.
Fortunately, IREN found success by pairing top-tier external talent with untapped potential in the community. This blended model strengthens IREN’s teams and deepens its local roots — a framework other employers can follow.
“We hire based on capability, drive, and potential,” Shaw said. “We seek cross-functional skill sets and consider the whole person, not just a resume.”
The results were impressive. Today, IREN employs over 100 full-time members in Childress. While long-term staffing may shift as operations evolve, IREN’s investment has already created significant employment opportunities and made an economic impact in the area.
IREN is now seeing better operational performance, less turnover, and deeper connections to its local workforce. Plus, the company saves money by reducing its use of resource-intensive external training and recruitment initiatives.
IREN’s talent practices also provide meaningful work, growth opportunities, and a better quality of life for people closer to their homes.
Four ways to create a high-performing workforce
IREN’s People, Culture, and Community team is building the company’s data center workforce by tapping into under-leveraged talent in rural Texas and helping it thrive.
This bottom-up model requires believing in everyone’s potential and cultivating close ties to the region’s business, education, and nonprofit communities. IREN’s strategy includes:
- The Ignite IREN summer student program, which helps students discover career pathways in the data center industry through hands-on experience.
- The IREN Future Innovator Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to students across Texas and encourages them to pursue technology, trade, and related careers.
- The IREN Community Grants Program, which provides up to $100,000 annually to local nonprofits supporting workforce development.
- The Electrician Apprenticeship Program, which creates a structured pathway into a skilled trade, enabling participants to earn certifications while working and learning.
For an example of how these programs work in practice, consider IREN’s apprenticeship program. It recently helped an employee from a small rural community near Childress become a journeyman electrician. The program enabled the employee to attend trade school at night while working full time at IREN and receiving hands-on experience and mentorship. It also gave him a clear path to advancement: He’s now in a leadership role and growing his skills — all because IREN recognized his strong work ethic and desire to stay near home.
“This shared value model strengthens our relationships with the regions we serve and reinforces our commitment to long-term sustainability, economic resilience, and mutual success,” Shaw said.
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A growing skills-first ecosystem in Texas
IREN isn’t the only organization interested in transforming regional talent ecosystems. The Education Design Lab is joining several other organizations to make Texas a leader in digital workforce development as part of the Texas Flywheel Initiative. Launched in 2024, the initiative aims to drive economic growth and ensure that all Texans can get the skills required to participate in the data center industry. The lab is a national nonprofit that codesigns, prototypes, and tests education-to-workforce models through a human-centered process, connecting learners to economic mobility.
“What I appreciate about IREN is how they leverage local talent and try to collaborate with local stakeholders,” said Dr. Leah Ben-Ami, the lab’s senior ecosystem designer. “The company is providing them with a pathway into an emerging industry in Childress, where those pathways may not be as readily available.”
Dr. Ben-Ami says the Texas Flywheel hopes to “connect the dots” between the players in Texas’ digital economy — including IREN — so that the state’s training pathways help people acquire the skills employers need. The goal is a collaborative ecosystem to create awareness of — and access to — programs that empower people to contribute to the Lone Star State’s emerging data center industry.
For instance, Texas Flywheel has conducted several events to facilitate networking and thought leadership within Texas. One such gathering was the Texas Digital Economy Convening in Fort Worth last February, which featured over 60 stakeholders, including IREN. The event focused on building relationships and establishing a shared understanding of the upskilling and mobility opportunities and challenges facing rural prospective hires.
The convening also sought to reduce industry silos and identify core education partners to help build credential pathways. Texas Flywheel has engaged with over 140 stakeholders through its convenings, including 60 employers, 40 training providers and educators, and 25 community and workforce groups.
The lab’s and IREN’s talent development efforts come as Texas’ number of data centers rapidly grows. Texas currently boasts America’s second-largest concentration of data centers, with 363 data centers in 24 markets statewide. This number will only increase as rural Texas gains more energy infrastructure.
Making mutual benefit count
The separate approaches to talent development from the lab and IREN are reaching the same destination: more economic mobility and opportunity for all. Their success shows that communities, employers, nonprofits, and talent can achieve big outcomes when they collaborate.
Shaw says IREN’s talent innovations strive to strengthen everyone the company touches. With IREN’s Childress facility expected to have a business life lasting several decades, both the company and the community will reap positive returns for years.
“IREN’s strategy is designed to create lasting, meaningful impact for everyone involved in the company, the communities we operate in, and the individuals who live there,” Shaw said.
For any employer seeking to build a strong workforce pipeline, IREN’s experience in Childress proves that the solution often lies within the community itself. By focusing on aptitudes and investing in skills, employers can unlock the talent that’s been there all along.
Andy Tonsing is a vice president at Stand Together, a philanthropic community of organizations dedicated to helping America’s boldest changemakers tackle the root causes of our country’s biggest problems. He is an experienced philanthropic and business leader in advancing innovative work and learning models that help people unlock their potential.
This article was originally published on Forbes BrandVoice. Check out more stories on the future of work on our page.
Education Design Lab is supported by the Charles Koch Foundation, which as part of the Stand Together community funds cutting-edge research and helps expand postsecondary educational options.
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