Ramping Up the BEAD Workforce: 5 Things States, ISPs, and Construction Firms Can Be Doing Now

The $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program aims to connect 25 million Americans currently without high-speed Internet access. Building these broadband networks on time and at scale across 56 states and territories will require tens of thousands of broadband construction workers: from network designers to pole surveyors, from locators to drill operators, from general laborers to fiber splicers. 

Establishing partnerships as well as initiating and administrating education and training that prepares individuals to be effective across this spectrum of jobs can take between 9 months to 1 year. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration encourages grantees to act now to ensure workers are on board and trained so that BEAD deployment remains on track. NTIA will continue to support grantees as they move from planning to implementation.

Every state and territory’s BEAD Initial Proposal includes a workforce readiness plan. And so far, more than 30% intend to allocate nearly $350 million in BEAD funding to support broadband workforce development initiatives. For example:

• Louisiana is allocating $30 million to help the Louisiana Community Technical College System rapidly scale the efforts of its existing broadband workforce training programs, with plans to train thousands of new workers to build and deploy Internet service as part of the BEAD.
• Ohio is allocating $50 million to an industry sector intermediary that will support workforce planning and implementation projects over five years, identifying credential programs and establishing workforce training programs at local colleges and.
• South Carolina is allocating $7 million to an apprenticeship stipend program that provides salary reimbursement for the first six months of a full-time broadband employee’s salary and benefits, covering an estimated 150 apprentices statewide.

NTIA encourages State Broadband Offices – especially those with remaining BEAD funds after deployment obligations are met – to consider supporting workforce initiatives. To that end, NTIA has outlined a series of steps that SBOs can consider implementing now to get ahead of a potential broadband construction labor shortage:

1. Establish Open Lines of Communication with Key Workforce Partners

Building a skilled workforce requires engaging a variety of stakeholders. They include:

• Employers: Employers – including both ISPs and contracted construction firms - are accountable for building and deploying broadband in the state, as well as hiring and retaining skilled workers. It is critical that workforce development initiatives are employer-led to better connect newly trained, skilled workers to quality jobs.
• State Agencies: Every state has organizations responsible for workforce development to ensure individuals have the skills they need to obtain in-demand jobs. NTIA recommends that SBOs collaborate with state and local Workforce Investment Boards, state commerce agencies, departments of labor, and economic development organizations.
• Workforce Solution Providers: Workforce solution providers could include training academies run by construction firms, 2-year and 4-year colleges, non-profits, and labor organizations. These entities prepare individuals to obtain the skills required to build broadband networks. In addition, some of these providers offer critical wraparound support services (e.g., career coaching and navigation services, transportation, childcare), which enable workers to access and complete the training.

2. Assess State and Local Broadband Workforce Needs

Mapping a state’s specific workforce needs—including the gap in the workforce needed by job type, recruitment and retention challenges, and wage gaps with adjacent industries—is an important step for every SBO, and one that multiple states have already taken. In addition to speaking to ISPs, NTIA recommends SBOs engage with broadband construction firms and pole owners for local workforce insights.

• Broadband Construction Firms: These companies, working on behalf of the BEAD subgrantee, will build a significant percentage of BEAD-funded networks. SBOs should meet with broadband construction firms regularly to understand which types of jobs will be needed and what skills are required.
• Pole Owners and Municipalities: The BEAD Program will use thousands of utility poles, which have unique workforce needs such as processing attachment orders, conducting repairs, and performing “make-ready” work.

3. Consider a Sectoral Partnership Approach to Convene Partners

In a sectoral partnership, employers join with forces with state agencies and workforce solution providers to design programs that train and place workers into jobs that the employers need filled. A sectoral partnership is focused on one specific industry within an identified economic region, and one or more specific roles within that industry.

One way to establish a sectoral partnership is with a workforce intermediary, which is a neutral and trusted entity that serves as a broker. They work with employers to evaluate and scope their needs, then bring them together with state agencies and a full range of solution providers in a regional workforce system. Examples of workforce intermediaries include non-profits or social impact consulting firms that are focused on worker training and placement.

4. Identify complementary workforce funding to support BEAD workforce initiatives

BEAD workforce funding complements—but does not substitute—state, local, or private investment in workforce initiatives. All states, regardless of whether they are using BEAD funds to support workforce development initiatives, are encouraged to leverage other workforce funding in the state. This could include the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, National Science Foundation, union, state, philanthropic, and employer investments funds.   

5. Develop solutions and deploy workforce funding

Workforce solutions can be jointly developed with employers and workforce solution providers. The most effective providers ask employers to make hiring or interviewing commitments for individuals that complete training programs. 

Examples of effective, evidence-based workforce solutions include:

• Paid work-based learning: including registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. 
• Curriculum modernization: Collaborate with technical colleges to develop industry-aligned curricula.
• Integrated training: Combine classroom instruction, mentorship, credentialing, and on-the-job training. 
• Wraparound support services: Wraparound support services such as childcare or transportation support to improve program accessibility.

NTIA’s BEAD Program is a historic opportunity to connect millions of Americans to affordable and reliable high-speed Internet service. Collaboration across federal, state, and municipal governments, along with the telecom and construction industries, and other broadband stakeholders will be crucial. This blog series will continue to highlight states, strategies, and solutions to build the workforce needed for nationwide broadband expansion. 

Will Arbuckle is Senior Policy Advisor at the NTIA within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Will focuses on broadband supply chain and workforce policy: ensuring there are clear rules that define Made in America domestic manufacturing requirements, partnering with industry to spur domestic investment and the creation of manufacturing jobs, and engaging with states to develop workforce solutions that will mitigate a broadband workforce shortage. Prior to joining the NTIA Will spent a decade building technology companies in Silicon Valley. A version of this article was originally published on the website of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's blog post and is republished with permission.

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