Meta, ABC form partnership to launch academy to train and create jobs for construction craft professionals

Meta Platforms, Inc. and Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) have formed a partnership to educate and provide construction-ready career pathways for thousands of data center construction technicians, kicking off in Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas, as a meaningful step toward meeting the growing demand for data centers workers nationwide.

“The AI revolution is bringing change but also historic opportunities,” said Meta President and Vice-Chairman Dina Powell McCormick. “Skilled workers electrified rural America one pole at a time. They manned the factories that built the arsenal that won World War II. Now, a new generation will pour the foundations and lay the fiber that secures American strength in this new age.”

America’s Workforce Academy is a $115 million investment in the next generation of construction professionals that includes a five-week training program and a job offer from contractors working on Meta projects at the conclusion of the program.

Once an online application process is complete, scholarships, travel, housing, and stipends for living expenses are granted to qualified job seekers. They will then participate in career readiness and safety training followed by five weeks of hands-on education, which includes core training and craft training.

“This new program is an innovative talent solution that is a critical part of addressing the construction industry’s ongoing workforce shortage and creates an accelerated, new-entrant strategy for job seekers,” said Michael Bellaman, ABC President and CEO. “Utilizing ABC’s existing, proven, nationwide educational ecosystem, these programs will be launched at ABC chapter training centers in key markets like Baton Rouge, La., Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, Ind., and Houston, Texas. This new national partnership will help train the next generation of craft professionals from entry points such as high school graduates, veterans, and more.”

The American Workforce Academy partnership will:

• Build a sustainable talent pipeline: establishes scalable, repeatable workforce development models that align industry, training providers, and workforce systems to meet ongoing demand.
• Deliver accelerated, job-ready training: provides standardized, industry-aligned training that equips participants with the skills, safety knowledge, and jobsite readiness needed to contribute quickly and effectively.
• Ensure safety and productivity from day one: prepares participants to meet industry and project-specific safety standards and contribute productively on the jobsite from the outset.

“The sustained demand for data center construction technicians means the industry needs an all-of-the-above approach to address this shortage and grow the construction talent pool,” Bellaman said. “This important new partnership reaffirms that the construction industry offers careers of choice in today’s complex job market. These new entrants may be beginning their careers on data center projects but by learning multiple competencies, are starting a life-long career in construction with near limitless possibilities.”

ABC and its members are working to recruit, educate, and upskill the nation’s future construction workforce. The organization operates a network of more than 800 apprenticeship, craft, safety, and management education programs—including 450 government-registered apprenticeship programs—across 20 different occupations, investing in flexible, competency-based and market-driven education methodologies to cultivate long-term skill sets.

“Thanks to the crucial, established team members of ABC’s vast network, which includes the National Center for Construction Education and Research, ABC’s 67 chapters, ABC strategic partners and ABC business partners, as well as ABC’s Tech Alliance, we are ready to deliver this transformational construction career readiness program across the country,” said Bellaman.

To apply to America’s Workforce Academy, click here.

On the heels of this announcement, Google announced that it is expanding its total skilled trades support to help prepare more than 300,000 American workers across more than 20 states. Through a $50 million commitment from Google.org, funding will go directly to the training experts who build these programs from the ground up. Their work will support 14 labor unions and four trade and contractor associations, ensuring workers have the state-of-the-art skills and accreditation to pursue a skilled trades career, no matter where they want to work. It also builds on funding Google has provided to help the electrical training ALLIANCE (etA) train tens of thousands of electrical workers and the Manufacturing Institute train tens of thousands of current and future manufacturing workers in essential AI skills.
For more on what these announcements mean for the industry, sign up for our eNews digital newsletter.

About Associated Builders and Contractors

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and 24,000 members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC helps members offer a robust employee value proposition, develop people, win work, and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work.