The workers Meta and Google are scrambling to find

The AI race has a blue-collar problem. Big Tech wants to fix it.

Days after Meta said it was launching a $250 million program to train Americans for data center construction jobs, Google announced a similar initiative.

The search engine giant on Thursday said it is investing $50 million in skilled-trades training programs across the US in fields critical to building AI and energy infrastructure.

They are tailored for aspiring construction workers, electricians, plumbers, pipe fitters, welders, and other laborers. Some training program partnerships are already underway, a Google spokesperson said.

The moves follow efforts unveiled earlier this year by Oracle and Microsoft to expand existing initiatives aimed at building a pipeline of workers to support the AI boom. Together, they underscore a shortage of tradespeople capable of building the data centers essential to powering AI ambitions — and Big Tech’s increasing role in tackling it.

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