The key to landing the hottest job in tech might be learning a traditional trade.<\/p>\n
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Data centers built for the AI boom desperately need skilled laborers <\/a>to install and maintain cabling and computer equipment inside the wave of new facilities sweeping across the country. Meta is even launching<\/a> a program to train them.<\/p>\n Often advertised as a fiber or data center technician role, the job requires the same fundamental skills and qualifications as a common trade school career path: the low-voltage technician.<\/p>\n Low-voltage techs install, maintain, and repair low-voltage electrical equipment, from security systems to audio-visual equipment.<\/p>\n They can also specialize in fiber optics, the ultra-thin cables that form the backbone of the internet and power artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n Nearly 200,000 additional fiber technicians will be needed to support the buildout of the AI economy, a 2024 report<\/a> by the Fiber Broadband Association and Power & Communication Contractors Association found.<\/p>\n “If you look up what a low-voltage technician does, all they really do is pull cable,” Cesar Ruiz, president and CEO of Learning Alliance Corporation, a workforce development organization, said, referring to cable and wiring installation. “The only difference is they’re going to be pulling fiber inside of a building and hooking it up to racks and switches and routers.”<\/p>\n Combined with the data center boom, an aging workforce and high retirement rates have worsened the low-voltage tech shortage.<\/p>\n Meta plans to train fiber technicians<\/strong><\/p>\n Big Tech is already feeling the labor shortage.<\/p>\n Last week, Meta announced a plan to recruit and train thousands of workers to install the cabling and computer equipment inside its fast-growing data center fleet.<\/p>\n Its LevelUp Fiber Technician Pathway will be a free, four-week training program. Participants will have the opportunity to interview for jobs at Meta’s data center construction sites, the company said.<\/p>\n “The demand for data center construction has never been higher, and the workforce needed to meet that demand simply doesn’t exist yet,” Meta’s press release said.<\/p>\n Training programs like Meta’s are similar to typical low-voltage certification and training programs, which can last from several weeks to a year when combined with apprenticeships, according to Ruiz.<\/p>\n Amazon has also previously sponsored fiber tech training programs in states where it has data centers, including Ohio and Virginia<\/a>.<\/p>\n “They’re just using the word ‘fiber’ because it’s a sexy word,” Ruiz said. “They’re playing it as a true marketing strategy. I credit them for that.”<\/p>\n It’s not yet clear how many of the data center workers<\/a> needed for the construction boom will be needed for permanent positions.<\/p>\n