[Senate Hearing 117-396]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-396
CONNECTING WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES:
PREPARING AND SUPPORTING THE
BROADBAND WORKFORCE
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE SAFETY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,
LABOR, AND PENSIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
EXAMINING CONNECTING WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES, FOCUSING ON PREPARING AND
SUPPORTING THE BROADBAND WORKFORCE
__________
MAY 3, 2022
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
48-907 PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
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COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS
PATTY MURRAY, Washington, Chair
BERNIE SANDERS (I), Vermont RICHARD BURR, North Carolina,
ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania Ranking Member
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin RAND PAUL, M.D., Kentucky
CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
TIM KAINE, Virginia BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
TINA SMITH, Minnesota MIKE BRAUN, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada ROGER MARSHALL, M.D., Kansas
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado MITT ROMNEY, Utah
TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama
JERRY MORAN, Kansas
Evan T. Schatz, Staff Director
David P. Cleary, Republican Staff Director
John Righter, Deputy Staff Director
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE SAFETY
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado, Chairman
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin MIKE BRAUN, Indiana, Ranking
TINA SMITH, Minnesota Member
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico RAND PAUL, M.D., Kentucky
PATTY MURRAY, Washington (ex TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
officio) MITT ROMNEY, Utah
RICHARD BURR, North Carolina (ex
officio)
C O N T E N T S
----------
STATEMENTS
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2022
Page
Committee Members
Hickenlooper, Hon. John, Chairman, Subcommittee on Employment and
Workplace Safety............................................... 1
Braun, Hon. Mike, a U.S. Senator from the State of Indiana....... 2
Witnesses
Gillum, Brent, President and CEO, LightStream, Buffalo, IN....... 4
Prepared statement........................................... 6
Hendricks, Dan, Director, Denver Joint Electrical Apprenticeship
and Western Colorado Electrical Joint Apprenticeship, Denver,
CO............................................................. 9
Prepared statement........................................... 11
Holcomb, Ron, President and CEO, Tipmont REMC/Wintek, Linden, IN. 12
Prepared statement........................................... 14
Turner Lee, Nicol, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies and
Director of the Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings
Institution, Washington, DC.................................... 23
Prepared statement........................................... 25
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Hickenlooper, Hon. John:
Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), Jonathan
Adelstein, President and CEO, Statement for the Record..... 44
Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC), Statement for the
Record..................................................... 46
CONNECTING WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES:
PREPARING AND SUPPORTING THE BROADBAND WORKFORCE
----------
Tuesday, May 3, 2022,,
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Employment and
Workplace Safety,
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:35 a.m., in
room 430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John
Hickenlooper, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding.
Present: Senators Hickenlooper [presiding], Rosen, Smith,
and Braun.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HICKENLOOPER
Senator Hickenlooper. The Subcommittee on Employment and
Workplace Safety will come to order. Today, we are discussing
the broadband workforce, specifically how we can recruit and
support workers to help build the broadband infrastructure of
the future.
Ranking Member Braun and I will each have an opening
statement, then we will introduce the witnesses. After the
witnesses give their testimony, Senators will each have 5
minutes for a round of questions.
While we are unable to have the hearing fully open to the
public or media for in-person attendance, a live video is
available on our Committee website help.senate.gov. We are at a
critical time in our quest to expand access to high speed
broadband internet to literally every American. We are at a
critical time in our quest to implement our bipartisan
infrastructure bill, now law, and this is going to be a
historic investment in our national connectivity and will
provide the resources and the tools necessary to get us where
we need to go.
But we can't fully achieve these goals if we do not have a
skilled, well-trained workforce ready to deploy broadband
across the country. And we know that we don't have enough
broadband workers now and that has been true well before the
infrastructure law was passed. This critical need for skilled
laborers, tower climbers, technicians to help build the
broadband infrastructure in communities has only gotten worse.
We also know that we have workers who want those jobs and
are ready to go through the rigorous on the job training that
leads to fulfilling careers. We are making critical investments
in getting high speed internet to more Americans. We also need
to be making critical investments in our workers, and in the
successful programs that give them the skills to succeed.
I am delighted to welcome our excellent witness panel who
are working to identify current gaps and help create a pipeline
of good jobs that will take us into the future. We can work
with high schools to strengthen STEM education, educate
counselors about the proven benefits of apprenticeship
programs. Help remove or at least diminish the stigma that goes
when kids don't go on to college. We can help workers, whether
current telecommunications professionals or those looking for
change.
We could help them to upskill and reskill, to specialize in
broadband technology. And we can help programs like Dan's to
recruit not only workers, but employers looking to hire
apprentices. I think it is moments like these when we know we
are on the cusp of something big, of something that we have
been referring to as the great transition.
The careers of the future are being built right now, and we
need to seize the moment to create the appropriate promising
pathways for workers of all ages so that every person in the
future will have a fair shot at creating their version of the
American dream and be part of what we are all trying to build
for our Country.
This effort is so important. I look forward to hearing from
all of our testimony from the witnesses today about how we can
make--how we can create a plan and then make progress in the
weeks and years ahead. Before we start, I want to ask unanimous
consent to enter two letters into the hearing record from the
Wireless Infrastructure Association and the Independent
Electrical Contractors. Any objections? Hearing none, then so
entered.
[The following information can be found on page 44 and 46
in Additional Material.:]
Senator Hickenlooper. I would like to welcome today's
witness panel. Dan Hendricks, Director of the Denver Joint
Electrical Apprenticeship and Western Colorado Electrical Joint
Apprenticeship. These are programs in Denver and in Colorado--
in Grand Junction, in Colorado.
Then Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Senior Fellow in Governance
Studies, Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation
at the Brookings Institute--Institution. And now, I would like
to turn it over to Ranking Member Braun to say a few remarks
and to introduce Mr. Gillum and Mr. Holcomb.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BRAUN
Senator Braun. Thank you, Senator Hickenlooper. This is an
interesting discussion because we are two of the rare Senators
that have actually spent a lot of our career, mine mostly, in
running a business. John as well has done that, and he knows
what workforce is about. When I travel the state, and I visit
all 92 counties every year, it is one of the fun parts of the
job, workforce, workforce, workforce. And then when you don't
hear that, it is rural broadband and, or affordable housing.
It is interesting that across my state and I think probably
across most states, a common theme. You look at Purdue
University found over 56 percent of rural residents aren't
happy with their internet service. I can attest to it. I think
it was over the Thanksgiving break, I was real happy to have
the whole family together and we were going to download a
movie. Well, that was my job.
I started it when I thought it would take maybe a few
minutes of delay. And I think it was it was either Friday or
Saturday evening. Well, the end result was we couldn't download
it. The kids were all gone. And I think the movie came up on
Monday. That is how bad internet is in many places. We have
spent a decent amount of money on it. I am happy to say that in
our own state we have raised it as a priority. Did a matching
grant. I think put over $250 million out there. Telecom and
REMCs are running with it.
That is the kind of entrepreneurism I think we need, but it
is not going to probably be enough. You are not going to get
young families, you are not going to get people to start
businesses in a place that has internet service like I just
described.
Ironically, I am just a mile North of my hometown that I
grew up in that is now a giga city. Well, you probably if you
were going to err on the side of maybe wanting to run a
business out of your home in the country or start one there,
you would have to make the decision, maybe to move in town, so
that is not good.
How do we solve it? I think a lot of it has to do with, I
was on our education committee back in Indiana as a state
legislator for 1 year, and I remember raising my voice that we
need to look at workforce training, career and technical
education to be an equal offering to kids as they go from
middle school to high school. Made calls into my own school
districts. Some of that work was even being stigmatized.
Not everyone is going to end up being an astronaut or a
heart surgeon. And we need to make sure now that parents have
had a graduate or two--since 50 percent of those that pursue a
4-year degree don't make it to the finish line, have debt and
time lost.
Another third end up getting a degree that does not have a
market. For us to staff the needs of telecom, the needs of
rural broadband, the things that we need to do, they require
better high school curriculum, and I think we are getting
there. As I visit states or counties across the State of
Indiana, especially rural schools are taking that to heart.
K through 12 education, especially middle school, is where
it needs to start. Parents need to be involved. Maybe we can
get them two jobs that average out there with that basic
training coming out of high school, a little bit of polishing
up, $77,000 plus. That is far better than many 4 year degrees
pay, and you have got the certainty of a job to boot.
I introduced the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow's Workforce
Act with Senator Klobuchar that would give the freedom to use
529 savings accounts to cover the cost of high quality
workforce training, or maybe a certificate. Congress should
also add flexibility to Pell Grants. When you do that, you get
rid of the stigmatizing that a lot of times happens from higher
education and the institution of education. So a lot of things
play into this. I feel confident that probably the solution
will come from the bottom up, the grassroots. I see it
happening across school districts.
I see states taking the bull by the horn. We at the Federal
level need to make sure that where we can, we enable, and we
don't impede progress. It is a big need, and I am glad we are
addressing it today. I will introduce two witnesses from
Indiana. Brent Gillum. He is the President and CEO of
LightStream headquartered in Buffalo, Indiana. I think that is
up in White County. Actually had a customer up there when I ran
my own business.
That is why I knew where Buffalo was. Brent was raised in
rural Indiana, and after leaving the military in 2000, he
started with LightStream in 2007, became its President and CEO
in 2017. He is passionate for rural broadband and sits on the
Political Action Committee for NTCA, the Rural Broadband
Association, as well as the Board of Directors for the Indiana
Rural Broadband Association and White County Economic
Development.
Ron Holcomb is the President and CEO of Tipmont REMC/
Wintek. Ron joined Tipmont REMC as CEO in the summer of 2013.
He has led three utilities as CEO and provides management
consulting to utilities across the country.
Ron is a 30 year veteran of the electric utility industry
with experience in power supply, advanced grid technologies,
essential service operations, economic development, and value
driven growth initiatives for combined electric and
telecommunication utilities. Thank you all for being here
today.
Senator Hickenlooper. Great. Thank you, Senator Braun. So
we will now have each of you speak for 5 minutes, hopefully.
Try to--and the best advice I can give anybody in these
hearings is as always try to keep your answers as concise as
possible, because that allows us to get more questions in,
which usually almost always leads to more robust discussion. So
I would just start from the left. Mr. Gillum, why don't you go
ahead first and give us your opening remarks.
STATEMENT OF BRENT GILLUM, PRESIDENT AND CEO, LIGHTSTREAM,
BUFFALO, IN
Mr. Gillum. Okay, thank you. Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking
Member Braun, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to testify about workforce development in the
telecommunications industry. I am Brent Gillum, President and
CEO of LightStream, a small rural broadband and voice provider
based in Buffalo, Indiana.
LightStream first began providing telephone service in 1956
as Polaski White Rural Telephone Cooperative and is now a fiber
based gigabit internet and telecommunications provider serving
many parts of Northern Indiana.
My remarks today are on behalf of LightStream with input
from NTCA, the Rural Broadband Association, which represents
LightStream and approximately 850 other rural community based
carriers that offer advanced communications services throughout
the most sparsely populated areas of the Nation.
The landscape of LightStream is 168 square miles of mostly
flat farmland with several interwoven rivers, lakes, and
streams. 90 percent of the serving area is original
cooperative, averaging 25 premises passed per square mile. 10
percent of the serving area is a competitive environment,
averaging 310 premises passed per square mile.
Since 2010, LightStream has constructed 28 percent of our
serving area with a worldwide--a world class fiber network. The
remaining 72 percent is under construction now and will be
complete no later than 2023.
A reflection of our efforts, LightStream was awarded one of
four providers by NTCA in 2021 as a Smart Rural Community
Showcase Award winner. Access to broadband is the backbone of a
21st century economy and deploying networks capable of
delivering this vital service to every American household has
become a national priority.
This hearing comes at a time when Congress and the
Administration are working toward implementation of the
landmark bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,
which, among other things, created the $42.5 billion Broadband
Equity access and Deployment Program within the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Through this program and other Federal and state efforts
like it, millions of Americans stand poised to gain
connectivity for the first time, while others will see
necessary upgrades made to their networks in order to keep pace
with the ever increasing customer bandwidth needs. However, the
increased demand for skilled telecommunication workforce comes
at a time of an already limited labor market in every state
around the country.
This requires us, as a matter of national policy, to have a
strategic approach to meet workforce needs for broadband
network infrastructure deployment, programing and systems
management, network maintenance, Internet of Things, and
cybersecurity among other supported positions.
Just as with broadband deployment, no single mode can
provide a one size fits all solution to solving workforce
shortages. In partnership with Congress, state and local
governments, educational institutions, and others, we can
develop a skilled telecommunications workforce with the help of
providers of all sizes deployed--to deploy robust networks and
help keep them resilient and more secure.
We can achieve this goal by one, understanding the
workforce needs by quantifying vacancies and project projected
demand. Two, addressing barriers to telecommunication job
pathways, particularly access to educational or training
facilities in rural communities.
Three, creating a workforce development opportunity in
secondary and post-secondary schools by developing a new and
leveraging existing curriculum, STEM programs, apprenticeships,
and online learning.
Four, forging local partnerships with industry, Government,
educational institutions, and other economic development
organizations. Community based providers like LightStream are
deeply committed to the customers we serve. Given our
experience and success in serving the most rural areas, we are
one of the critical components of any strategic--any strategy
seeking to achieve the national broadband workforce goals.
We look forward to working with the policymakers and other
stakeholders to build a strong telecommunications workforce so
we can ensure that all Americans have access to affordable,
reliable connectivity. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Gillum follows:]
prepared statement of brent gillum
Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and Members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to testify about workforce
development in the telecommunications industry. I am Brent Gillum,
President and CEO of LightStream, a small rural broadband and voice
provider based in Buffalo, Indiana. LightStream, which began as the
Pulaski White Telephone Cooperative, first began providing telephone
service in 1956 and now provides fiber-based gigabit internet and
telecommunications services to many parts of northern Indiana.
My remarks today are on behalf of LightStream, with input from
NTCA--The Rural Broadband Association, which represents LightStream and
approximately 850 other rural community-based carriers that offer
advanced communications services throughout the most sparsely populated
areas of the Nation. These cooperatives and small commercial companies
serve the most rural parts of the United States, reaching areas that
contain less than 5 percent of the U.S. population, but which are
spread across nearly one third of the U.S. landmass. To give a further
sense of the rural nature of this terrain, the average density of an
NTCA member serving area is roughly seven subscribers per square mile.
