Meta starts construction training program with $115M investment

Meta announced it's launching a nationwide program to train construction workers as the industry faces a labor shortage. The company said it will invest $115 million for the first year of America's Workforce Academy, which will operate in Texas and three other states. The program will offer a five-week-long, fully funded training for fiber technicians, welders, plumbers, electricians and skilled trade workers. Graduates of these programs will be immediately employed by one of Meta's third-party contractor partners, according to Meta spokesperson Rachel Holland. Texas, like the nation, currently is facing a skills gap in the trades. By 2030, an estimated 2.1 million skilled trades jobs could go unfilled, according to the U.S. Department of Education. A 2022 survey conducted by StanleyBlack&Decker estimated that 85% of young people think that skilled trade work is a good quality career option, but only 16% are very likely to consider a skilled trade career. "Closing America's skills gap requires us to not only make a more persuasive case for the skilled trades in general, it requires us to completely rethink the way we train the next generation of skilled workers," said Mike Rowe, founder of mikeroweWORKS Foundation, which partnered with Meta for the program. The Texas training will be done in Houston, with the other three pilot locations taking place in Baton Rouge, La.; Indianapolis; and Columbus, Ohio. Meta will pay for all travel, lodging, training tuition and daily stipends. The initiative was spurred by the response Meta received for its LevelUp fiber technician training and placement program that launched in April.