Broadband network operators theoretically couldn’t ask for a better setup: Governments around the world are willing to help pay the costs of reaching new customers. But two major obstacles, among several smaller ones, threaten to prevent network deployers from taking full advantage. The first, supply chain constraints, is somewhat out of the hands of network operators, short of planning proactively and keeping tabs with their suppliers as far as how long such shortages will last. The second, a lack of fully skilled labor, is within operators’ control to a significant degree.
Lightwave recently partnered with siblings Broadband Technology Report, Cabling Installation and Maintenance, and ISE on a survey to discover the current state of hiring experiences and training practices among network operators and installation contractors worldwide. The results show an industry that is facing a dilemma that will take time – and perhaps a bit of luck – to solve.
Hard to get good help these days
Of the 732 people who responded to our survey, 138 work for a telecom/datacom service provider or cable multiple systems operator (MSO) that provides data/video/voice services to its customers. Nearly 56% of these respondents occupy management positions. Given the current emphasis on broadband services expansion, it was not surprising that almost 65% of respondents have attempted to hire new employees over the preceding 12 months.
The potential employers proved democratic when it came to the experience level sought for open jobs. Approximately 41% had job openings that they were willing to fill with people with little or no experience. Almost 38% had openings for which they required 1 or 2 years of experience, with 3 or 4 years of experience requested for 43% of job openings. Another 41% of available jobs required 5 to 10 years of experience, while only 18% needed more than 10 years of experience.
Unfortunately, finding the right candidates for such jobs has proven challenging, in our respondents’ experience (Figure 1). Only 38% reported having a sufficient pool of applicants to have multiple qualified choices for open slots. Just as many reported receiving few or no applicants for openings, and 37% reported their openings drew insufficiently qualified candidates. Respondents reported seeing overqualified candidates 4% of the time, while in 21% of instances, candidates wanted higher salaries than were budgeted. (As these percentages imply, respondents were allowed to select multiple options.)
The 316 respondents who work for network design and installation contractors, 76% of which are managers and 61% of whom have tried to hire someone in the last 12 months, aren’t faring any better. As Figure 2 illustrates, contractors had more low-experience/no-experience openings than the services providers. However, only 24% reported having a good pool of openings for their positions across the board. And contractors reported even worse luck than service providers in finding qualified candidates, with 49% reporting the candidates they saw lacked the proper qualifications – and 44% said they had trouble finding any candidates at all (Figure 3).
If there’s a bit of good news for operators and contractors, it’s that once people are hired, they tend to stay – although the service providers and installers likely would prefer the 2-year turnover to be less than the 21% and 25%, respectively, they reported. The network operator respondents generally are confident that they’ll be able to retain sufficient employees to get the job done; 60% reported being either very or extremely confident of such fortune, with 93% being at least somewhat confident. Contractor confidence in their employee retention closely mirrored these numbers.
Train them up
Regardless of where they came from or how much experience they have, new hires will require some training. Tenured employees need to be brought up to speed on new technologies and practices as well, with the often-discussed transfer of copper infrastructure technicians to fiber deployment units an obvious example. So it’s not surprising that the vast majority of network operators and contractors have some sort of training regimen in place.
In the case of service providers, 73% reported that they use internal resources to train new hires; 7% said they send new employees to third-party training providers. But training doesn’t stop there. For example, 83% said that their installers and technicians receive additional training on the products they install from the product manufacturers. This training often comes at a direct cost – 61% of respondents said that they pay for such training in at least some instances, while another 9% said they paid for all such training.
Contractors do not have the same internal capabilities for new hires as their service provider peers, the survey suggests. Only 61% have such resources available; another 8% report that they send new hires to third-party training organizations. And a slightly smaller percentage of contractor employees, 79%, receive training from technology manufacturers, according to survey respondents. A third of contractor respondents said their organizations will not pay for manufacturer-provided training; 61% said they would pay for training on some technologies, while 6% reported their organizations pay for all the manufacturer training their employees receive.
Help wanted
Given the difficulty both service providers and contractors report with hiring even entry-level positions, it’s no wonder that organizations such as the Fiber Broadband Association feel the need to step in and help. The group last year launched the Optical Telecom Installer Certification Path (OpTIC Path) program, which is designed to provide basic installer training in partnership with colleges and universities, as well as other institutions and organizations, for people interested in entering the fiber network installation field.
“Our OpTIC program is designed to provide significant fiber network knowledge and hands-on installation training so that certified graduates can enter the workforce with the skills needed to deploy efficient, quality fiber networks,” explained Mark Boxer at the time of the initial pilot at Wilson Community College in Wilson, NC, in March 2022. Boxer is an FBA board member and technical manager of solutions and applications engineering at OFS. “The course is specifically designed for community colleges, veteran organizations, vocational schools, and private training institutions to deliver in partnership with fiber broadband service providers. Students complete 144 hours of classroom and lab training and either an eight-week internship or a 2,000-hour U.S. Department of Labor accredited apprenticeship.”
At press time, OpTIC training was available in 24 U.S. states. Other organizations, such as SCTE, offer fiber network installation training as well. While the current labor crunch may prove temporary as the macroeconomic environment changes and government funding is spent, it’s nonetheless real right now. And as our survey respondents indicate, any help attracting and training new installers and technicians is beneficial.
STEPHEN HARDY is editorial director of Lightwave.