One of the big developments in recent years has been the increase of artificial intelligence (AI) in our everyday lives, from digital assistants and chatbots helping us on websites to navigation apps and autocorrect on our mobile phones.

As AI becomes more prevalent in the near future, I am concerned about whether the UK’s current electrical infrastructure is fit for purpose and can deal with exponential increase in predicted power demands from the continued growth in electric vehicle (EV) charging units and the power-hungry data centres supporting the rollout of AI.

Attending a training session years ago with an EV charging point manufacturer, the standing joke was: “Where is all this electricity going to come from?”

We all felt the UK’s electrical network needed to be upgraded to be able to meet the future requirements of EV charging, and now there is extra pressure on our network coming from the new data centres that are springing up to service the needs of AI.

Researchers have been sounding the alarm about AI’s hefty energy requirements and estimate that by 2027, AI servers could consume between 85 and 134 terawatt hours per year: roughly equivalent to the current energy demand of countries such as Argentina and Sweden.

Presently, the UK’s National Grid appears to be holding its own with the current increases being met with renewable energy systems but as technology advances there will be a time when the grid will struggle to support demand.

Because of all the new wind farms that are being developed around the UK, the grid is now having to review the use of overhead pylons and their associated lines and erect additional infrastructure just to get the energy created by the wind farms back into the grid. And regardless of how policymakers tackle the issue, of one thing I am certain: as leaders of a vital sector of the UK economy, we need to stress consistently and with some urgency to these same policymakers the importance of ensuring there is a continued pipeline of electrical apprentices to meet the future demands of a society that will depend so heavily on electricity.

We need people who are qualified, skilled and knowledgeable to be able to introduce and oversee this new technology, which is why we need more properly trained and suitably qualified electrical apprentices, acting as the vanguard of our industry to ensure these exciting new technologies work for us and society in general.

Equally, it is important that companies take on the right type of person who will be able to cope with the demands of a potential four-year apprenticeship programme, particularly the college work with homework and deadlines, which might come as a shock to a young person who thought they had said goodbye to school.

We need people who can apply themselves correctly, show that they are willing to learn and always ask questions. It’s a big learning curve, as we know, but the rewards are there for the taking.

Mike Stark is the recently elected President of SELECT, Scotland’s largest construction trade association. He is currently Director of Data Cabling and Networks at facilities management firm OCS M&E Services.

Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk