Meta unveils $115 M free AI data center trades training

Meta announced on Monday a $115 million initiative to create a free, national training program aimed at developing a skilled workforce for the construction and operation of its expanding artificial intelligence data centers. The program, called the Americas Workforce Academy, will provide cost-free, industry-recognized credentials and guarantee full-time job offers for graduates who complete the training.

The initiative, which Meta describes as the largest private-sector commitment to skilled trades training with a job guarantee in U.S. history, will launch pilot locations in Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Texas later this year. Graduates will earn a credential from the National Center for Construction Education and Research and an Americas Workforce Certificate designed to be portable across employers and industries.

In a statement, Meta President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick framed the need in historical terms, saying a new generation will pour the foundations and lay the fiber that secures American strength in this new age. The AI revolution is bringing change but also historic opportunities, she said. Rachel Peterson, Meta's vice president of data centers, said...