Urgent need to recruit 180,000 workers to complete federal- and state-funded broadband networks, study finds
(UI) — The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and the Power & Communication Contractors Association (PCCA) announced the results of their “Broadband Market Workforce Needs” study.
Continuum Capital, an independent consulting firm, completed the nationwide study and found that the unprecedented injection of federal and state funding into the broadband market is a disruptive force requiring an extraordinary volume of engineering and construction activity that the market is not prepared to support and will result in broadband deployment delays.
The study predicts the amount of federal and state broadband funding will exceed the engineering, permitting, locating, and construction workforce capacity to absorb it, therefore causing bottlenecks. The research suggests that construction activity supported by federal and state funding will be pushed two to three years into the future, exposing some of this money to its expiration date and complicating construction overall.
To avoid delays, the study suggests that 28,000 more broadband construction workers and 30,000 more broadband technician workers are needed to execute the current amount of planned federal and state broadband funding.
Moreover, the research predicts that an additional 119,200 construction and technician workers will be needed over the next 10 years to compensate for retirement and attrition.
The study also notes that additional workforce growth will be needed for ongoing and routine broadband construction, attachment, and maintenance activities.
These needs are on top of the drafting, design, and engineering resource needs that were not specifically studied but represent a bottleneck before infrastructure can be released for construction.
The use of design-build and/or turnkey delivery systems will likely accelerate to compensate for these bottlenecks and delays.
Workforce development programs like FBA’s Optical Telecom Installer Certification (OpTIC Path™) program are helping to train fiber broadband technicians and fill the workforce gap.
FBA is currently engaged with 40 of its targeted 56 states and territories to roll out the OpTIC Path program, with 44 service providers and 70 community colleges and training institutions.
“It is certainly an exciting time for the broadband industry as approvals for federal and state funding are announced weekly. However, without the proper workforce levels, bottlenecks will choke and slow broadband deployment processes in unanticipated ways,” said Deborah Kish, Vice President of Research and Workforce Development at the Fiber Broadband Association.
“Our OpTIC Path program is advancing across North America, producing certified fiber technicians ready to enter the workforce, but the industry needs more support. It’s time for the broadband ecosystem to collaborate and develop a serious strategy to address this issue holistically or else be forced to delay broadband connectivity to those communities that need it most.”
“This research confirms what our members have been telling us for years,” PCCA President & CEO Tim Wagner said. “In 2016, the PCCA Board identified the shortage of workers in broadband construction as the largest obstacle our members faced, and a subsequent membership survey showed that contractors were short 10 to 17 crews per company.”
“The tremendous influx of public money since 2016 has only exacerbated the problem. This study from Continuum Capital shines a light on the true size of the problem, and we firmly believe there is not just one solution.
“PCCA has implemented myriad strategies over the past decade, including partnering with technical/community colleges on utility technician programs, registered apprenticeships through TIRAP, a returning veteran program through the Learning Alliance, working with state broadband offices, and outreach through a series of social media videos. Much work remains, and our members are committed to finding solutions.”
The “Broadband Market Workforce Needs” study offers a state-by-state breakdown of broadband funding (including RSA, RDOF, and BEAD), workforce numbers, and wage rates. Texas by far shows the most need for construction and technician workers. Louisiana, Washington, Georgia, and California follow closely in the number of broadband workers needed.
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