The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) says that that the first pilot course in its Optical Telecom Installation Certification (OpTIC) program will be held March 29, 2022, in partnership with Greenlight Community Broadband and Wilson Community College in Wilson, NC. The FBA’s OpTIC program aims to teach students the knowledge and skills necessary to install, test, and maintain high-speed fiber broadband networks.
Larry Johnson, FBA Technology Committee member and president at FiberStory (as well as founder of training provider Light Brigade), and Jimmi Hendricks of Greenlight Community Broadband, will lead the initial pilot class. Those interested can register for the Wilson Community College OpTIC course by contacting Robby Taylor at [email protected] or visiting https://www.wilsoncc.edu/ce-registration/.
“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, whom the FBA identified as key contributor to the creation of the FBA OpTIC program; 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. We are thrilled to launch this program in Wilson and look forward to our graduates building the fiber networks needed across the country.”
The pilot course begins an initiative that FBA sources expect will increase the number of trained fiber technicians and thus speed deployment of fiber-based broadband access networks. “We are currently engaged with 23 states to roll out this fiber-optic technician training program with their community college systems and fiber-optic broadband service providers. We look to reach all 50 states and the U.S. territories by the end of the year," said Deborah Kish, vice president of research and workforce development at the FBA. “We did a limited launch with veterans earlier this month and are phasing our rollout based on training institute readiness.”
Those interested in bringing the OpTIC program to a community college or training institution in their area can contact Kish at [email protected] or visit the OpTIC program website.
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