If you’re one of the thousands upon thousands of people who call the career and technical education (CTE) world home, then you already know that 2026 could be a make-or-break year for CTE and industry alike. The ongoing challenge of the skills gap means that there are more open positions than ever that need highly skilled workers to fill them.
So how do you go about preparing students for the jobs available now and in the future? How do you create a talent pipeline that will continue producing highly skilled workers for industry roles that seem to be changing as quickly as the advanced technologies transforming industries across the country and around the world?
One way to ensure that your CTE program is teaching the skills that industry needs is to know which industries to watch in 2026. In this article, we’ll look at three industries that CTE instructors can expect to influence the number of highly skilled workers needed and what skills those workers need.
We’ll also discuss the key advanced automation technology that’s a driving force behind all three of the industries we discuss: artificial intelligence (AI). As AI continues to grow in scope and impact, the need for more and larger AI data centers across the country will play a major role in boosting a variety of industries, including HVACR, EVs and EV batteries, and semiconductor manufacturing.
HVACR
In the midst of a long, cold winter, the appeal of a working heating system is clear. Likewise, when summer rolls around with sweltering temperatures, everyone wants to be able to turn on the air conditioner to feel some relief from the unrelenting heat.
That’s why HVACR technicians remain in high demand. The residential heating and air conditioning industry continues to grow by leaps and bounds year after year. But residential is just a part of the picture when it comes to the overall HVACR industry.
Perhaps more important to the surge in demand for highly skilled HVACR professionals are the commercial and industrial HVACR markets. All those grocery and convenience stores with their beverage coolers and meat storage require significant HVACR expertise.
The same goes for all the industrial facilities being built across the country. Every manufacturing facility requires specialized HVACR systems to keep workers comfortable and products manufactured and stored properly. Moreover, the hundreds of AI data centers planned for the U.S. will require enormous HVACR resources to keep millions of computers working nonstop from overheating.
As noted in a recent article in The ACHR NEWS by Maria Taylor, “[d]riven by an explosion in data-center demand, [private equity] has locked onto equipment manufacturers capable of delivering high-capacity, high-efficiency cooling at scale. The result? A surge in demand for advanced chillers, controls, monitoring, and replacement parts.”
Who’s going to install, operate, maintain, troubleshoot, and repair all those advanced systems? That’s the question leading many to pursue a career in the HVACR industry. According to Ladd Schuiling in a recent Skilled Trades article, “HVAC technician careers are evolving into some of the most stable and opportunity-filled paths in the skilled trades. Whether you’re exploring HVAC technician jobs, refrigeration careers, or energy efficiency HVAC roles, 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for the industry.”
Indeed, “[t]he demand for skilled HVAC technicians isn’t slowing down anytime soon…the need for experts who can install, repair, and maintain this advanced equipment keeps growing. The HVAC job outlook…points to steady, long-term growth.”
EVs & EV Batteries
Some might question the inclusion of the electric vehicle (EV) and EV battery industries in this article. After all, isn’t the current political administration doing everything it can to undermine the EV industry and renewable energy projects across the country in favor of maintaining a death grip on fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas?
While it’s true that subsidies and other policies that have helped EVs grow more mainstream in recent years have been curtailed or terminated, there’s still plenty of reason to remain optimistic about EVs and renewable energy technologies, in general.
For starters, the significant investments made in EV and EV battery manufacturing facilities over the past several years will continue to push the industry forward. Notwithstanding the current political climate in the U.S., the worldwide view of EVs and renewable energy alternatives remains positive and laser-focused on the future.
While some domestic automobile manufacturers have scaled back plans for specific EV models, other manufacturers continue to introduce new EV and hybrid-electric vehicles at a steady pace. Moreover, EV-focused brands like Tesla and Rivian will drive the industry forward as they compete for market share in this growing space.
As author Melissa Pistilli notes in a Nasdaq article, “the EV market outlook for 2026 is still one of robust growth, especially outside of North America.” According to Lobo Tiggre, CEO of IndependentSpeculator.com, “EVs are not going away. It’s a very US-centric view to think that the EVs are going away…And Europe certainly hasn’t given up on electric cars. They’ve doubled down.”