The landscape of LightStream is 168 square miles of mostly flat
farmland with several interwoven rivers, lakes, and streams. 90 percent
of the service area is the original cooperative that averages 25
premises passed per square mile. 10 percent of the service area is a
competitive environment that averages 310 premises passed per square
mile.
LightStream began constructing a fiber network in 2010 that started
with connecting two hospitals for improved healthcare in our
communities. Since then, we have worked strategically on building a
fiber network that reaches across our entire serving area. Through
2021, we've completed 50 square miles with 271 miles of fiber that
passes 5,500 addresses. We have a remaining 120 square miles to
complete at an estimated 357 miles of fiber that will pass nearly 4,000
addresses.
As a reflection of our efforts, LightStream was awarded as one of
four providers by NTCA in 2021 as a Smart Rural Community Showcase
Award winner. NTCA's SRC program is a network of communities supported
by providers who are committed to creating opportunities in their
communities through high-quality broadband service. Showcase Awards are
given to those SRC members that best exemplify the program's goal of
driving growth in rural communities. Because of access to gigabit speed
internet, our rural area benefits from opportunities in education,
healthcare, development, and more.
Overview
Access to broadband is the backbone of the 21st Century economy,
and deploying networks capable of delivering this vital service to
every American household has become a national priority. To do so,
however, the telecommunications industry urgently needs an expanded
trained workforce so that the United States can remain competitive in
the ever-expanding range of sectors that rely on advanced broadband
services. This requires us, as a matter of national policy, to have a
strategic approach to meet workforce needs for broadband network
infrastructure deployment, programming and system management, network
maintenance, Internet of Things (IoT), and cybersecurity, among other
supporting positions.
Yet, at a time of historic commitment by Congress and the
administration to expanding broadband resources, our Nation faces
historic labor shortages across numerous sectors. The
telecommunications industry is no different in this regard and faces
additional challenges as industry experts expect additional impending
vacancies due to retirements to exacerbate shortages.
LightStream has experienced substantial changes in personnel over
the past 3 years resulting in a more inexperienced staff. We have added
more employees to help with the construction of our network, as well as
utilize more contractors and subcontractors. There is more work than
available staff.
We applaud Congress and the administration for passing and signing
into law the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA),
which among other things created the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity,
Access, and Deployment Program within the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA). Through this program and other
Federal and state efforts like it, millions of Americans stand poised
to gain connectivity for the first time, while others will see
necessary upgrades made to their networks in order to keep pace with
ever-increasing consumer bandwidth needs. These investments will
greatly improve the delivery of telemedicine, virtual education,
advanced agriculture technology, security, and businesses alike.
However, the increased demand for a skilled telecommunications
workforce comes at a time of already limited labor market in every
state around the country. In short, the ultimate success of these
efforts to expand the availability of broadband will turn substantially
on ensuring skilled workers and sufficient supplies are available to
build these networks.
A concerted effort by industry, government, and educational
interests will be needed to develop a skilled workforce able to meet
this challenge and fulfill this national mission by deploying next
generation wired and wireless networks. To develop the
telecommunications jobs needed in the short-term and mid-term, Congress
could help by bolstering the capabilities of post-secondary education,
including 2-year and 4-year colleges, and other institutions and
providing support for employers to expand registered apprenticeships
and associated technical instruction and certification costs. As a
long-term matter, efforts to engage students at the secondary level
will be important, as well.
Understanding Workforce Shortages
Identify Demand
While workforce shortages in the telecommunications industry are
well documented, it is important to note labor shortages in
construction and technicians are compounded by workforce constraints
that affect vendors that supply telecommunications equipment,
contributing to larger supply chain issues. And, once a network is
built, broadband providers need a strong and stable workforce to manage
and maintain that network, including cybersecurity specialists,
computer specialists, and electrical power line installers. It is
necessary for a coordinated effort between Federal, state, and local
governments, the telecommunications industry, and educators to quantify
the demand in order to train a new workforce to keep track with the
Nation's deployment goals and for providers to be able to meet program
requirements.
We welcomed the IIJA's inclusion of a provision to direct the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Labor to
establish an interagency working group, which includes NTIA and the
Department of Education, to prepare a report to Congress recommending
steps to take to address the workforce needs of the telecommunications
industry by January 14, 2023. While the interagency working group
continues its work, we hope a goal of the group is to quantify these
shortfalls in order to effectively and efficiently close the gap.
Overcome Barriers
For many prospective telecom industry workers, a first step is
access to local or regional schools that offer the right training and
education for telecommunications professionals. Even where distance
education can supplement classroom instruction, prospective workers in
telecom need tactile, hands-on experience in supervised field or lab
settings to acquire the skills needed to deploy and maintain the
physical network plant facilities. Preceding all of this, however, is a
need to enlighten students to the broadening career paths that are
available in the telecom industry and establishing the educational
structures in which students can gain access to the education and
training necessary to pursue them. This can help resolve issues of
prospective students or workers who may be unfamiliar with the
telecommunications sector and its career opportunities, and so may not
seek a path to the industry.
LightStream has explored skilled workers for several years with
little success. The closest post graduate school with a specific
telecommunications program is a trade school located more than 3 hours
from our headquarters. To help gain interest, we started a scholarship
offering in 2020 that has yet to receive an applicant. Additional
resources for these programs would be instrumental to companies like
LightStream that serve rural America.
Moreover, attracting workers to live and work in rural or remote
areas poses its own challenges. Rural providers are committed to
``growing their own'' and encouraging local talent to stay. Locally
based workers who live in the communities they serve ensures rapid
responses to service disruptions. Broadband operators and their
customers want to be sure that technicians are available and do not
need to travel long distances before work on the network can begin.
This is necessary to ensure that customers do not experience
inconvenient service disruptions that can affect everything from work,
to healthcare, to educational endeavors.
Creating Development Opportunities
Exposing students to telecommunications job pathways at an earlier
point in their education could increase interest in the profession,
starting in middle school and continuing through high school. We could
do this by leveraging existing STEM programs. For high school students
specifically, including an emphasis on these jobs through electives,
advanced placements courses, and post-secondary education opportunities
will help to build a strong, resilient workforce for the industry while
also minimizing the amount of debt students may need to take on to
further their education.
Other measures Congress may consider would be to promote the
``learn and earn'' model, whether through paid apprenticeships or
internships. The Federal Government can assist in supporting such
programs or individual students in seeking these training programs. It
could also look to support individual state efforts, like those with
reimbursement programs for employers who pay for their employees to
further their trade by being reskilled or upskilled.
Last, taking lessons learned from the last couple years where
millions of Americans have worked and learned from home, educators
should consider a coordinated remote or a hybrid-learning model to
further extend opportunities to students who may not be able to
relocate due to a limited income or a desire to remain in their
communities while they further their education. Additionally, an all-
remote option may be well-suited for professionals looking to
complement current skills, especially those living in rural communities
without access to a local trade school, community college, or other
accredited training and certificate programs. These virtual classroom
experiences will often require some complementary hands-on experience
that can be provided through apprenticeship or internship
opportunities, or lab work. Nonetheless, making higher education more
accessible to everyone through online learning where appropriate may
help to bolster the telecommunications workforce, especially in rural
areas.
Establishing a Workforce Development Plan
Forging Partnerships
We need like-minded organizations to promote and facilitate
training and employment opportunities within the skilled trades of the
telecom industry. In addition to government partners, educational
institutions, and telecommunications providers and the greater
industry, opportunities with state and local development offices or
non-governmental organizations should not be overlooked in the larger
strategy to meet workforce needs. These organizations could provide
additional support, such as tuition relief or stipends for students
training for jobs within the telecommunications industry. Furthermore,
educational programming should look to incorporate industry
professionals in teaching coursework or developing curricula. It is
often the first-hand experience that proves most valuable once in the
field, especially, if those students are paired with a career
professional who has spent decades learning the trade.
Finally, we should be creative in meeting students and prospective
workers where they are and creating the pathways necessary to bring
them into rewarding careers in the telecom industry. It is those
principles that many successful programs already in place across the
country use to address workforce needs, and these should be viewed as a
model for expanded efforts. By way of example, a group of local rural
providers in Kansas took note of student preferences to enjoy
traditional 4-year college experiences, such as sports and access to
campus amenities. That group of rural broadband providers worked with a
local technical school to provide students at the 2-year school with
campus ID and access to services at a nearby 4-year college. And, at
the same time, those providers identified promising students and
offered support for tuition and book fees. Partnerships like these can
be expanded and can include partnerships among government and non-
governmental parties. Another example is a not-for-profit development
organization in Vermont that has explored stipends for students
transitioning from an existing job to the telecom industry. These
stipends are intended to ensure that students training for telecom
positions do not suffer a wage gap if they need to reduce work hours in
order to attend school.
While no single model can provide a ``one size fits all solution,''
the rural broadband industry has taken positive steps to formulating a
menu of possibilities. As Congress considers funding programs to
bolster a telecommunications workforce, it should allow for flexible
program funding in order to accommodate innovative models that safely
and effectively fill workforce needs. It is through this increased
coordination and support from Federal, state and local sectors that we
can develop these programs and, in turn, create a robust, energized and
motivated workforce. And, along with it, the many industries that will
improve and thrive with broadband connectivity.
Conclusion
The telecommunications industry has documented great workforce
needs across the industry from network construction and maintenance to
cybersecurity. In partnership with Congress, state and local
governments, educational institutions, and others, we can develop a
skilled telecommunications workforce to help providers of all sizes
deploy robust networks and help to keep them resilient and more secure.
We can achieve that goal by (1) understanding workforce needs by
quantifying vacancies and projected demand; (2) addressing barriers to
telecommunications job pathways, particularly access to educational or
training facilities in rural communities; (3) creating workforce
development opportunities in secondary and post-secondary schools by
developing new and leveraging existing curricula, STEM programs,
apprenticeships, and online learning; and (4) forging local
partnerships with industry, governments, educational institutions, and
other development organizations.
Community-based providers like LightStream are deeply committed to
the customers we serve and, given our experience and success in serving
the most rural areas, we are critical components of any strategy
seeking to achieve the Nation's broadband workforce goals. We look
forward to working with policymakers and other stakeholders to build a
strong telecommunications workforce so we can ensure that all Americans
have access to affordable and reliable connectivity.
______
Senator Hickenlooper. Thank you very much. Appreciate your
taking the time and coming here to testify. Now, we will go
just in alphabetic order. Mr. Hendricks?
STATEMENT OF DAN HENDRICKS, DIRECTOR, DENVER JOINT ELECTRICAL
APPRENTICESHIP AND WESTERN COLORADO ELECTRICAL JOINT
APPRENTICESHIP, DENVER, CO
Mr. Hendricks. Thank you, Senator. My name is Dan
Hendricks, Training Director for the Denver Joint Electrical
Apprenticeship and the Western Colorado Joint Electrical
Apprenticeship. I am also a master electrician in the State of
Colorado. I started my electrical training in the U.S. Navy.
This was a great start to my career, but for many people, this
is not an option.
I want to talk to you today about a nearly unknown option
that is available. There is no better way to learn a skilled
trade than in a registered apprenticeship, and millions of
people barely know they exist. Last year, our apprenticeship
started a trades program in partnership with Sheridan High
School. There, a high school senior named Tyson heard about
apprenticeships for the first time.
Tyson is now working in the field, and in a few years will
be a highly skilled craftsman. We need more Tysons. Thousands
more, across the country. Our apprentices receive thousands of
hours of on the job training, coupled with hundreds of hours of
related instruction before they can be considered journey
workers. Both aspects are vital, and the interaction of the two
are what makes an apprenticeship unique.
The contractors who provide the on the job training
opportunities for our apprenticeships know this system works.
They know when they request an apprentice from the
apprenticeship, they can count on getting a quality worker, a
worker whose training they had a part in crafting, even if that
person has never worked for them. Any contractor, regardless of
size or contribution level, has access to highly trained
apprentices.
In many cases, the apprenticeship can provide training a
small, disadvantaged contractor could not afford. In the
construction industry, it is very hard for contractors to make
an investment in the future. All are operating on a very thin
profit margin. However, the contractors that support my
apprenticeships have made that investment. They know if you
want journey workers now, you needed to invest in apprentices 4
years ago.
We find ourselves in the situation we are in due to our
society deciding investments in teaching the skilled trades
weren't profitable. Can you imagine a citizen of the United
States not knowing you could go to college? It is unthinkable.
Yet, I speak to people all the time who don't know
apprenticeships still exist.
Here you have a program where you learn a trade, earn a
wage, gain benefits, and work toward a lifelong career all at
the same time, all without needing to go into debt, and people
don't know it exists. Our apprenticeship spends a great deal of
time attending high school job fairs and going to community
centers and workforce events, all in hopes of recruiting
applicants to our program. Invariably, each interaction starts
with an explanation of what an apprenticeship is.
Our apprenticeship is currently under capacity. We have
room for 600 apprentices. We have 360. Only 10 of those are
apprentice technicians specifically trained in this broadband
arena. We could have 60 future journeyman technicians training
right now. I am sure the country could use an extra 50
technicians trained in fiber optics splicing, distributed
antenna systems, or building and maintaining microwave towers.
We have so few because we don't have the jobs to put them
on to support and reinforce the training they would receive in
the classroom. Projects that demand registered apprenticeship
utilization are an investment in the future journey workers we
all know we need.
Finally, not only are journey workers needed for their
skills on the job, but they are also needed to teach the next
generation of apprentices. We need to incentivize those who
have achieved this skill level to stay in the industry. They
should receive a sustainable wage anywhere they choose to work.
An apprenticeship completion certificate and a journeyman card
are portable credentials.
