Meta, CBRE To Train Thousands Of U.S. Data Center Technicians
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram is partnering with a commercial real estate powerhouse to level up construction of its U.S. data centers.
On Monday, Meta Platforms and CBRE announced a new program called LevelUp that will train thousands of fiber technicians to build next-generation data center infrastructure. Program graduates will have the opportunity to work on Meta’s data center construction efforts and gain knowledge applicable across skilled trades.
Meta has nearly 30 data centers in operation or under construction to power its artificial intelligence efforts, with more projects in the planning stages.
“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 President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick said in a statement. “Meta is proud to invest in technician training to support our ambitious infrastructure goals.”
CBRE will set up and oversee various training sites across the country beginning this summer.
LevelUp graduates will have the opportunity to join Meta’s network of contractors and work at the company’s U.S. construction sites.
“We are 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,” CBRE CEO Bob Sulentic said in a statement.
The program is designed to expand the skilled workforce and help address a shortage of fiber technicians amid the AI-driven data center boom.
After spending $72.2B in 2025, Meta officials said in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report that it could nearly double that total this year. Officials expect the company to spend between $115B and $135B on data centers and other infrastructure in 2026.
In February, Meta unveiled plans for a $10B data center megacampus in Indiana. The 4M SF data center is designed to support 1 gigawatt of capacity.
In a November blog post, company leaders said it will invest $600B in AI technology, data center infrastructure and workforce expansion efforts by 2028.
Meta isn’t the only one ramping up data center construction.
Elon Musk’s suite of companies — xAI, Tesla and SpaceX — is also increasing spending on data centers and supporting equipment as he moves the firms toward creating an integrated AI ecosystem.
Prologis invested around $1.3B in data center construction during the first quarter. That accounts for about 62% of the company's new investment during the quarter.
Data center construction accounted for only around 10% of the company’s roughly $3B in new development in 2025.
