Meta’s Baton Rouge “workforce academy” will be based at Associated Builders and Contractors Pelican Chapter’s Baton Rouge Training Center, with the first cohort of students expected to begin training this fall.
Announced in June, the $115 million initiative is designed to train workers for jobs in AI infrastructure. The program is free to participants, requires no prior experience and guarantees graduates a job offer with a Meta contractor. Baton Rouge was chosen as one of four pilot markets for the academy, along with locations in Indiana, Ohio and Texas. “We’re incredibly honored that ABC Pelican’s Baton Rouge Training Center was selected as one of only four pilot locations across the country,” says David Helveston, president and CEO of ABC Pelican.
Helveston says the program will be five weeks long, but the size of the cohort has yet to be determined and the curriculum is still being finalized. Notably, the local training is not expected to be a one-time offering. Meta’s academy has already received “many thousands” of applications nationwide. “The plan is for many cohorts,” he adds. “There should be a continuous stream of cohorts moving through Baton Rouge if things go well.”
According to Helveston, ABC Pelican’s Baton Rouge Training Center is “for the most part ready to go,” as Meta’s academy will largely build on work the chapter already does daily through its existing electrical and instrumentation labs. Some additional lab equipment may be added, but the facility is mostly prepared to deliver Meta’s training.
Graduates are guaranteed jobs with Meta contractors, though not necessarily in Louisiana. The job offers graduates receive could mean work with a Baton Rouge contractor, a contractor near Meta’s Richland Parish data center project or a contractor working on another Meta project elsewhere in the country.
Helveston adds that the program is not strictly limited to Baton Rouge residents.
