New York is moving quickly toward an electrified future. Money is flowing into EV charging networks, upgraded electrical grids, and clean-energy projects as the state chases ambitious climate targets. Yet according to Richard Sajiun, the conversation around funding, policy, and technology is missing a critical piece: the people who will actually build and maintain all of it.
Richard Sajiun is CEO and master electrician of Sajiun Electric Inc., a firm with decades of experience in large-scale electrical work in government buildings, hospitals, and public infrastructure across New York. He argues that the state’s electrification goals hinge on more than capital and regulation—they depend on having enough trained electricians to do the work.
A Shrinking Talent Pool, Amid Growing Demand
New York’s electrical trade is facing a moment of intense demand. EV charging installations, grid upgrades, and infrastructure modernization projects are multiplying across the state, creating steady work for contractors and tradespeople. At the same time, the pipeline of experienced electricians is shrinking.
Sajiun points to a long-building trend: seasoned electricians are retiring in greater numbers than young workers are entering the field, leaving a widening gap between the workforce available and the workload ahead.
This is a problem Sajiun has watched unfold over years in the family business. Sajiun Electric traces its roots to a Bronx contracting shop founded in 1965 and has since grown into a firm trusted with complex federal and public-sector projects. That history has given Sajiun a close view of how much the trade depends on hands-on experience passed down through mentorship.
As he puts it, becoming truly skilled in the field is not something that can be sped up—mastering electrical systems and the responsibility of powering essential infrastructure takes real time to learn.
For Sajiun, this isn’t just a staffing headache. It’s a structural issue that could limit how well the industry can support New York’s changing infrastructure needs in the years ahead.
Electrification Raises the Stakes
The push toward cleaner transportation and energy is only intensifying the need for skilled electrical labor. Local Law 55 already requires parking facilities across New York City to phase in EV charging infrastructure over the next several years — a mandate that will require major electrical upgrades and the installation of thousands of new charging stations citywide.
Meanwhile, developers are increasingly building EV readiness directly into new commercial and residential projects, adding even more demand on an already stretched electrical workforce.
Funding for this transition is not the bottleneck. Programs like Con Edison’s PowerReady initiative and New York State’s Make-Ready program are helping businesses get ahead of electrification costs, and federal clean-energy investment continues to flow nationally.
But Sajiun cautions that money and programs only go so far. Plans and funding mean little, he notes, until licensed electricians are the ones putting the systems in the ground safely and correctly. In his view, New York’s success will ultimately be measured not just by how much gets funded but by whether enough qualified people exist to build it.
Building the Next Generation
Sajiun sees workforce development as the real solution and that starts with investing in new electricians early in their careers.
At Sajiun Electric, mentorship is treated as a core part of the business, not an afterthought. New hires are paired with veteran electricians and learn through direct, real-world exposure to projects involving critical infrastructure and public facilities. For Sajiun, this on-the-job model matters because so much of the trade’s most valuable knowledge simply can’t be taught in a classroom.
As electrification spreads into more corners of daily life, the responsibility placed on electricians grows with it. Their work keeps hospitals, transit systems, government buildings, and now EV charging networks running safely. That kind of responsibility, Sajiun argues, demands more than technical know-how; it requires seasoned judgment and an unwavering commitment to safety, both of which take time in the field to develop.
Sajiun believes New York already has the funding, technology, and policy backing needed to hit its electrification targets. What remains uncertain is whether the workforce can scale fast enough to keep up.
While headlines tend to focus on new charging stations, retrofitted buildings, and clean-energy dollars, Sajiun believes the electricians making it all possible deserve just as much attention. New York’s electrified future is already taking shape; the open question, he says, is whether there will be enough skilled hands to build it.