Armed with these and other credentials they receive in the
apprenticeship, a journey worker who has completed our program
can work anywhere in the country. This makes them valuable as
the skills go with the journey worker wherever they are needed.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Hendricks follows:]
prepared statement of dan hendricks
I would like to introduce you to a debate that has gone on for
years in the Construction Trades Community. The debate centers on the
title, Journeyworker. Some will tell you the ``journey'' portion of the
word comes from the French word Journee' meaning, day. They were
dayworkers or someone who was paid a wage for a day's work. Some will
tell you the ``journey'' portion comes from the act of a craftsperson,
when they had reached a certain skill level, leaving the home of their
teacher and journeying to the next village to set up their own
business. In both cases these craftspeople had reached a certain skill
level to be able to charge a fee for the work they provided or the
things they could build. Regardless of which argument is correct, we
need more of these people. More of the people with the skill level to
build the projects we need and to command a sustainable wage for doing
so.
My name is Dan Hendricks. Training Director for the Denver Joint
Electrical Apprenticeship and the Western Colorado Joint Electrical
Apprenticeship. I started in the U.S. Navy. I am here today to talk
about the period before a person becomes a Journeyworker. I am here to
talk about the time and effort it took to learn those skills and the
system set up to train Journeyworkers. There is no better way to learn
a skilled trade than in a Registered Apprenticeship. Our own
apprentices receive thousands of hours of on-the-job training coupled
with hundreds of hours of related instruction before they can be
considered Journeyworkers. Both aspects are vital and the interaction
of the two are what makes an apprenticeship unique. All our apprentices
receive an OSHA 10 card at the beginning of their apprenticeship. This
means they have received 12 hours of safety training in the classroom.
That classroom training is then reinforced on the job. Our trade can be
hazardous and this training and the reinforcement of it can and does
save lives.
The contractors who provide the on-the-job training opportunities
for our apprentices know this system works. They know when they request
an apprentice from the apprenticeship, they can count on getting a
quality worker. A worker whose training they had a part in crafting
even if that person has not worked for them before. Any contractor
regardless of size or contribution level has access to highly trained
apprentices. The contractors are partners in developing the training
the apprenticeship requires. In many cases the apprenticeship can
provide training a small, disadvantaged contractor could not afford.
Equipment can't be taken out of production for the time it would take
to train an apprentice to use it. The apprentice may have however had
the opportunity to train with it at the apprenticeship. This makes the
apprentice immediately productive. Employers know apprenticeship also
leads to greater retention which leads to less retraining. In all it is
estimated Registered Apprenticeship returns $1.46 for every $1 spent.
In the construction industry it is very hard for contractors to
make an investment in the future. All contractors are living on a very
thin profit margin. However, the contractors that support my
apprenticeships have made that investment. They know if you want
Journeyworkers now you needed to invest in apprentices 4 years ago.
Tyson. We find ourselves in the situation we are in due to our society
deciding investments in teaching the skilled trades weren't profitable.
Can you imagine a citizen of the United States not knowing you could go
to college, get a degree in a chosen field, and better your life by
doing so? It is simply unthinkable. Yet I speak to people all the time
who don't know apprenticeships still exist. Here you have a program
where you learn a trade, earn a wage, gain benefits and work toward a
lifelong career all at the same time, all without needing to go into
debt, and people don't know it exists. Our apprenticeship spends a
great deal of time attending high school job fairs and going to
community centers and workforce events all in the hopes of recruiting
applicants to our program. Invariably each interaction starts with an
explanation of what an apprenticeship is. I spend much of my time at
these events talking to the counselors and teachers, so they know
enough to explain it to future students or clients. If we want
Journeyworkers we need to talk about apprenticeships in the same manner
we talk about colleges. It's just a different way to a great career.
Our Apprenticeship is currently under capacity. We have room for
600 apprentices. We have 360. Only ten of those are Apprentice
Technicians specifically trained in this broadband arena. We could have
60 future Journeyman Technicians training right now. I am sure the
country could use an extra 50 technicians trained in fiber-optic
splicing, distributed antenna systems, or building and maintaining
microwave towers. We have so few because we don't have the jobs to put
them on to support and reinforce the training they would receive in the
classroom.
Regardless of the promise of a great career, if there isn't a
paycheck to sustain them while they learn their trade then many people
must choose a different path. Projects that demand registered
apprenticeship utilization are an investment in the future
Journeyworkers we all know we need.
Finally, not only are Journeyworkers needed for their skills on the
job, but they are also needed to teach the next generation of
apprentices. We need to incentivize those who have achieved this skill
level to stay in the industry. They should receive a sustainable wage
anywhere they choose to work. An apprenticeship completion certificate
and a Journeyman card are portable credentials. Armed with these and
the other credentials they receive in the apprenticeship, such as BICSI
Installer. A Journeyworker who has completed our program can work
anywhere in the country. This makes them incredibly valuable as the
knowledge and skills go with the Journeyworker wherever they are needed
most.
______
Senator Hickenlooper. Great. Thank you very much.
Appreciate it. Again, I know you are as busy as any of us. This
young person has to commute 300 miles between his two jobs, his
two offices, so thank you for taking the time as well. Mr.
Holcomb?
STATEMENT OF RON HOLCOMB, PRESIDENT AND CEO, TIPMONT REMC/
WINTEK, LINDEN, IN
Mr. Holcomb. Good morning. My name is Ronald Holcomb, and I
am the President and CEO of Tipmont/Wintek. Thank you to
Senator Braun for the invitation today, Senator Hickenlooper
for Chairing the Subcommittee, and all the Members of the
Subcommittee for your service.
Tipmont/Wintek is a premier provider of energy and
communication services in North Central, Indiana. Founded in
1939, Tipmont is a member owned cooperative providing electric
and broadband services to over 28,000 consumers. In 2019,
Tipmont acquired Wintek Corporation, a fiber internet services
company, to serve as a foundation to build fiber to the home
broadband in our electric service area.
The need was great, and our customers overwhelmingly
supported the project. Ask my kids who are in their late
twenties to choose between an excellent broadband service and a
heated home, they will take the internet and wear a coat. That
is why in America today, workforce development and broadband
development are inextricably linked. It is difficult to have
one without the other.
Reliable broadband--without reliable broadband, many people
will choose to live elsewhere, especially those with technical
skills and interests. In rural America, this is a persistent
problem. It starts with our inadequate definition of broadband.
In rural America, broadband is usually defined by the
technology a carrier can deliver. It should mean a service that
meets consumer's needs without limit.
Broadband is a doctor reading radiological studies in real
time. It is an entrepreneur with basement servers as a startup.
It is a family of four online all at the same time. That
broadband was not available to our electric customers, so we
chose to provide it. To do so, we have built a broadband
workforce, but like many companies, we face challenges to build
our team.
Rather than pursue prospective employees with deep
experience, we seek motivated people in our own community and
invest in their education and development. While this approach
is often slower than we may like, it offers stability and
strengthens both the company and the community. With broadband
career outreach programs, we build tomorrow's team, today,
sparking career interest early, creating a culture of industry
focused apprenticeships, and building a talent pipeline.
But regardless of how employees join our broadband team,
they all agree, if it is not fiber, it is not broadband. We
learned this lesson from our customers. Just ask Susan
Benedict, a customer with an interior design business. From her
back porch, Susan can see Lafayette, Indiana, an area with
200,000 people and Purdue University. But DSL is the only
service available to her. Susan's time spent offline when it
fails has created a 25 percent loss of her business.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sara Huffer lost access to life saving
technology for stroke victims because their home connection was
too slow. As COVID-19 hit, we heard from teachers who drove
thumb drives to kids without internet access or families who
sent their children to live with relatives who had better
service.
Rural Americans are used to work arounds because when it
comes to comparable infrastructure, they are often left behind.
So why is that? For the last few decades, rural broadband
policy has applied a private sector business model to a public
infrastructure deficiency.
If real broadband were profitable, this model would likely
work, but generally it is not profitable. So it is time to
admit that our model needs some reform, one that prioritizes
human ROI over corporate ROI. For example, at Tipmont, we are
committed to world class infrastructure, coupled with an
obligation to serve.
That means infrastructure investment returns do not drive
infrastructure investment decisions. Everyone has access. And
you won't find a better investment than fiber broadband. In
2018, we commissioned to produce a study that found communities
and the State of Indiana would receive $4 of return on every $1
invested in fiber broadband. If every Indiana co-op built this
infrastructure, our collective return would be $12 billion over
20 years.
We are grateful for the broadband access that support our
work for--sorry. We are grateful for the broadband grant
program to support our work. Without them, the sustainable
business risk would certainly be higher. But as we have
learned, these programs have pitfalls, from inconsistent speed
requirements to flawed coverage data that prioritizes carriers
over consumers.
Despite the challenges posed by grant funding, acquiring a
talented workforce, and the many other challenges posed by a
project of this scale and scope, it is deeply satisfying to be
part of something this meaningful to the people that we serve.
Most internet providers on the American Customer Satisfaction
Index score are somewhere in the 60's. Tipmont/Wintek is at 85.
The last time I checked that beats Chick-Fil-A. So if only
we could have some chicken sandwiches along with our internet
packages. But jokes aside, that score represents years of hard
work of dedicated people. We have connected 4,000 customers
since 2019, and today we will connect 10 more.
So thank you very much for your indulgement to--because I
ran--I did not run overtime. They are mine, so we are good to
go.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Holcomb follows:]
prepared statement of ron holcomb
Good morning. My name is Ron Holcomb, and I am the President and
CEO of Tipmont Wintek.
It is an honor to be invited to provide testimony to the U.S.
Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety on the subject
of the broadband workforce and barriers to broadband expansion.
On behalf of our entire team at Tipmont Wintek, I would like to
thank Senator Braun for the invitation to testify, Senator Hickenlooper
for Chairing the Subcommittee, and all Members of the Subcommittee for
their work to pursue strategic and sustainable solutions on today's
topics.
Tipmont Wintek: Empowering People and Communities
First, I would like to offer some background on Tipmont Wintek and
our mission.
Tipmont Wintek is a premier regional provider of energy and
communication services in north-central Indiana--a team of 110 that is
collectively empowering people and communities with state-of-the-art
essential services.
Tipmont is a rural electric membership corporation, or REMC,
founded in 1939. Today, as a member-owned cooperative governed by a
board of directors, our REMC provides electric service to over 25,000
people in eight Indiana counties.
In January 2019, Tipmont acquired Wintek Corporation, a technology
company in Lafayette, Indiana, which had provided leading-edge
technology solutions for nearly a half-century. In addition to electric
service, Tipmont Wintek also builds state-of-the-art, fiber-to-the-home
broadband service in the REMC's electric-service area, along with
customized business technology solutions.
Workforce Development = Broadband Development
I have been asked here today to discuss workforce development and
broadband development. In America today, these are indivisible notions.
If a community wants to attract top talent, it must provide
broadband access that is uncomplicated and uncompromised. This
expectation is especially true for young workers.
Just ask my kids, who are in their late 20's, what they would do if
asked to choose between excellent broadband and heat in their homes.
They would take the internet and put on a coat.
If a community lacks fast, reliable and affordable broadband,
people will simply choose to live elsewhere. This has been a problem
for years in our largely rural service area and in much of rural
America.
The Real Definition of Broadband
The problem begins with an inadequate definition of broadband.
In rural America, ``broadband'' means whatever technology a carrier
can deliver. Satellite internet is called broadband. DSL is called
broadband. Constrained wireless technology? That is called broadband,
too.
What these definitions are missing is whether the service
adequately meets a customer's need.
If a doctor needs to read radiological studies from their home in
real time, that is broadband. If an entrepreneur needs basement servers
for a startup, that is broadband. If a family of four needs to be
online all at once, that is broadband.
At Tipmont Wintek, we define broadband as whatever our customers
need to pursue their goals.
That level of broadband was not available to them, for reasons I
will discuss in a bit, and that is why we made the choice to build a
superior broadband option for our service area.
Broadband Workforces Face Unique Challenges
To accomplish our mission, Tipmont Wintek has built a broadband
workforce encompassing everyone from high-school graduates to engineers
who have master's degrees.
As we built this team, we found a unique catch-22: Inferior
broadband in our communities can make it hard to entice the technical
professionals and tradespeople we need to build something better.
This is why we must find people inspired to improve the quality of
life in the very communities they call home. We are among many
businesses today that face challenges in finding these people.
Building and Nurturing a Broadband Workforce
It can be difficult to get any person to apply let alone the right
one.
For example: Tipmont Wintek recently opened a position on our
construction crew. The requirements were a high-school diploma or
equivalent GED, along with a valid driver's license. We spoke with
eight candidates on the phone and invited them all for in-person
interviews. Only two showed up. Of the other six, one pursued a
different opportunity and five never returned our calls about
scheduling a follow-up.
As a not-for-profit, we also struggle to compete with wages offered
by for-profit companies and contractors, particularly in areas of
skilled-trade labor. Escalating wages is a case of supply and-demand
imbalance for these skills in the market, which I do not believe will
correct anytime soon.
Despite these challenges, Tipmont Wintek has thrived by reframing
its approach to talent acquisition. Rather than pursue a ``perfect''
employee, we prioritize the development of the right people and their
potential.
At Tipmont Wintek, we seek proactive problem-solvers with
insatiable curiosity--the kind who crave continuous education and
diversified responsibilities.
One such person is Peter Burr. A U.S. Army veteran, Peter joined us
in 2021 as a Construction Specialist. His work involves outdoor
engineering to run fiber along customers' properties to their homes.
Peter had no experience with fiber-optic engineering but excelled
at project management. We leveraged that skill and gave Peter plenty of
field time with established fiber engineers. He has since taken on
responsibility for electrical engineering tasks as well as our co-op's
electric solar initiatives. These were new to Peter, too, but we
equipped him with classes and external resources that set him up for
success.
In Peter's own words: ``It has been encouraging to see how Tipmont
Wintek develops people within their own organization. I am helping meet
the company's long-term goals while directly benefiting from their
trust in me to learn and acquire new skill sets.''
We also reassessed the education levels of applicants relative to
their promise and potential fit with the company.
In the past, many Tipmont Wintek broadband positions required a
specialized, 4-year engineering degree. To retain essential expertise,
some still do. But for more entry-level positions, we now consider
candidates with 2-year degrees in computer-related fields and an
eagerness to jump in and learn.
Our local Network Operations Center has become a proving ground
through which to develop and diversify the skills and experiences of
our broadband workforce. We give our team members meaningful projects
in customer service, cybersecurity, system analysis, network
engineering, computer programming, and more. It challenges, engages and
motivates them while building a clear, comprehensive picture of our
broadband mission.
