Training

FBA Expands State Broadband Resources with Workforce Development Guidebook

 The Fiber Broadband Association will present highlights from the Workforce Development Guidebook in a webinar on May 18, 2023, at 1:00 pm EDT. Click here to register.

Today the Fiber Broadband Association published its Workforce Development Guidebook—a comprehensive resource for state broadband offices, state and local workforce/economic development boards, and other equivalent agencies as they formulate their workforce development strategy for the NTIA’s $42.45B Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

The sudden and historic influx of public funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and BEAD Program will spur an unprecedented amount of construction activity and create a nationwide demand for skilled labor far beyond what the current workforce can support. FBA’s Workforce Development Guidebook notes that, according to the government’s calculations, 150,000 telecom jobs will be created by BEAD. At the same time, research by the Fiber Broadband Association estimates the industry will need over 205,000 new jobs in the next five years to construct, operate, and maintain these new networks in every state.

Click here to read the full announcement.