Called America's Workforce Academy, the program will begin in Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas. Participants accepted into the program will receive a conditional job offer from a contractor working on Meta construction projects before training begins, according to program materials. 

Meta and ABC said program participants will receive scholarships, travel assistance, housing and living stipends while completing five weeks of career-readiness, safety and craft training. 

A Meta graduate will receive guaranteed job offers from participating contractors, and the initiative has been called the largest private-sector skilled-trades training commitment tied to a job guarantee in U.S. history.

In a statement to ENR, contracting behemoth Turner Construction Co. said it is committed to hiring workers through the program as the construction industry faces a workforce challenge that “no single company can solve.” The firm ranked No. 1 on ENR’s 2026 Top 400 Contractor List and credited record revenue gains to projects connected to data center hyperscalers like Meta.

“Meta's America's Workforce Academy lowers barriers to entry, provides valuable and transferable skills, and connects training directly to employment opportunities. Success is when people gain skills, build careers, and help strengthen the industry's workforce for the long term.” Turner added in its statement.

"The AI infrastructure we're building today requires an incredible workforce to make it a reality," said Rachel Peterson, vice president of data centers at Meta. "America's Workforce Academy is our commitment to building that workforce with the same ambition and long-term thinking we bring to the technology itself."

The effort comes as contractors and owners race to add capacity for artificial intelligence computing, cloud services and digital infrastructure. Data center construction spending reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $50.7 billion in April, up 28.1% from a year earlier, according to an ABC analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

Craft workforce shortages remain a persistent challenge across the construction industry. Associated General Contractors of America surveys show more than 90% of contractors report difficulty finding enough qualified workers to hire.

Brian Turmail, vice president of association and industry image for AGC of America, said labor shortages are affecting data center construction differently than many other market segments because owners are often willing to pay a premium to keep projects on schedule.

"The biggest impact of construction labor shortages on data center projects is that it has increased labor costs for these types of projects," Turmail told ENR in an email. "Data center operators are typically willing to pay a premium to ensure their projects remain on schedule."

Those higher wages can ripple through other sectors, he said, adding that one highway contractor recently told AGC that dump-truck-driver pay in his region had doubled as workers were drawn to nearby data center projects.

Speaking at an Axios event in March, Meta President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick said the U.S. may ultimately need roughly 500,000 electricians to support projected AI infrastructure growth.

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The academy will operate through ABC chapter training centers in Baton Rouge, La.; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; and Houston. The locations align with several Meta data center developments ENR has previously covered.

In Louisiana, Meta's Hyperion campus in Richland Parish is expected to require more than 5,000 skilled trade workers at peak construction and has spurred major utility investments across the state.

In Indiana, the company is building an $800-million data center in Jeffersonville while advancing plans for a separate $10-billion AI campus near Indianapolis expected to have a more than 4,000-person construction workforce during peak activity. Ohio is home to Meta's New Albany data center operations, while Texas hosts facilities in Fort Worth and Temple as well as a newly announced AI data center project in El Paso.

The academy also builds on Meta's broader workforce-development efforts. Real estate and project management firm CBRE is serving as its primary program manager, overseeing candidate recruitment, screening, onboarding and training administration.

Meta said it currently has 27 data centers operating or under construction in the U.S.and that its data center development program has supported more than 45,000 construction jobs since 2011.

"America needs hundreds of thousands of skilled tradespeople—electricians, mechanics, fiber technicians and more—and this program creates clear, accessible pathways into those careers," Peterson said.