As broadband needs evolve, so will the need to expand activities
that develop a strong, engaged broadband workforce. One potential
solution may be a state-facilitated broadband apprenticeship program
like the Rural Electric Apprenticeship Program (REAP) facilitated by
Indiana Electric Cooperatives (IEC). REAP is a 4-year program requiring
612 hours of comprehensive classroom instruction and at least 8,000
hours of on-the-job training. REAP has certainly benefited our co-op,
and IEC has discussed a broadband equivalent.
Dustin Manns, one of our electric linemen, says his REAP experience
provided him ``an opportunity to create professional value and become a
better person.''
What Dustin says is a crucial notion at the front of our minds as
we develop people: We can build all the skills we want, but it will
mean nothing if the process does not reflect both a person's career
goals and Tipmont Wintek's values of innovation, public service heart,
impact, respect and passion.
Of course, finding the right people is half the battle. We must
retain them with genuine professional fulfillment. There are many
elements to this, but fueling their drive to learn more is chief among
them.
That is why Tipmont Wintek prioritizes continuing education and
training. That is why we send our broadband team to Cisco to earn the
latest top-tier certification on complex network equipment. Helping our
IT professionals keep pace with ever-changing technology is especially
critical.
Building a broadband workforce has not been without growing pains
or a bit of trial and error. But Tipmont Wintek has found a formula
that works for our employees and, most of all, for our customers.
Developing Generational Broadband Talent
We also have started building tomorrow's team today.
Generation Z is transforming today's workforce. They want to make
the world better, and their values inform their decisions. Deloitte's
Global 2021 Millennial and Generation Z Survey showed that, in the last
2 years, 49 percent of those in Generation Z made choices about their
work, and their employer, based on alignment with their personal
values.
It is our obligation to channel this passion and purpose into
fulfilling careers. To that end, Tipmont Wintek has developed numerous
broadband career outreach programs that reach a wide continuum of ages.
Sparking Interest at Early Ages
Tipmont Wintek sponsors and participates in both the Next
Generation Workforce Expo and the Construction Career & Education (C2E)
Expo, which serve eighth graders through 12th graders.
Facilitated by Greater Lafayette Commerce, the Next Generation
Workforce Expo features experiential activities that address facets of
the manufacturing industry.
Tipmont Wintek's role is to discuss broadband and energy careers as
they relate to manufacturing, the importance of broadband access for
manufacturers, and the manufacturing industry's essential need for
cybersecurity.
At the C2E Expo, which focuses on construction infrastructure,
Tipmont Wintek initiates spirited, influential conversations with young
people about everything from fiber broadband and electric engineering
to careers for those overseeing the fiber installation process.
These expos engage those who may not plan to attend college after
high school but want to flourish in meaningful technical careers.
Hands-On Pathways to Broadband IT Careers
Tipmont Wintek is also collaborating with Faith Christian Schools
in Lafayette, Indiana, to develop a pathway program in Career Technical
Education, or CTE, which will be open to 600-plus students from an
eight-county area.
This hands-on, comprehensive CTE curriculum will start in the 2022-
23 school year and inspire students to consider a career path in energy
or broadband IT.
It will begin with an overview of basics about the energy and
broadband fiber services Tipmont Wintek provides. Our professionals
will visit classrooms to discuss their experiences with students--
helping them envision careers and hear first-hand from those who have
thrived. Students can job-shadow our electric engineers, broadband
fiber engineers, and others. They will also tour our state-of-the-art
data center, which provides technology solutions for hundreds of
businesses in Indiana and beyond.
This is a pilot program, but we are confident that we will be able
to expand this experience to additional schools in our service area, as
well as the Greater Lafayette Career Academy.
Complementing Career Interest with Civic Awareness
As great as it might be for us, we realize not everyone wants to
pursue careers in broadband or energy. By participating in a local
Junior Achievement Finance Park, Tipmont Wintek emphasizes the broader
civic importance of affordable, reliable and equitable broadband.
At the Finance Park, seventh and eighth graders perform interactive
budgeting exercises. We did such things, too, when we were younger. If
you had internet in these exercises, it was likely under ``leisure'' or
``entertainment.'' Today, broadband access is no less essential than
electricity. Our participation in the Finance Park helps young people
understand: Equitable broadband access is a lifelong engine that moves
everyone down a positive path.
A Pipeline of Phenomenal Talent
We also foster productive partnerships that have brought tremendous
talent to our doorstep.
Ivy Tech Community College is a statewide system in Indiana with a
large campus in our service area. Tipmont Wintek's broadband leadership
team provides Ivy Tech instructors in the School of Information
Technology with practical feedback in the IT field that informs their
curriculum.
In return, we gain access to a pool of bright, motivated students
whose talent we can develop. Several students through this pipeline
have become assets on our broadband team. Among them: David Flint, a
U.S. Army veteran who joined us as he pursued his associate degree in
Network Infrastructure and is now a Network Engineer; Mallory Herbert,
who applies network engineering expertise toward consulting solutions
for our business internet customers; and Dylan Popp, who started with
us as a Network Technician and, in January, advanced to our team of
Network Engineers.
Industry Apprenticeship & Community Partnership
These broadband workforce outreach programs address several goals.
They create a culture of industry-focused apprenticeships. It is
Tipmont Wintek's duty to provide a model for what young people can do
with their futures and build relationships to get them there. For
example: As we continue to develop these outreach programs, a high-
school senior could work beside the professionals who inspired them
through a post-graduation internship and then perhaps gain full-time
employment with us.
These programs also affirm Tipmont Wintek's position as a community
partner. It is our obligation to invest in a community's people and
prosperity, which includes encouraging our youngest citizens.
Last but certainly not least, these programs can keep Tipmont
Wintek's broadband workforce vital by introducing individuals to
exciting combinations of new skills, perspectives, voices and
expertise.
Tipmont Wintek's workforce outreach programs create meaningful
outlets that can propel Generation Z, and other world-changing
generations to follow, into the broadband workforce.
The Perils of Insufficient Internet
No matter what their generation is, everyone on Tipmont Wintek's
broadband team agrees: If it is not fiber, it is not broadband.
Wireless solutions have a place in select mobile applications and
rural research, such as gathering, sending and analyzing agricultural
data. Beyond that, it suffers from issues with network capacity, signal
interference and dropped connections.
No one can run a successful business off inferior wireless
technology. Just ask Susan Benedict, a Tipmont electric cooperative
customer who owns an interior design business.
Susan can see the city limits of Lafayette, Indiana, from her back
porch. This metro area of 200,000 people is home to Purdue University,
a major international research institution. And yet the best anyone
would do for Susan's internet access was a DSL phone line.
DSL struggles with reliability. DSL speeds are generally poor--20
Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload . . . maybe. Susan told us her time
spent offline--and in battles with customer support--created a 25
percent loss for her business.
The story of Dr. Sara Huffer, a neurologist who lost access to
life-saving technology because of poor internet, is particularly
upsetting.
Dr. Huffer's hospital system received telemedicine equipment that
allowed her to assess a stroke patient's condition as soon as they
arrived at the ER. This equipment helped medical professionals more
quickly provide clot-busting medication to rural patients who lacked
access to specialists. The faster someone gets this medicine, the less
likely they are to suffer permanent disability or death.
But Dr. Huffer's hospital had to discontinue this program--largely
because her DSL home internet connection was too slow to access it.
Now, people in Dr. Huffer's community lose time they do not have when
faced with a life-threatening medical emergency.
In the wake of COVID 19, so many across our service area shifted on
a dime to online-only interactions. This upended life even for those
with reliable broadband access. Those without it faced a full-blown
threat to their livelihoods, educational development, and health and
wellness.
We heard from teachers who drove all over their district,
delivering thumb drives loaded with resources for kids who could not
get online. Families sent children to live with relatives who had a
more reliable internet connection. Professionals drove to a McDonald's
parking lot so they could use free WiFi to connect to work meetings.
These people are used to pulling together solutions. That is
because they are used to being left behind.
When you look at the struggles faced by Susan Benedict, Dr. Sara
Huffer, and countless families, children, educators, and professionals,
you see a rural broadband market in crisis.
You see people who need broadband that meets their needs without
compromise.
America's Broadband Policy Does Not Work For Everyone
America's rural broadband market design applies a private-sector
business model to a public-infrastructure deficiency. It is time we
admit that this is not working.
This policy presumes an open, competitive process in the private
sector will provide customers with numerous options for robust service.
Although the private sector has its place in broadband policy, its
business model relies upon investments that shareholders find
acceptable. This model works in sizable towns and cities but rarely in
areas with low population density and high fixed costs.
In rural America, the demand for fast, affordable and reliable
broadband far exceeds the supply. What little supply there is lacks
both an obligation to serve people and robust performance standards as
defined by consumers' needs.
In April 2022, the Center for Regional Development at Purdue
University published Home Broadband Survey Results: Connecting Indiana.
This study surveyed more than 16,000 people from 20 counties in mostly
rural Indiana and reported the following findings:
Nearly 30 percent of respondents said they do not
have internet service because it is not available to them.
Nearly half of the people said their internet service
was not reliable enough to work from home, which jeopardizes
their livelihoods.
More than 40 percent of respondents had students in
their home, ranging from pre-kindergarten all the way to
college age. Unreliable internet can cause students to struggle
with e-learning, making it difficult to develop necessary
skills that lead to successful careers.
Nearly 10 percent of those surveyed had seniors 65 or
older in their home, whose reliance on telehealth and
telemedicine is threatened by a lack of reliable internet
access.
If rural broadband were profitable, America's broadband policy
would suffice. But in most cases, it is not profitable. The results
relegate rural America to second-tier status. We must consider
alternatives.
Our Calling to Provide Better Broadband
Tipmont Wintek provides security, comfort and convenience through
essential services. When it came to fast, reliable and affordable
internet, our longtime electric customers lacked all three. That is why
we chose to do what no one else would and bring them essential
broadband access they deserve.
When Tipmont Wintek builds, we meet everyone's needs through equal
access to superior technology. For co-ops like ours, this is simply
part of our intrinsic obligation to serve.
Balancing the priorities of people, purpose and a sustainable
business model is a hallmark of cooperatives. It transformed
electrification in rural America, and we knew we could do the same in
the space of rural broadband internet.
There is No Better Broadband Investment Than Fiber
But first, we needed to understand the impact of this investment on
the communities we serve.
In 2018, Tipmont commissioned Purdue University to study and
calculate the societal economic return of a fiber-broadband investment
in the counties we serve. We did this because we measure success both
by our own financial health and the prosperity of our customers'
communities.
The study found that for every dollar Tipmont invested in fiber-
optic broadband technology for a community, that community and the
State of Indiana would receive $4 in return benefits. These returns
came through tax revenue, telemedicine, K-12 and adult education,
consumer savings, farm income, and multiplier impacts.
In expanding this study to cover the territory of all Indiana
electric co-ops, the result was staggering. If every co-op in Indiana
built broadband, the statewide net present value benefit of that
investment would be $12 billion over 20 years.
Tipmont Wintek launched its broadband project without capital
support, but we estimated that a 20 percent capital contribution could
significantly increase sustainability and reduce project risk. In other
words: That capital support would have made our decision much easier.
Bridging this capital gap triggers a project launch. Therefore,
broadband grant funding is of utmost importance. But what return does
the taxpayer see once Federal or state grants enter the picture?
Consider the Tipmont Wintek case. Per the 2018 study, a $1
investment in broadband yields a societal economic return of $4. Now,
factor in a 20 percent grant capital contribution. A utility like
Tipmont Wintek then contributes 80 cents of every investment dollar
while Federal or state grant programs contribute 20 cents.
Taxpayers put in 20 cents and get $4 back. That is a 20 to 1
return. Investments in America do not get better than that.
Pitfalls of the Grant Funding Process
Capital support from grant funding has been pivotal to Tipmont
Wintek's fiber build. We are grateful to have received over $20 million
in funding from the State of Indiana and $1 million in Federal funding.
However, there are areas of concern we discovered in the process.
1. Unreliable Self-Reporting of Coverage
At all government levels, broadband grant programs too often
rely on outdated or inaccurate data to determine an applicant's
eligibility.
For example: Service coverage data provided by the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) for use in Federal and state
grant programs came from internet service providers (ISPs) that
self-reported.
Unsurprisingly, these ISPs overstated their service coverage.
For example: If an ISP served just one customer, often a
business, it could mark an entire census block as ``served.''
Allowing any broadband provider to self-report broadband
coverage and quality as a barometer for grant funding is like
asking the fox to count the hens. It does not make sense and
often denies people equitable access.
2. Disingenuous Application Challenges
Many broadband providers then used this unreliable data and
overstated coverage as a basis to challenge grant applications
from competing providers (who often offer superior service).
For example: In Round 2 of the State of Indiana's Next Level
Connections (NLC) Broadband Grant Program, other ISPs
successfully challenged 371 of Tipmont Wintek's census block
applications--claiming they already received Federal funding to
provide coverage in that census block.
Even if the providers who issued these challenges met Federal
grant program requirements, there was no transparency as to
what they intended to build or how long it would take them.
This is an inordinate amount of effort expended on blocking
competition rather than serving customers in need.
Thankfully, the FCC recently has announced a new coverage
verification process, with new maps scheduled for fall 2022. These maps
will hopefully be based on efforts to gather accurate data from
everyday Americans' self-provided speed tests rather than data reported
by carriers.
I cannot overstate the importance of accurate coverage data to
address rural broadband inequity, and I appreciate the efforts
undertaken to obtain actual data.
Ideas to Improve Federal Broadband Grant Processes
While we appreciate any grant program advancing equitable broadband
access, Tipmont Wintek has found state programs more successful than
Federal programs in helping address a rural digital divide.
Here are key reasons and rationales as to why.
1. The application process for state programs is less
prohibitive and cumbersome.
Federal programs impose onerous requirements before the
application process even begins--registration on the System for
Award Management website, a Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S Number, a
Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code, an Authorized
Representative Request. Many also require a legal opinion,
environmental analysis, credit thresholds, and details on
equipment sourcing, contractors, engineering services, or
bidding.
