Rendering of a Meta data center campus in Mesa, Arizona [Image: Meta]
Dallas-based CBRE—a commercial real estate and critical infrastructure services firm with end-to-end data center services—is partnering with Meta Platforms, Inc. on a multi-year recruiting and training program called LevelUp. The program aims to train thousands of fiber technicians to build Meta data centers across the U.S.
CBRE said it will establish and run multiple training centers across the U.S. “starting this summer.” Graduates will have the opportunity to put their skills to work at Meta construction sites across the U.S. through Meta’s network of contractors, CBRE said.
Meta has 27 data centers under construction or operational in the U.S., with additional projects in the planning stages. Since 2010, these projects have supported more than 30,000 skilled trade jobs and 5,000 operational jobs, CBRE noted.
Bob Sulentic, president and CEO of CBRE [Image: CBRE]
“We’re excited to build upon our longstanding partnership with Meta,” CBRE Chair and CEO Bob Sulentic said in a statement. “We’re committed to leveraging the full scope and expertise of CBRE to develop and train a skilled workforce that will support Meta in building out their infrastructure.”
Addresses a ‘growing shortage of fiber technicians’
Citing a “growing shortage of fiber technicians” needed to build next-generation data center infrastructure, CBRE said the new program aims to expand the skilled workforce and increase access to high-quality career opportunities, while creating “a clear pathway for recent high school graduates.”
The technician jobs offer “competitive earning potential in a growing field,” the company added, making them a viable option for recent high school graduates and people looking to start a new career.
Dina Powell McCormick, Meta’s president and vice chairman, said “the future of the AI revolution depends on a highly skilled U.S. workforce—one that rises to the challenge of building and maintaining the complex systems that power innovation.”
“Meta is proud to invest in technician training to support our ambitious infrastructure goals,” she added in a statement.
Training ‘thousands of workers’
CBRE said it plans to train “thousands of workers” to install technical infrastructure, fiber-optic cables, network gear, and other mission-critical equipment at Meta’s data center construction sites. The program’s curriculum is designed to be broadly applicable, equipping trainees with skills that are in high demand across the construction and data center industries, and will provide a foundation for long-term, transferable careers in the skilled trades sector, CBRE said.
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