As with the HVACR industry, AI data centers will also play a role in increasing demand for batteries like those that power EVs. It’s no secret that AI data centers consume enormous amounts of both water and electricity. To ensure peak performance, most AI data centers rely upon battery systems to provide backup power in the case of problems with the electric grid.
For example, author Bianca Giacobone notes in a Latitude Media article that “[t]he rush to find ways to power artificial intelligence data centers is even luring automakers with battery production capacity to spare. Last month, General Motors, the largest automaker in the United States, announced it has entered into an agreement with Redwood Materials to develop grid-scale energy storage using some of the new and repurposed batteries originally meant for its electric vehicles.”
Semiconductor Manufacturing
Remember the days of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the global supply chain? One of the enduring images from that time will always be the parking lots filled with thousands upon thousands of brand-new vehicles waiting on just one key part: a microchip that makes all the other vehicle systems work.
Those chips primarily came from Taiwan. When the pandemic shut down large segments of the global supply chain, those chips were hard to find. The result was a long wait for not only new vehicles, but a whole host of other electronic products. The pandemic had revealed a glaring weakness in the seemingly invincible strength of the U.S. economy.
At some point in the past, the U.S. had ceded production of these critical electronic components to the overseas market. In fact, semiconductors, initially invented and first produced in the U.S., were now the strength of the Taiwanese economy.
U.S. semiconductor manufacturers were years behind. They did not even have the capability to produce the advanced chips required in the latest, cutting-edge electronics applications, such as the newest smartphones and weapons critical for the U.S. military.
The U.S. response came in the form of the CHIPS and Science Act, a key piece of legislation whose billions in government funding served as a catalyst to reinvigorate the semiconductor manufacturing industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, semiconductor manufacturing in the United States is surging.
In addition to the projects launched by funding from the CHIPS and Science Act, the semiconductor manufacturing industry is also seeing a surge in demand from another catalyst. Can you guess what it is? Of course, you can. We’re once again talking about AI data centers.
According to an S&P Global article by Hrishikesh S, “[t]he balance of semiconductor demand is shifting…the boom in AI and cloud data centers is generating relentless demand for high-performance chips, and stakeholders are paying higher prices to secure them. This divergence is reshaping how semiconductor capacity is allocated. AI data center customers now command priority, leaving other industries — including automotive — to compete for a smaller share of available supply.”
How to Get Started
Have you seen growth in the HVACR, EV and EV battery, and semiconductor manufacturing industries in your area? Each of these industries is primed for impressive growth in 2026 and beyond. They will need thousands of highly skilled workers to fill open positions in new facilities across the country. What can you do to help fill that pipeline of skilled talent?
Unfortunately, many manufacturers and educators aren’t sure where to start. Tackling the challenges of training students and workers for modern manufacturing careers can seem daunting. Fortunately, there are experts available to guide them through the process.
Manufacturers and educators would do well to form partnerships, so that manufacturers can help educators understand exactly which advanced automation skills are critical for local industries. Likewise, educators can provide insight into how manufacturers can best upskill current employees.
Both manufacturers and educators can benefit from the expertise of the technical training experts at Amatrol. Amatrol has been the world leader in technical education for more than four decades now. The experts at Amatrol can provide needed guidance on everything from training and hands-on skill development to industry-standard certifications and apprenticeships.
For example, Amatrol can help CTE professionals develop programs focused on each of the industries discussed in this article:
- HVACR: Check out Amatrol’s HVACR Training Solutions brochure
- EVs & EV Batteries: Explore Amatrol’s EV Battery Manufacturing Program
- Semiconductor Manufacturing: Download Amatrol’s Semiconductor Manufacturing Career Playbook
The experts at Amatrol have been working alongside CTE professionals for years to design training programs featuring eLearning curriculum and hands-on experience with trainers equipped with industrial components workers will encounter on the job. For more information about how Amatrol can help train students or workers, contact an expert at Amatrol today!