The application guide for the latest round of the United States
Department of Agriculture's ReConnect Loan and Grant Program
runs 273 pages. On average, application guides for state
programs are 20 to 30 pages.
A one-size-fits-all application process also overlooks specific
circumstances of rural areas in need.
For example: The FCC's Rural Development Opportunity Fund
(RDOF) only allows bidding at the census block group level
while ReConnect requires geographically contiguous projects.
Existing infrastructure and communities do not conform to these
arbitrary groupings, making it difficult to piece together
projects.
2. Conditions of state programs are clearly defined.
ReConnect defines sufficient broadband speed as 100 Mbps
download / 25 Mbps upload (or 100/25). RDOF defines the same
thing as 25 Mbps download / 3 Mbps upload (or 25/3).
Why are these definitions different? Moreover, why are they so
different? And why does neither address a consumer's real
needs?
Purdue University's Home Broadband Survey Results: Connecting
Indiana study from April 2022 published results of 5,000 speed
tests from rural addresses in 20 Indiana counties. Over 60
percent of those tests--or more than 3,000 individual internet
connections--failed to meet the FCC's minimum speed threshold
of 25/3.
ReConnect-and RDOF-funded projects also often deliver speeds
just above these speed definitions. These are not solutions for
equitable broadband access in rural America. They are stop-gaps
that slow economic growth, require early and costly
replacement, and prolong unnecessary suffering.
Grant funding should prioritize broadband speed that is
symmetrical and scalable to the customers' specific needs.
I cite the same Purdue study from April: ``As more and more
homes remote work and e-learn, symmetrical connections are
needed--when upload speeds are as fast as download speeds.''
Has your voice or video ever lagged for an agonizingly long
time in an important Zoom meeting? Has your child become
frustrated that their computer cannot keep pace with the tempo
of e-learning? These are the perils of a broadband connection
that is not symmetrical, and they jeopardize confidence, growth
and even livelihoods.
As for scale: If the consumer needs a gigabit, or 1,000 Mbps,
we need to provide that. If they need two gigabits, we need to
provide that.
Speed thresholds in state broadband grant programs reward
symmetrical, scalable connections. For example: The State of
Indiana's NLC program prioritizes connections with symmetrical-
speed minimums of 100 Mbps upload and download.
Tipmont Wintek's entry-level in-home fiber internet package
exceeds this minimum by 150 percent, and we have been grateful
to receive $20 million from NLC since 2019--including $3
million last month for new projects to begin in 2022.
3. Communication with state program facilitators is strong
and consistent.
Beyond application deadlines, timelines for Federal broadband
grant programs are nebulous. For example: Applications for the
latest round of ReConnect grants were due March 9, 2022, but we
do not yet know a decision deadline. That makes it hard to
forecast resources when supply chain interruptions have already
complicated scheduling for broadband builds.
Outside of webinars, Tipmont Wintek staff also have never
spoken directly with those administering Federal broadband
grant programs. If we reach out, we are lucky to receive a
reply. We once spent months trying to contact a representative
of ReConnect . . . only to learn we now had a new
representative.
Tipmont Wintek also recently partnered with Tippecanoe County--
one of eight counties we serve--to pursue a grant from the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration's
Broadband Infrastructure Program. We did not receive the grant
and were not told why. Were we somehow ineligible? Did an
incumbent internet service provider (ISP) challenge our
application? Was our application simply not as competitive?
Facilitators of state broadband grant programs provide a
comprehensive timeline of key dates and deadlines, regular
contact, and constructive feedback if an application is not
accepted.
4. State programs improve processes and outcomes with
accurate, manageable data.
Reporting is necessary in any broadband grant program. However,
Federal program reporting is overly burdensome.
The Rural Development Reporting & Compliance User Guide for
ReConnect is 103 pages. By comparison, we submit a 10-page
quarterly report for each project with the State of Indiana's
NLC program.
5. Administrator feedback in state grant challenge phases
allows for productive adaptation.
Administrators of state broadband grant programs often request
applicant feedback on their policies and processes to implement
changes in future rounds of funding. For example: The State of
Indiana's NLC increased its minimum speed threshold for
sufficient broadband based on feedback and data from Tipmont
Wintek and other applicants.
With each new round, the NLC process becomes more efficient and
productive. By comparison, after three rounds of the ReConnect
program, there have only been minor updates to the process.
Broadband Grants Are Best Managed at State Levels
To Tipmont, the ideal use of broadband grant program funds, as well
as those provided by the American Rescue Plan Act, incorporates a
strategic, swift-moving combination of Federal, state and local
administration.
It is important to involve state administrators in conversations
and decisions, and they should play a lead role in broadband grant
management and disbursement.
I express these concerns about Federal broadband grant programs not
to criticize them or their facilitators. I share them in the hope that
it can lead to streamlined processes and improved outcomes that
accomplish our shared mission of equitable broadband access.
Fiber is the Premier Broadband Technology
The only way to truly fulfill our shared mission is through fiber-
to-the-home broadband.
Building fiber infrastructure from the ground up is not simple or
quick. It requires months of planning, engineering and construction. We
must pursue easements and right-of-way agreements. But as the saying
goes, the right way and the hard way are often the same.
Tipmont Wintek has chosen fiber because there is no better future-
proof broadband technology. The fiber lines we are laying today will
work just as well decades from now. Service upgrades require only
updated electronics on both ends of the connection.
Purdue's Home Broadband Survey Results: Connecting Indiana study
from April reinforced that we have chosen the right materials to serve
our customers.
The study found that fiber-optic broadband technology such as that
offered by Tipmont Wintek provides the largest ``bang for the buck''
when it comes to internet cost, speed and satisfaction.
Fiber was a runaway winner in all points of comparison to
satellite, DSL, cable, fixed wireless or cellular data. And yet of the
88 percent surveyed who have home internet, only 5.5 percent connected
using fiber.
Many providers fail to give people what they need in today's world
to remain truly connected and competitive. But Tipmont Wintek is
determined despite the risks.
Our customers love it.
We have seen all-time highs in our score on the American Customer
Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a national benchmark to assess customers'
feelings about products or services they use. Compared to other service
providers--who often land in the high 60's on a 100-point scale--our
customer satisfaction is much higher.
Tipmont Wintek recently scored an all-time high 85 out of 100. That
is enough to beat Chick-fil-A, which almost always tops the ACSI. If
only we could include chicken sandwiches in our monthly packages.
4,000 People Connected . . . and Counting
Jokes aside, that ACSI score is the result of demanding work from a
lot of dedicated people. This work is reciprocated by the trust that
our customers have placed in us to deliver for them on broadband as we
have for electricity. This work also reflects our commitment to
continue evolving broadband workforce development even further.
Since 2019, Tipmont Wintek has connected more than 4,000 people to
our fast, reliable and affordable fiber broadband. By the time this day
is over, we will have connected 10 more.
The stories we hear today are much happier.
One of our customers has a child with a disability. Their spouse
stayed home with the child while they worked a job with preferable
health care benefits. Once Tipmont Wintek fiber broadband became
available to them, the spouse who stayed home was able to take a job
and work remotely.
In just one home, our fiber broadband created employment, increased
a family's income considerably, contributed to workforce development,
and created new paths for resources to assist with raising a child.
Then there is Kassie Coverdale, who traded an engineering job she
enjoyed for a career she was passionate about--her own professional dog
training business. Just as that was taking off, COVID-19 hit. Thanks in
part to our fiber broadband, Kassie did not miss a beat. She
transformed her hands-on approach into a successful online business.
Multiply those stories by several thousand. These are the sorts of
generational differences that a fast, reliable and affordable fiber-to-
the-home connection can make.
This is how to help America's best and brightest talents consider
making a home in rural communities.
This is what you can accomplish by building a broadband workforce
that develops people and potential.
This is why we must reframe our definition of rural broadband and
rethink broadband policy.
This is the way we can empower all rural American families,
children, businesses, entrepreneurs, and educators through broadband--
and improve their quality of life by ensuring their broadband service
meets them where they are.
Thank you again for inviting me to testify before the Subcommittee
today. I look forward to answering any questions you may have and
continuing this conversation further.
______
Senator Hickenlooper. You bet. Close enough for Government
work----
[Laughter.]
Senator Hickenlooper [continuing]. thank you also for
coming such a long way.
Mr. Holcomb. Thank you.
Senator Hickenlooper. Appreciate your comments. Dr. Turner
Lee, you came from probably--had the shortest commute, but I
think you probably have the deepest experience on this specific
aspect of how we are going to address these challenges on the
workforce. So why don't you give us your opening remarks as
well?
STATEMENT OF NICOL TURNER LEE, SENIOR FELLOW IN GOVERNANCE
STUDIES AND DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION,
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. Turner Lee. Well, thank you so much for having me,
Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and distinguished
Members of the Subcommittee. This is an important issue of the
day, and I am here to speak about how we actually create new
paying--high paying jobs in the broadband sector.
I am Dr. Nicole Turner Lee, the Director of the Center for
Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution, where my
work focuses on these telecommunications and technology
industries, but also how we solve the digital divide in the
process. So excited to actually testify. Let me just say this,
I laud, as everyone has, the bipartisan infrastructure bill as
the most historic and landmark that we have had in this country
in a long time.
Having high speed broadband access is fundamental for
Americans to work, study, participate in religious or cultural
activities, and socialize in parallel with traditional
infrastructure. If executed properly, the bill should
accelerate internet access for millions of Americans who
currently live without it and in turn spur massive economic
growth, granting access to millions for 21st century jobs as
well as creating new career paths.
In my written testimony this morning, I just want to
propose solutions on how we embolden an equitable and expansive
workforce in the broadband sector of the U.S. economy. And
before I do that, let me level set with some data.
Brookings researchers in 2021 found 160,000 broadband jobs
would be created through the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
And of these telecommunications equipment, installers, and
repairers are projected to require an additional 36,000 new
positions and an additional 12,000 in the areas of other
installer and repair roles. These jobs are just mirroring the
hard head jobs I call them.
We are not necessarily talking about the indirect
opportunities that exist. The University of Massachusetts
Amherst found that jobs directly created from new broadband
funding will make up only 25 percent of the total number of
jobs created by these moneys.
Previous Brookings research found that 77 percent of
workers in infrastructure jobs are going to be employed in
operation of the physical assets, not necessarily the
construction or design alone.
Meaning most of the infrastructure jobs that we are talking
about today are long term careers in a broad variety of roles,
and those are offerings that are going to be historically
competitive with equitable wages, up at least 30 percent higher
than other industries, and particularly useful for low income
workers and women who are starting their careers for the first
time.
It also provides a suite of social service supports that I
think we as a country are battling with, particularly for those
folks, and it has been mentioned by our distinguished Members,
without a 4-year degree. Getting access to these broadband jobs
and careers are imperative, and particularly at a time when we
have the money to do so.
Another final recommendation, a note that I would share
before I go into to recommendations, is that ultimately doing
so will help us close the digital divide and potentially result
in people in our communities, both urban and rural and tribal,
from being moved as consumers of technology to producers and
innovators who are prepared to accelerate this Nation's digital
competitiveness.
Let me share some recommendations that I think complement
my colleagues. First and foremost, we need to aggressively
apply apprenticeships and credentialing programs. I think it
has been said that apprenticeships are a gateway to careers and
we as a country know how to do this with urgency. Just
recently, the Department of Labor partnered with the White
House and Department of Transportation on a 90 day trucking
apprenticeship challenge.
We need similar challenges when it comes to broadband,
engaging in other practices like community based hiring,
private sector sign-ons, and accelerated career tracks. The
Wireless Infrastructure Association and other industry partners
in 2012 actually developed the first registered apprenticeship
program for critical occupations and tower technicians,
wireless technicians, utility workers, along with leads and
foremen.
Second, we need to engage community colleges to provide
pathways to these occupational resets. It is important that we
have community colleges work with the private sector to develop
partnership agreements, competency tracks, so that we can train
the next broadband workforce.
Third, we need a digital service corps for new entrants,
for people who need a pre step into a registered apprenticeship
program. We need to partner with the Corporation for National
Service to create a service corp for people to engage in
experiential learning at a local level so that they understand
the importance of this new economy.
It can also help us promote diversity, equity, and
inclusion for marginalized workers who do not have a network
in. I cannot agree more that we have to address the needs of K
through 12 students, and I would implored the U.S. Department
of Education to develop an office of innovation in school
districts dealing with this occupational skill setting.
Finally, as I close, we need to update our Government labor
statistics. Right now, we do not have an understanding of the
taxonomy of new jobs, nor do we have the right occupational
classifications.
It is important for us to work with the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the Census, and OMB to ensure that we are actually
codifying these jobs correctly as we place moneys into training
and placement. Thank you so much, and I look forward to the
questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Turner Lee follows:]
prepared statement of nicol turner lee
Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and distinguished
Members of the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Subcommittee on
Employment and Workplace Safety, thank you for the invitation to
testify on the important issue of how the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act (IIJA) can sustainably and equitably create new, high-paying
jobs in emerging industries, particularly from those created by major
investments to expand universal broadband access. I am Nicol Turner
Lee, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies and Director of the Center for
Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution. With a history of
over 100 years, Brookings is committed to evidence-based, nonpartisan
research in a range of focus areas. My research expertise encompasses
data collection and analysis around regulatory and legislative policies
that govern telecommunications and high-tech industries, along with the
impacts of digital exclusion, artificial intelligence, and machine-
learning algorithms on vulnerable populations. My forthcoming book,
Digitally invisible: How the internet is creating the new underclass
will be published by Brookings Press later this year.
The IIJA is a historic, bipartisan step to ensure that every
American is equipped with the necessary tools, resources, and
structures to participate in a 21st century economy. \1\, \2\ The
legislation includes high-speed broadband as one of the many critical
infrastructure assets, which is both significant and transformative as
getting online has become more of a necessity, instead of a luxury in
these times. \3\ Having high-speed broadband access is fundamental for
Americans to work, study, participate in religious or cultural
activities, and socialize, in parallel with more traditional
infrastructure. In other words, it is a pathway to first-class, digital
citizenship. If the IIJA is executed properly, the Nation should be
able to accelerate internet access for the millions of Americans who
currently live without it. In turn, it will spur massive economic
growth--granting access to millions of new 21st century jobs, as well
as creating new career paths for livable earnings within industries
enabled by direct access to more robust networks, in addition to
industries indirectly benefiting from existing and emerging platforms.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ ``Fact Sheet: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal,'' The White
House, November 6, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/
statements-releases/2021/11/06/fact-sheet-the-bipartisan-
infrastructure-deal
\2\ Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Public Law 117-58.
