The biggest names in tech have started paying people to learn a trade.

Google.org committed $50 million to skilled construction training on June 11, and roughly $20 million of it went to the Electrical Training Alliance, the training partner of the IBEW and the National Electrical Contractors Association. That followed $15.75 million the alliance received from Google.org in early 2025. "There is unprecedented demand for skilled electrical workers," IBEW International President Kenneth W. Cooper said when the grant was announced.

Meta moved in the same direction. On June 8 it launched America's Workforce Academy behind a $115 million first-year investment: five weeks of training at no cost, housing and a daily stipend covered, an NCCER credential on the way out, and a guaranteed job for every graduate. The 2026 pilot states are Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana and Texas.

When the companies that need the work done start paying for the classroom, the training pipeline stops being somebody else's problem.

Each week, Positive Current spotlights a career in the energy sector: what the job is, what it takes, who is hiring, and what it pays. This week, data center electricians.

What the Job Is

Data center electricians pull and terminate feeders, set switchgear, wire uninterruptible power supplies and standby generators, and commission the redundant power paths that keep a campus live when one of them fails. It is inside wireman work at a scale most job sites never reach, and it does not end when the building opens. Somebody stays on to test, maintain and expand it.

Salary Snapshot
The median wage for electricians was $63,190 in May 2025, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The top 10 percent earned more than $108,510, and BLS projects 9 percent employment growth from 2024 to 2034, three times the 3 percent average across all occupations.

Who's a Fit

No four-year degree required. Apprentices earn a paycheck from day one, and IBEW apprentices take on virtually no debt during training. Employers want mechanical aptitude, comfort reading prints and code, and safety credentials. Veterans and career changers with any electrical background tend to move fast.

Who's Hiring

The Electrical Training Alliance places apprentices with IBEW locals and NECA contractors nationwide. Meta's academy is managed with CBRE and the Associated Builders and Contractors, with recruiting help from the National Urban League and chambers of commerce in the four pilot states. The demand is not subtle: JLL projects 2.1 million unfilled positions by 2030 across electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, pipefitters, equipment operators and maintenance workers. In 2025 there were 600,000 skilled trades job postings and only 150,000 people entered the workforce through apprenticeships.

The Bottom Line

The gap between those two numbers is the opportunity. Every megawatt of new load needs someone who can wire it, and the companies building that load have decided to fund the training themselves. If you want a career with no tuition bill, a paycheck while you learn and work that cannot be offshored, this is the best door in energy right now.

Sources: IBEW | Meta Newsroom | Bureau of Labor Statistics | JLL, via ESG Dive reporting by Lamar Johnson