MENLO PARK, Calif. (WRTV) — MENLO PARK, Calif. (WRTV) — The Boone County Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit business league based in Lebanon, Indiana, is a partner in a Meta academy designed to train people for long-term careers in skilled trades, Meta announced in a Monday afternoon news release.
The county’s economic development nonprofit operates in partnership with local governments, elected officials, and private stakeholders.
The America’s Workforce Academy will start with an initial $115 million investment, resulting in what Meta called guaranteed jobs for all graduates, the release said.
The Meta academy, with sites planned in Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana and Texas, will be cost-free. Graduates will earn both the industry-recognized National Center for Construction Education and Research credential and an America’s Workforce Certificate, the release said.
In Boone County, Meta Platforms is developing a $10 billion, 1,500-acre data center campus in Lebanon, within the Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace (LEAP) Research and Innovation District, as WRTV has previously reported. The Meta project, with construction underway, will include up to 15 buildings to support Meta’s artificial intelligence products and workloads. The state government has said the site will employ more than 4,000 construction workers, and create 300 high-wage jobs. Plans call for the campus to open in late 2027 or early 2028.
By year’s end, Meta also plans to open an $800 million, 700,000-square-foot facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The southern Indiana facility was designed to support its apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It’s expected to employ 100 people when operations begin.
Other partners in the project include the National Urban League, the Associated Builders and Contractors, commercial property investor CBRE, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the workforce development nonprofit STRIVE, the Richland Parish Chamber of Commerce in Louisiana, Workforce Solutions Borderplex in Texas, and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce in Ohio.