U.S. Statutes at Large 135 (2021): 429--1467.
\3\ https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Infrastructure
percent20Investment percent20and percent20Jobs percent20Act percent20-
percent20Section percent20by percent20Section percent20Summary.pdf
In my written testimony, I propose solutions on how we can embolden
an equitable and expansive workforce in the broadband sector of the
U.S. economy. But first, Congress must implore the Department of Labor
(DOL) to create taxonomies of the skills needed to fill vacancies in
this and related technology sectors. Currently, there exists ambiguity
in how we identify and define such opportunities, including fiber
optics, 5G or wireless, and other related broadband infrastructure
opportunities. Further, the U.S. must engage in national skilling
through the creation of policies and norms that engage workers in not
just job opportunities, but career paths, especially for those
individuals without 4-year college degrees. \4\ These milestones can be
attained via lucrative training and placement opportunities, including
apprenticeships and industry credentialling in the existing and
emerging careers in wireline and wireless broadband, as well as
supportive industry roles in data analyses, customer service,
cloudware, and more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Sam Sabin, ``5G Worker Shortages Could Provide Many Americans
with Chance to Return to Work,'' Morning Consult, May 6, 2020, https://
morningconsult.com/2020/05/06/5g-wireless-workforce-shortage-
coronavirus
More important, Federal and state governments must consider
empowering the broadband workforce as a critical element of the IIJA,
starting with the enlistment of education and community partners like
community colleges, and K-12 schools who are critical to fueling the
21st century workforce. Congress might also support funding to the
Corporation for National and Community Service for a national Digital
Service Corps, where several under-skilled workers can engage in more
experiential learning of these trades while receiving a modest stipend
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
as part of their pathway into jobs, and then long-term careers.
My main point of my testimony is that the Nation has a huge
opportunity in the creation of new, high-paying jobs to build critical
infrastructure like broadband access. These efforts should be an
accelerant for entry, and involve deliberate and strategic efforts
around equity, ensuring that no citizens are excluded based on their
demographic background, geographic residence, or lack of competency in
fairly nascent fields.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Careers
An additional reason for accelerating high-speed broadband access
is to help close the national digital divide that separates millions of
Americans from fully participating in the digital economy. The global
pandemic has surfaced the importance of online connectivity as millions
obliged the calls for physical social distancing and transitioned
online for remote work, school, health care, government services, and
regular communications with friends and family members. As technology
becomes more ubiquitously available and affordable for Americans of all
socioeconomic levels, it has become a game changer for how citizens
transact and interact in their daily lives, and will be foundational to
the development of inclusive economic growth in the U.S. \5\ Yet new
online dependencies have widened the Nation's digital divide, leaving
some people of color, older and low-income populations, and those from
rural (and some urban) areas unable to consume certain products and
services. These vulnerable groups were greatly impacted by the
pandemic's social isolation at its onset, which restricted many people
from applying for unemployment benefits, engaging in virtual education,
or scheduling and receiving a vaccination. \6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Nicol Turner Lee, ``Building for the Future: Advancing Digital
Competitiveness through Broadband Access and Adoption,'' https://
www.brookings.edu/testimoneys/building-for-the-future-advancing-
digital-competitiveness-through-broadband-access-and-adoption.
\6\ Nicol Turner Lee, ``Why America Needs a `Tech New Deal' to
Build Back Better,'' TechTank (blog), January 12, 2021, https://
www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/01/12/why-america-needs-a-tech-
new-deal-to-build-back-better.
In February 2021, my testimony before the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Economic Disparity & Fairness in Growth
went into more detail about the $65 billion toward high-speed broadband
from the $1.2 trillion IIJA appropriation, and indicated that we needed
a coherent and collaborative strategy to effectuate change, or a ``Tech
New Deal.'' This is important because the IIJA appropriated funds are
more than quadruple the support granted in 2009 for the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which allocated $4.7 billion
toward online access. \7\ In this new traunch of funding, Congress has
authorized $2.75 billion through the three Digital Equity Act programs
to promote digital inclusion and increase broadband adoption--some of
which must be used explicitly to consider and fund state, local, and
community workforce development programs. \8\ The National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S.
Department of Commerce, along with the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), are responsible for distributing these funds--first
to states that are charged with developing broadband infrastructure and
digital equity plans as part of their receipt of the funds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Nicol Turner Lee, ``Building for the Future: Advancing Digital
Competitiveness through Broadband Access and Adoption,'' https://
www.brookings.edu/testimoneys/building-for-the-future-advancing-
digital-competitiveness-through-broadband-access-and-adoption.
\8\ Nicol Turner Lee, ``Why America Needs a `Tech New Deal' to
Build Back Better,'' TechTank (blog), January 12, 2021, https://
www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/01/12/why-america-needs-a-tech-
new-deal-to-build-back-better.
Of the entire 2020 funds, the Digital Equity Act most likely will
house the funds for local workforce development programs, but the
remaining $62.25 billion in high-speed broadband assets can also be
thought of as stimulating workforce development. These moneys not only
will support short-term infrastructure needs: they are a prerequisite
to supporting the long-term development and deployment of new,
economically transformative technologies as well. For example, select
areas in Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and more have already
deployed 5G networks. According to Verizon, one of the major internet
service providers offering 5G, networks are enabling download speeds of
1 Gbps and latency rates of less than 30 ms, which will allow a vast
range of new technologies--autonomous vehicles, smart home devices,
telehealth monitors, agricultural or environmental sensors, virtual
reality systems, and more--to be connected to the internet. \9\ But the
design and development of 5G overall has been estimated to attribute
$13.2 trillion to the global economy, and create an additional 22.3
million jobs across the world. \10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Verizon. ``What Is the Latency of 5G?,'' February 2, 2020,
https://www.verizon.com/about/our-company/5g/5g-latency; Larry Downes,
``5G: What is it good for?'' The Washington Post, February 3, 2022,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2018/06/05/5g-what-
is-it-good-for.
\10\ ``The impact of 5G: Creating new value across industries and
society,'' World Economic Forum, January 2020, https://www.weforum.org/
docs/WEF--The--Impact--of--5G--Report.pdf.
That is why to harness the massive potential for job creation,
broadband must be a part of a broader strategy of 21st century
inclusive economic growth, especially in the production of new
opportunities for individuals with or without a 4-year degree. Given
the disproportionate access to broadband and the platforms and
applications that it enables, an equity framework should be applied to
such decisions on where to build and who to serve--at least, in the
first iteration of broadband build-out and digital equity programs. The
IIJA has indicated that unserved, followed by underserved, communities
will be top priorities for new government spending. Simultaneously,
these must be the same communities where programs investing in job
creation, placement, and training for careers in these lucrative
industries are focused first, offering a compounded benefit and
multiplier of Federal resources. Only this way can we ensure that all
individuals--regardless of their educational status--can fruitfully
work and earn in the existing and emerging communications ecosystems
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
or, at minimum, be offered opportunities to learn the necessary skills.
As mentioned, my own research offered a comprehensive framework to
ensure the achievement of described milestones, which was encased in
the concept of a ``Tech New Deal.'' \11\ Parts of the Tech New Deal
assert that ``No Child Be Left Offline'' to guarantee the closing of
the ``homework gap'' because every K-12 student would have options for
affordable broadband service, an internet-enabled device, hot spot, and
relevant training resources for parents and other caregivers. \12\ My
research also presented the concept of Digital Service Corps to aid in
closing the digital divide within their local communities, which will
be discussed later in the testimony. Further, the creation of new
broadband jobs should not solely happen among telecommunications and
technology providers. There should be both critical interests and
investments from industries benefiting from the technology ecosystem--
from banks to retail companies. In sum, the Federal Government must
develop policies that invite and reimagine public policies that include
diverse industry stakeholders, as well as representatives from state
and local workforce development boards, and civil society organizations
to chart a path for how technology spurs economic growth and shifts in
service delivery for citizens. \13\
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\11\ Nicol Turner Lee, ``Why America Needs a `Tech New Deal' to
Build Back Better,'' The Brookings Institution, TechTank, January 12,
2021, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/01/12/why-america-
needs-a-technew-deal-to-build-back-better.
\12\ Nicol Turner Lee, ``No Child Deserves to Be Left Offline This
School Year--Here's How Congress Can Help,'' The Brookings Institution,
TechTank, August 2, 2021, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/
08/02/no-childdeserves-to-be-left-offline-this-school-year-heres-how-
congress-can-help.
\13\ Nicol Turner Lee, ``Why America Needs a `Tech New Deal' to
Build Back Better,'' The Brookings Institution, TechTank, January 12,
2021, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/01/12/why-america-
needs-a-technew-deal-to-build-back-better.
Without a concerted, whole-of-society effort, the Nation and these
industries will lose generational opportunities to advance these
sectors. The digital divide will continue to complicate matters for
populations without broadband access. \14\, \15\ These are the reasons
why the U.S. needs coordinated national, state, and local level
approaches to expediting skilling and job training for the broadband
workforce to avoid the slower rollout of the broad infrastructure goals
and the current shortage of available workers post-pandemic. \16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ Nicol Turner Lee, ``Bridging Digital Divides between Schools
and Communities,'' The Brookings Institution, March 2, 2020, https://
www.brookings.edu/research/bridging-digital-divides-between-schools-
and-communities
\15\ Harmeet Kaur, ``Why Rural Americans Are Having a Hard Time
Working from Home,'' CNN, April 29, 2020, https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/
29/us/rural-broadband-access-coronavirus-trnd/index.html.
\16\ Joseph Kane, ``Biden Needs to Create an Infrastructure Talent
Pipeline, Not Just More Jobs,'' The Avenue (blog), January 29, 2021,
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2021/01/29/biden-needs-to-
create-an-infrastructure-talent-pipeline-not-just-more-jobs.
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Jobs and the Broadband Workforce
In 2021, Brookings Center for Sustainable Development estimated
160,000 broadband job-years alone will be directly created from the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. \17\ Of these,
telecommunications equipment installers and repairers are projected to
require an additional 36,000 new positions to be filled (23 percent of
the total), with an additional 12,000 new positions created in other
installer and repairer roles (8 percent of the total). Particularly in
this set of critical initial-deployment positions, as it stands today,
there are not enough available trained workers to fill these in
broadband occupations--mirroring the huge vacancies in cybersecurity
jobs that also required a specialized approach to recruitment and
training. An added challenge in fulfilling broadband roles is the
geographic distribution of workers with these skills do not often match
locations where jobs are most needed, like rural areas that will be
laying fiber optics. \18\
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\17\ One job-year is equal to one job for 1 year. For example, ten
job-years could be 10 jobs for 1 year, or 1 job for 10 years.
\18\ Marcela Escobari Strauss Dhruv Gandhi, and Sebastian, ``How
Federal Infrastructure Investment Can Put America to Work,'' Brookings
(blog), March 17, 2021, https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-Federal-
infrastructure-investment-can-put-america-to-work.
Yet these 160,000 broadband jobs are the beginning count of the
human capital needed to advance the IIJA's broadband provisions.
Projections sourced from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
demonstrate that jobs directly created from new broadband funding will
make up only 25 percent of the total number of jobs created by these
moneys. Including indirect and induced jobs into the calculation
demonstrates that the $65 billion in broadband funding alone will
likely create 650,000 new job-years in the United States, including
84,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector. \19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ Robert Pollin and Shouvik Chakraborty, ``Job Creation
Estimates Through Proposed Economic Stimulus Measures'' (Political
Economy Research Institute: University of Massachusetts Amherst,
September 2020), https://peri.umass.edu/component/k2/item/1297-job-
creation-estimates-through-proposed-economic-stimulus-measures.
Previous Brookings research also backs these broadband-specific
assumptions. Indeed, the vast majority (77 percent) of workers in
infrastructure jobs are employed in the operation of physical assets,
rather than their construction or design. \20\ The 650,000 job-years
created by the IIJA's broadband funding provisions will be no
different: most of these infrastructure jobs are long-term careers in a
broad variety of roles, most of which are positions where ``you don't
have to wear a hard hat'' to carry out employment functions. \21\
Infrastructure jobs have also offered historically more competitive and
equitable wages--up to 30 percent higher than other industries--
particularly for low-income workers and those starting careers for the
first time. And in some instances, workers have collective bargaining
rights, especially for the roles embedded in the trades.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\ Joseph Kane and Robert Puentes, ``Beyond Shovel-Ready: The
Extent and Impact of U.S. Infrastructure Jobs,'' May 9, 2014, https://
www.brookings.edu/interactives/beyond-shovel-ready-the-extent-and-
impact-of-u-s-infrastructure-jobs.
\21\ Joseph Kane and Jack Mills, ``Harnessing the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act to Train the next Generation of Workers,'' The
Avenue (blog), February 23, 2022, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-
avenue/2022/02/23/harnessing-the-infrastructure-investment-and-jobs-
act-to-train-the-next-generation-of-workers.
For policymakers and stakeholders across Federal, state, and local
governments, this should be welcome news--but equitably getting workers
to the career ladder will undeniably pose challenges, especially for
women and people of color who are underrepresented across these jobs.
\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ Joseph Kane, ``Five Ways Regional Leaders Can Prepare Future
Infrastructure Workers Now,'' The Avenue (blog), September 16, 2021,
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2021/09/16/five-ways-
regional-leaders-can-prepare-future-infrastructure-workers-now.
While stakeholders should focus on a holistic view of broadband
jobs, of particular interest to my work are the new remote or hybrid
economic opportunities opened up in the technology sector to currently
unserved or underserved Americans. Powered by the ``Great Transition,''
these stable and good-paying 21st-century jobs rank fourth in projected
employment growth over the last year, and demand for emerging tech jobs
(including in AI and cloud development) have grown over 200 percent in
the past 5 years. Demand for these jobs is expected to continue in the
next decade, with a projected growth rate twice the national jobs rate.
