Amazon is investing $1 billion to offer free community college and “hands-on” workforce training for people who live in communities that host the company’s data centers, the company has announced. Details of the initiative are still being hashed out.
“We have started to establish agreements with local community colleges and plan to launch the program in the next few months,” Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, said in an Oct. 2 statement. “Over the next five years, we estimate that we will connect over 300,000 students to free degree access in data center communities.”
The program – called “Built Together” – allows residents in the company’s “data center communities” to pursue a certificate or associate’s degree in a “high-demand field to increase job readiness for in-demand careers,” such as electricians, HVAC experts, fiber opticians, IT, healthcare, education, public safety, and advanced manufacturing. Garman said the credentials can be sought at “zero out-of-pocket cost to students” with Amazon covering out-of-pocket costs after aid is applied.
The announcement comes amid ongoing concerns about adverse effects that data centers have on people, the economy and the environment. The timing raises questions about the degree to which the program represents true corporate benevolence versus a thinly veiled attempt to placate the public.
A 2024 study that examined air pollutant emissions for data centers found that “growing demand for AI and computing technologies is projected to push the total annual public health burden of U.S. data centers up to more than $20 billion in 2028.”
“Although national-level impacts remain modest, data center health costs are unevenly distributed: in the most affected counties, the estimated per-household health burden can reach about seven times the national average,” the study states.
Fisk University has faced backlash over its plans to build a local data center, The EDU Ledger has reported.
In its announcement, Amazon sought to dispute what it characterized as a series of “myths” about data centers, saying they’re wrongly blamed for driving up energy costs and consuming excessive amounts of water. The company also pledged to take steps to mitigate the effects of data centers, such as covering the cost of whatever energy and infrastructure improvements may be required so that people don’t experience higher utility bills.
Jamaal Abdul-Alim is a longtime education writer who resides in Washington, D.C. He occasionally teaches journalism and has completed fellowships at the University of Michigan, Columbia University and New America.
