Meta is investing $115 million in a free training program for skilled trades workers, with a guaranteed job waiting for every graduate. The program, called America’s Workforce Academy, will address a critical shortage of construction workers needed to build the physical infrastructure powering the global AI boom.
According to Meta:
“We are launching America’s Workforce Academy (AWA) to build upon the huge demand we saw for Meta’s first major initiative of this kind… America’s Workforce Academy (AWA) is a nationwide, unprecedented fast-track to a long-term career in a skilled trade. It’s a program that supports all participants while they learn and then guarantees a job for all graduates.”
The academy will launch in Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Texas, all states where Meta has active data center construction projects. Participants choose a trade specialization from a list that includes fiber technicians, welders, plumbers, and electricians.
At the end of the program, each graduate will get one of Meta’s general contractors working on a live construction site. Graduates earn two credentials: an industry-recognized National Center for Construction Education and Research certification and an America’s Workforce Certificate.
The program comes at a moment when the tech industry’s data center buildout is stretching labor supply thin. McKinsey estimates global data center investment could reach $7 trillion by 2030.
Research from a policy group associated with Meta found that data centers could generate 4.7 million temporary construction jobs and 697,000 permanent positions in the US. Data center technicians earn a median salary of roughly $88,000 per year, according to Glassdoor data, making the roles significantly higher-paying than many construction alternatives.
Former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said many Americans face a situation where they need training to access better-paying jobs but cannot afford to stop working to attend training. The academy addresses that with paid apprenticeships and credentials tied to real, available positions.
The initiative also addresses a political dimension. Data centers have faced growing community pushback over the fact that localities offer large tax incentives to attract Big Tech facilities that ultimately create few permanent local jobs. By guaranteeing construction employment to trained graduates, Meta frames the academy as a direct response to that criticism.
The program could also help fill gaps created by the Trump administration’s immigration policies, which have hit the construction sector harder than any other industry according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