\23\ Demand from employers for qualified tech employees is currently
outstripping the supply of qualified candidates, a clear sign of an
``ongoing labor supply problem.'' \24\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ CompTIA, ``State Of The Tech Workforce: Cyberstates 2022''
(Computing Technology Industry Association, March 2022), https://
www.cyberstates.org/pdf/CompTIA--Cyberstates--2022.pdf.
\24\ ``CompTIA Jobs Report: Tech Hiring Eases Amid Labor Supply
Constraints,'' My TechDecisions, March 4, 2022, https://
mytechdecisions.com/news-1/comptia-jobs-report-tech-hiring-eases-amid-
labor-supply constraints.
Thus, reskilling and upskilling for workers offers an opportunity
to fill the skills gap while maximizing the economic opportunities
offered by (and to) newly connected Americans. Recent research from
Jason Jabbari, Wenrui Huang, and Michal Grinstein-Weiss has empirically
demonstrated the success of a mixed non-traditional reskilling program
containing both education and apprenticeship elements. LaunchCode, a
St. Louis organization, offered flexible and no-cost part-time evening
programming for students interested in reskilling to tech-oriented
jobs. After passing a workforce readiness check by staff, participants
began paid, full-time apprenticeships, supplementing their learned
technical skills with soft skills in the workplace. Not only did this
program model lower barriers to participants, but it empirically
improved economic outcomes for participants who completed
apprenticeships, and increased the post-program odds of employment in
STEM fields by 12 percentage points. \25\ This combination of no-cost
education programs that enable equity through apprenticeship programs
and experiential soft skills training present promising models to
pursue in the future, and could be incorporated into other similarly
minded programs. \26\, \27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\25\ Jason Jabbari Grinstein-Weiss Wenrui Huang, and Michal,
``Apprenticeships Increase Employment, Earnings, and Optimism in the
Technology Sector,'' TechTank (blog), January 27, 2022, https://
www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2022/01/27/apprenticeships-increase-
employment-earnings-and-optimism-in-the-technology-sector.
\26\ ``Six Ways to Tackle the Cloud Skills Shortage'' (Deloitte),
accessed April 27, 2022, https://www..deloitte.com/us/en/pages/
consulting/articles/cloud-computing-skills-shortage.html.
\27\ ``Using Modern Apprenticeship to Reskill America'' (IWSI
America, February 1, 2019), https://www.iwsiamerica.org/itstime.
While the creation of tens of thousands of good-paying broadband
infrastructure jobs is a great start, IIJA moneys will also create
sizable second-order demand for jobs like data analysts, customer
service representatives, and more. These efforts to close the digital
divide should result in people and their communities being moved from
consumers to producers and innovators, who are prepared to accelerate
our Nation's global digital competitiveness.
Encouraging greater participation in the broadband workforce
To maximize the benefits of these IIJA investments, a holistic
approach encompassing multiple aspects of workforce development is
integral. To this, I have a few proposals to offer to the Committee:
(1) apply apprenticeship and credentialing programs in the IIJA to
provide development opportunities; (2) engage community colleges to
provide pathways to occupational skill reset; (3) create a Digital
Service Corps for new entrants; (4) increase pipeline investments for
youth programs to support the next generation; and (5) update
government labor statistics practices.
1. Apply apprenticeship and credentialing programs in the IIJA to
provide development opportunities.
Skilled jobs in fiber optic installation, data analytics, and
customer service provide livable wages and employment security for
workers. The number of positions in these fields will only continue to
grow as our Nation's broadband infrastructure continues to evolve,
especially in wireless or fiber jobs, or related security and network
management fields. Employing credentialing systems or adopting other
industry models for apprenticeships can be useful starting points. For
example, the DOL partnered with the White House and Department of
Transportation on a 90-Day Trucking Apprenticeship Challenge to
increase participants in the Registered Apprenticeship Model, and fill
the transit gaps due to increased demand. \28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\28\ U.S. Department of Labor, 90-Day Trucking Apprenticeship
Challenge, available through Apprenticeship.gov, 90-Day Trucking
Apprenticeship Challenge Apprenticeship.gov
Whereas the skillsets for some of the broadband jobs may require
more proficiency in logistics and installation (which do not require a
college degree), the creation of apprenticeship programs around
technology could have various worker incentives, like community-based
hiring, private sector sign-ons, or accelerated career tracks. Here is
also where the aforementioned $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act and $2
billion in tribal grants can support workforce development efforts, by
ensuring access to local technology in computer labs, or partnerships
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
between community-based organizations and workforce development boards.
Finally, existing Registered Apprenticeship models can help
motivate career opportunities. In 2012, DOL joined with the Wireless
Infrastructure Association and other industry partners to set up the
Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP),
the first Registered Apprenticeship Program in the telecommunications
industry that seeks to ``define career paths in a growing number of
critical occupations, including tower technicians, wireless
technicians, and utility workers, along with leads and foremen.'' \29\
Opportunities like these create valuable opportunities for retraining
and career growth, preparing workers for a workforce with growing
demands for workers in broadband and telecommunications. They should be
continuously supported and upgraded to keep up with the innovation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\29\ ``TIRAP: Helping Build Our Nation's Telecommunications
Workforce,'' TIRAP, accessed April 27, 2022, https://www.tirap.org.
In February 2021, the Biden administration called on the DOL to
reinstate the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships (ACA),
appointing a diverse set of stakeholders across industries and
educational institutions to establish and maintain a registered
apprenticeship program. \30\ Going forward, the ACA seeks to chart the
course in creating equitable access for workers to find their place in
the National Apprenticeship system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\30\ ``Fact Sheet: Biden Administration to Take Steps to Bolster
Registered Apprenticeships,'' The White House, February 17, 2021,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/
17/fact-sheet-biden-administration-to-take-steps-to-bolster-registered-
apprenticeships.
Overall, the White House, Federal and other local agencies, the
private sector, and community colleges recognize the importance of
apprenticeship and, in some instances, occupational credentialing
programs, to create pipelines of workers for infrastructure and related
support jobs. But to be effective, measurements to evaluate and track
the general progress and inclusivity of such programs must be employed,
in addition to evaluating the existing difficulties workers face in
accessing apprenticeship programs (e.g., transportation, safety
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
apparel, computers, etc).
2. Engage community colleges to provide pathways to occupational
skill resets.
Community colleges have always played an integral role in building
our workforce and bridging gaps between labor demand and skills
required. They are affordable and flexible means for those seeking to
acquire new skills or pivot into new careers. According to research by
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York evaluating community college
engagement with statewide employers, community colleges engage with
more than 100 employers across a range of sectors. \31\ Such employers
are involved in curriculum advisory committees and provide mentoring
support to students, seeking to help students find their place in the
local economy. Community colleges have played integral roles in
workforce retraining initiatives, taking for example the Automotive
Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative and the Wisconsin
Regional Industry Skills Education, Shifting Gear Initiative, and other
educational programs launched through partnerships with employers and
community colleges to reform adult education and integrate industry-
specific fields and skillsets into existing curriculums. \32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\31\ Jaison R Abel et al., ``Employer Engagement by Community
Colleges in New York State,'' November 2018, https://
www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/outreach-and-education/workforce-
development/nys-employer-engagement-community-colleges-report.pdf.
\32\ U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult
Education, ``Integrating Industry-Driven Competencies in Education and
Training Through Employer Engagement,'' Washington, DC, 2011
In the broadband sector, community colleges can bridge labor gaps
and train/retrain the future broadband workforce. Through the
facilitation of partnerships between community colleges and local
businesses in the forms of articulation and guaranteed work agreements,
the telecommunications and technology industries can ensure the
creation of a relevant curriculum based on the type of job or career,
incentives that motivate worker entry of diverse candidates, relocation
expenses, and even other individual and family supports, including
transportation vouchers, life insurance, and bilingual training. Like
with apprenticeships, evaluation data and analyses should ongoing to
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ensure that programs are effective and inclusive of all populations.
What is also important is that community colleges not be entirely
perceived as the gap between high school and a 4-year institution.
Their engagement in the fulfillment of the IIJA workforce needs must
position these opportunities as respectable, long-term, and with some
potential for promotion and/or further certifications.
3. Create a Digital Service Corps for new entrants.
In the 1930's, former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created
the New Deal, a series of projects to stabilize the market and improve
the country's economy, especially through infrastructure projects, such
as the Rural Electrification Administration and the Tennessee Valley
Authority which brought electricity to rural areas previously
unconnected to power grids. Meanwhile, job programs like the Works
Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps employed
millions of Americans to build schools, hospitals, roads, and other
improvements across the country. \33\ The New Deal programs played a
major role in reducing poverty and modernizing infrastructure during
the Great Depression. \34\
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\33\ ``Civilian Conservation Corps,'' HISTORY.com, accessed April
27, 2022, https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/civilian-
conservation-corps.
\34\ U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives.
``President Harry S. Truman's Fair Deal Proposal to a Joint Session of
Congress.'' Accessed April 27, 2021. https://history.house.gov/
Historical-Highlights/1901-1950/President-Harry-S--Truman-s-Fair-Deal-
proposal-to-a-Joint-Session-of-Congress.
In order to build and expand a broadband workforce that can meet
future workforce demands, Congress could immediately allocate funds to
the Corporation for National Service which is responsible for the
Nation's civic service workers. The agency could initiate a national
Digital Service Corps similar to the CCC, which would recruit paid
volunteers to assist in the adoption, utilization, and infrastructure
development. \35\ Digital Service Corps members could fill existing
gaps in the broadband workforce and help build out much-needed
infrastructure to advance broadband deployment. They could also earn
moneys while doing so, and engage in experiential learning around
digital assets from installing fiber optics to providing internet
training to seniors once the networks are built. Currently, there are
no mechanisms to drive the supply of broadband workers, and leveraging
the existing Federal agency can make employment in these emerging
industries part of the policy imperatives of the IIJA. A national
Digital Service Corps can also promote diversity, equity, and inclusion
by including marginalized workers, too.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\35\ AmeriCorps, accessed April 27, 2022 https://
www.americorps.gov.
4. Increase pipeline investments for youth programs to support the
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
next generation.
To ensure inclusion in our future broadband and technology
workforce, investments in youth programs and other education
initiatives are needed to improve the pipeline. Among White, Black,
Latino, tribal, and other vulnerable populations, the adverse impacts
of not being connected severely limit their prospects of gaining access
to new opportunities. When learning moved online, many K-12 students,
and those from community colleges, were not connected to the internet.
In fact, 34 percent of parents said their child encountered at least
one technology-related obstacle to completing schoolwork in time, with
27 percent having to do work on a cellphone,
16 percent without computer access, and 14 percent using public
WiFi. Among Black teens, 25 percent were unable to complete their
homework due to a lack of digital access compared to 4 percent of White
teens and 6 percent of Hispanic teens, while 24 percent of teens with
family income less than $30,000 struggled compared to 9 percent of
teens living in households earning $75,000 or more a year. \36\ Digital
disparities pose educational setbacks with long-term learning impacts,
and they leave many children on uneven footing, limiting their earning
potential going forward. According to a 2020 analysis of U.S. Census
Bureau data by McKinsey and Company, while online schooling may have
set white students between four to 8 months behind in math, students of
color may be six to 12 months behind. \37\ Such setbacks can cost
students $61,000 to $82,000 in lifetime earnings. Deprived of everyday
technology, many of these future workers are slated to struggle to
adapt to new coding skills and other aspects of technology work going
forward.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\36\ Katherine Schaeffer, ``What We Know about Online Learning and
the Homework Gap amid the Pandemic,'' Pew Research Center, accessed
April 27, 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/01/what-
we-know-about-online-learning-and-the-homework-gap-amid-the-pandemic/.
\37\ Emma Dorn et al., ``COVID-19 and Learning Loss--Disparities
Grow and Students Need Help'' (McKinsey and Company, December 8, 2020),
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-
insights/covid-19-and-learning-loss-disparities-grow-and-students-need-
help.
Pipeline investments in digital inclusion, device access, and
technology literacy are necessary to bridge the digital divide and
resolve such inequities, providing our future workforce with the
knowledge and access they need to access careers in broadband and tech.
The U.S. Department of Education should establish an Office of
Innovation in every school district with 21st-century occupational and
knowledge skills being presented to students. While schools have been
exemplary in bringing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)
academies, they are not teaching students the basics of fiber optics,
cloudware, and other necessary occupational lessons for students who
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
may not continue into higher education.
Challenge grants and other private sector partnerships could be
used to allocate resources to local projects. Lower-income and rural
schools must also be prioritized for such ingenuities since many
graduates may be charged to build their local infrastructures.
5. Update government labor statistics practices.
Right now, the U.S. does not fully know the first-and second-order
jobs that will be supported by the $65 billion broadband investment.
That is partly due to the current format and presentation of national
industry and occupational data in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
and the Census Bureau, which make it hard for all stakeholders to
determine the exact industries and locations where the growth is
happening, as well as the proportion of fully remote jobs created from
employers in different states.
To this end, the BLS should work with the Office of Management and
Budget to determine what, if any, improvements to the structure of
national employment data would be most useful to better capture where
and in what occupations broadband-induced economic growth is felt. In
the longer term, the Census Bureau should consider how best to capture
and present the scale, impact, and localized growth of the broadband
workforce from the data it collects in its 2023 and 2028 Economic
Censuses. This would be particularly useful in measuring the impact and
effectiveness of the moneys allocated in the infrastructure bill.
Finally, the DOL should develop and publish a broader taxonomy of
skills and occupations encompassed by the broadband workforce for
workers who are distanced from these emerging industries, or at least
fund local partners to help get the word out. A more specific and
immediate recommendation might be to add a banner and associated
webpage to the O*NET landing page highlighting the many different
career paths and desired occupational skills encompassed in the
broadband workforce.
Conclusion
Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and distinguished
Members of the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Subcommittee on
Employment and Workplace Safety, the issue at hand appears to be multi-
faceted and complicated, primarily because we have always focused on
the consumptive and not productive aspects of the digital economy. But
investing in our broadband workforce goes beyond the installation of
cell towers or fiber optic conduits. It is about investments in people
and their communities where quality access to existing and
futureproofed technologies and associated workforce development
programs will contribute to their--and our nation's--economic growth
and personal livelihoods--regardless of one's background and
educational achievements.
