(ABILENE, Texas) – One of the fastest-growing jobs in the United States is that of fiber optics installer.
Texas State Technical College will provide training for people interested in the profession at the four West Texas campuses beginning in March, according to Cindy Brunett, TSTC’s executive director of Workforce Training and Continuing Education.
“The federal government has seen the need for people to be trained in the proper installation of fiber-optic lines across the state,” Brunett said. “TSTC, along with The Fiber School, will provide the training for people so they can begin a career in a growing industry.”
The two-day training sessions are scheduled for the Sweetwater campus on March 11-12, followed by the Brownwood (April 15-16), Abilene (May 13-14) and Breckenridge (June 17-18) campuses.
The federal government recently announced the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program that allocated $42.45 billion to expand high-speed internet access through the planning of infrastructure deployment. Texas was allocated $3.3 billion to support infrastructure deployment, mapping and adoption.
The Fiber Broadband Association estimates that the industry will create more than 205,000 jobs over the next five years. Many of those jobs will be in Texas, Brunett said.
The Fiber School’s approach is a combination of online self-paced lectures reviewing how fiber networks work, as well as the related components, methods and procedures. It includes two days of instructor-led, hands-on labs that replicate specific tasks that a fiber optics installer must know how to perform.
Students will have to pass a written exam to become certified.
“This program is ideal for students with little to no experience in working with a fiber-optic network,” Brunett said.
To register for the class, visit thefiberschool.com/tstc. Anyone with questions may email Rebecca Hargus, TSTC’s Workforce Training and Continuing Education enrollment communication specialist, at rebecca.hargus@tstc.edu.
For more information about TSTC’s Workforce Training and Continuing Education courses, visit tstc.edu/workforce.