Thank you again to the Members of the Subcommittee on Employment
and Workplace Safety for the opportunity to testify, and I look forward
to your questions. I also want to thank Brookings researchers James
Seddon, Samantha Lai, and Mauricio Baker for their assistance in
preparing my statement.
______
Senator Hickenlooper. Wow. What a great introduction by all
of you. I really appreciate the breadth--just the breadth of
your experience as a group. So I will do the first set of
questions that I am going to have to run off to another, or I
have to testify at another meeting and then I will come back.
Senator Smith will look over things in my absence. I will just
say one last time also, concise answers are all better for you,
but better for all of us. We could start with Mr. Hendricks.
In broadband, as in so many other fields, we know that
apprenticeship is a proven model of success. So for many who
may not attend a 4-year college, it becomes the foundation for
a long, hopefully successful career. What can we do at the
Federal level to help with the recruitment efforts for both
interested apprentice--interested apprentices and employers?
Mr. Hendricks. At the Federal level, I would say we need to
support the Department of Education high schools to incentivize
the students to attend an apprenticeship. We need at least to
get the word out. How do we start a program or a project to
introduce high school students to apprenticeships? That is
where we need to start. We need to start on that ground floor.
If nothing else, at least get the word out. At least let
someone like myself go to the schools, talk to the counselors.
For many years, people like myself, training directors from
apprenticeships, the schools wanted nothing to do with us. So
how do we incentivize the high schools, the same as college
readiness, for apprenticeship readiness? Thank you.
Senator Hickenlooper. And so concise. Second, let me talk
to Dr. Turner Lee. Let me ask you a question. And I--as was
mentioned earlier, I think this is the beginning of the great
transition. This is going to go through--we are going through a
major transition on a lot of levels in this country, building
opportunities that are going to become the careers of the 21st
century.
I think broadband careers are going to be a big part of
that future of work, just like artificial intelligence or
advanced networking or computing. So, Dr. Turner Lee, what
types of careers in the broadband workforce are in the highest
demand right now? How can we best coordinate workforce
development at the Federal level to ensure that we have the
right broadband workers with the right skills so that we have
what we need in the future?
Ms. Turner Lee. Yes, thank you for that question. I mean, I
think what we are going to see in the broadband sector in terms
of jobs, I think it is already been indicated, will be these
construction like jobs where we are going to need people to
install fiber optics, maintain it, etcetera. I think the other
thing that we are going to see that we are not talking about,
many of these new networks are software based. It doesn't mean
that they are engineering based, but they are managed through
software systems like 5G, etcetera.
We are going to need candidates to understand that they
didn't have to be perfect in math to be able to manage software
applications that are running over networks. In addition to
that, there will be other jobs in customer service that will be
important as we actually schedule these types of installations,
so we manage customer expectations.
Then I would say that there are going to be people that
need to be on the indirect side of what these networks will
actually calibrate within local communities. That is why I
think it is important for us to have, as it has been mentioned,
like a taxonomy to share with high school students that do not
stop or hinder their expectations.
I also think the United States needs a national reskilling
campaign and initiative that involves the various tracks that
people can undertake. And I also don't want us to forget
adults, people who will need to transition as part of this that
may not be necessary part of the pipeline because they have
aged out, but they also need those opportunities for livable
wage, skilled jobs.
Senator Hickenlooper. The kids of all--kids of all ages, I
sometimes refer to them. I will turn to Mr. Holcomb and Mr.
Gillum. Obviously when we--to do this transition we are going
to--it is going to require collaboration and coordination
between workers and workforce training programs, employers. I
think all three have to work together to get us where we need
to go. And as we know, many small businesses don't have the
resources to train the workers in the skills they need.
That is part of why I am so proud to be working with
Senator Braun on the Partners Act to help small and medium
sized businesses with their training efforts. So Mr. Holcomb
and Mr. Gillum, can you discuss the importance of how you look
at high quality training programs for broadband workers that
you might be seeking to hire? Go ahead.
Mr. Gillum. Yes, we--obviously very important. We, where we
have a local, or not so local, a community college that we hire
a lot of kids with a install a repair technician type associate
degree from, they have migrated into it being a certificate of
just eliminating the math and English portions of the school,
to getting these kids out into our field to where they are
actually trained in fiber construction and installation.
The difficulty is the school is 3 hours away, and what we
have is we have hired several students from the college. And
they, after a year or so, they would want to return home
becoming homesick. So we started promoting within our local
high schools a scholarship opportunity for those local kids to
go and attend this college, and then with the mindset that they
will want to return to home and have a good paying job at
LightStream.
Senator Hickenlooper. Mr. Holcomb.
Mr. Holcomb. One of the things that we might be missing
here is the fact that this technology rolls over very quickly,
right. So a trained worker that might be 30 years old is
untrained at 33, if you don't continue to provide training and
guidance, and that is expensive. So when you look at the
differential of education and training expenses within the
company, because of this particular functional skill set, it
requires a lot more training, ongoing training, so that their
skills stay up.
In fact, many of the employees, they measure, the benefits
the company brings them by keeping their skills sharp. So
networks change over, software packages change over. It is a
constant evolution. So as we are not only working to attract
the new workforce, making sure that companies have the tools
and the equipment to be able to train the ongoing workforce is
a particularly interesting element to the problem we have.
Senator Hickenlooper. Great. Good answers, all of you.
Thank you so much. Now turn over to questions for Senator
Braun.
Senator Braun. Thank you, Senator. This is an interesting
discussion because generally there is a broader kind of opinion
on what is needed. And here I am hearing the same thing. We
need something happening that is going to be more instructive
from maybe not K through five, but at least middle school
through high school.
I think even if you want to extend it back further, that
emphasizes a point. So I would like to start trying to put some
flesh on the bones of this whole discussion. Mr. Gillum. Mr.
Holcomb, in your particular companies, can you talk about what
the percentage is between better polishing of skills and high
school, maybe a certificate, something other than a 4-year
degree, of the jobs that you have in your company?
What percentage would require one versus the other, and
maybe what that starting range of wages would be starting over,
say, 5 to 10 years into that career choice? Mr. Gillum, would
you start.
Mr. Gillum. Yes. I guess as a small rural broadband
provider in Buffalo, Indiana, the cost of living and so forth
isn't as a large city, and so----
Senator Braun. How many employees do you have?
Mr. Gillum. We have 25 employees.
Senator Braun. Okay.
Mr. Gillum. So we are in approximately seven installer
repair technicians. We are very rapidly deploying fiber optic.
Over the past few years, it has been a heavy hitting--a lot of
stuff, a lot of moving parts going on. So we have hired, none
of which have a 4-year degree, a lot of which have come from no
background of this technology.
The ones that we have hired, that have a sort of
certificate or an associate's degree from the community college
that I was speaking of, they are quicker to be released on
their own and go and troubleshoot and do five times faster than
the ones that come with little to no experience.
Senator Braun. So you had seven technicians. What about the
other 18 employees?
Mr. Gillum. CSRs. We have got marketing people,
salespeople, HR. Just a variety of----
Senator Braun. And do those necessarily require a 4-year
degree, or if you had better skills, life skills, general
skills coming out of high school, would you be able to train
them into a productive spot?
Mr. Gillum. Absolutely. In this industry, and I think I can
speak for everyone here, all of the software and hardware and
everything that we do is very proprietary. You are not going to
go to a 4-year school or a 2-year school and learn the software
that is needed to manage and maintain the--what we are
providing, the broadband that we are providing. That is all
very proprietary, and the only place that you are really going
to learn it is getting your hands on it within an organization.
Senator Braun. And roughly what would the starting wages to
a career wage be to give the public an idea, anybody listening
here, in terms of what you might aspire to?
Mr. Gillum. Yes, you are--I mean, you are from a starting
technician, you are looking at the $40,000 a year pay rate. And
then depending upon work ethic and opportunity of advancement
within the organization, you know, as myself, I was hired as an
IT manager, and now within 15 years, I am the President and CEO
of the organization.
Senator Braun. And some of those career wages, after you
are into it, 10 to 15 years, what would the range there be?
Mr. Gillum. You know, potentially $100,000 or more a year.
Senator Braun. I mean, that is not too far off from what
many 4 year degrees would give you in terms of a spectrum of
pay. Mr. Holcomb, you want to expound upon that or is that
similar to your----
Mr. Holcomb. Yes, Senator. So I would put the ratio at a
guess at about 10 to 1. So in other words, for every ten non-
degreed employees we need, we need one that primarily revolve
around critical infrastructure like core networks and very
complex type infrastructure.
Senator Braun. So to be clear, if you need ten with more of
a technical training versus one maybe with a 4-year degree?
Mr. Holcomb. Correct.
Senator Braun. That is a disconnect that higher education
needs to listen to, especially when you put the, you know, pay
range of what you might get starting versus career. Go ahead.
Mr. Holcomb. Right. I think the wages will start out in the
$50,000 range. Easily get to $80,000 or $90,000 with a very
skilled career technician. I think that the way that we are
approaching this to believe that a 4-year school is going to be
the solution, in fact, really isn't the case. Even with a 4-
year degree, as was mentioned with the proprietary system,
Cisco systems, those types of things.
The real training and education dollars need to be poured
into those companies that build these systems that we all use
so that they have more support so they can grow a workforce
that actually can operate the systems they build. Having more
funding available to companies like Tipmont to recognize that
the education and training costs, ongoing costs are very, very
significant as compared to many other jobs that are a little
more where the industry is more stable.
I would say 10 to 1 was pretty much, and the career
opportunities are very significant. And hopefully we can get
the word out much better than we have in the past.
Senator Braun. Thank you.
Senator Smith. Thank you. Thank you, Ranking Member Braun.
And I am going to defer to my colleague, Senator Rosen, because
I know she has several things she has to do this morning. So
please go forward, Senator Rosen.
Senator Rosen. Well, thank you, Chair Smith and Ranking
Member Braun, of course, to our witnesses for being here today.
And there are always a lot of hearings every morning, so we are
all going between competing hearing times. So I am going to
address a little bit about the apprenticeships in a minute
because workforce is really important, and a lot of changes
were brought on by the pandemic. And over the last 2 years it
has really reshaped the American workforce.
Workers left the workforce, they are now returning, and in
many cases, others decided to leave long time jobs to switch
career fields entirely. That is why I introduced the bipartisan
STEM Restart Act with Senator Hyde-Smith. Our bill would create
a new program at the Department of Labor to support mid-career
return ships in STEM, or those looking to transition into a
return to STEM workforce, particularly in the wake of COVID.
Mr. Hendricks how could expanding opportunities for return
ships, people in mid-career, or trying to upskill or reskill
themselves, specifically who support workers who may want to
transition--excuse me, from a non-STEM field into a STEM career
like cybersecurity or broadband.
Mr. Hendricks. Thank you, Senator. I would like to point
out that the average age of our apprentice is not the high
school student we have all been talking about. Our average age
is between 25 and 35. So these people are reskilling. They have
experienced a career, gained life skills, and discovered that
the career they are in is not for them. However, it is hard to
make that transition.
How are they going to access supportive services? What are
they going to do with their families and all this as they
attend the apprenticeship and as they work on the job? So that
help for them would be vital to bring them into this new
career. Thank you.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. And I want to move on a little
bit now talking more about workshop through apprenticeships,
because having just passed the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act, we know that hiring a skilled workforce is one of the
primary challenges of implementing this historic legislation.
To help address ongoing skilled workforce shortages,
earlier this year, I introduced the bipartisan Cyber Ready
Workforce Act with Senator Blackburn. Our bill would direct the
Department of Labor to award grants and to workforce
intermediaries to increase access to registered apprenticeship
program in cybersecurity that would lead to industry recognized
certification, preparing Americans for in-demand jobs,
including many that will be created by the new infrastructure
law that will help protect our critical infrastructure and our
data systems.
The registered apprenticeship model provides workers an
opportunity to earn while they learn and obtain a widely
recognized credential in their career field with little to no
debt. So, Mr. Hendrix, again, can you talk about how expanding
and building on proven models like registered apprenticeship
programs, how they can help us address and fill some of the
long term infrastructure workforce shortage, excuse me,
shortages we are facing, particularly, again, in cybersecurity
and broadband? And what can Congress do to use apprenticeships
to strategically address the talent pipeline issue?
Mr. Hendricks. Thank you, Senator, for the question. Our
apprenticeship is built. It is stable. The training is
available. We are ready right now to bring more people in and
train them in this area. We have the means. We have the
capability. All we need is the corresponding project to put
that person on.
I can recruit and I can bring people into the
apprenticeship all day long. However, if I don't have the
project right now to put them on, they receive the related
instruction, but not the hands on training to reinforce it. I
do believe the projects that you are talking about, all this
broadband infrastructure that we are going to build, should
demand the utilization of registered apprenticeships.
That is how we are going to get those people in, by having
a greater access and a greater capability for the
apprenticeship to put them on those projects.
Senator Rosen. Well, I agree with you there. I think it is
really important. And there is going to be more investment
because Congress is poised to make additional investments in
innovation and workforce development through the
competitiveness package that is soon going to begin the
conference process.
I am especially pleased that components of my bipartisan
Cyber Ready Workforce Act were included in the House COMPETES
Act provisions on my--excuse me, especially based on my
Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeship bill with Senator
Blackburn--Blackburn, excuse me.
Dr. Turner and then Mr. Hendricks again. Are there
specifics--oh, I have run out of time, so we will take these
off the record. What other specific provisions should we ensure
remain in the final conference version that would support
workforce development or apprenticeships, and specifically for
those looking to enter or grow in the broadband workforce? I
know you have been waiting. Thank you for deferring. We will
take those answers off the record.
Senator Smith. Thank you very much, Senator Rosen. We will
get those questions submitted to you so that you can respond to
them. That will be great. Ranking Member Braun, I really
appreciate this Committee hearing that you and Senator
Hickenlooper, or Chair Hickenlooper have put together. I don't
know about you, but when I was back in Minnesota last week, the
combined issues of the opportunity of building out our
infrastructure, and especially broadband infrastructure, with
the great need for workforce and workforce training, I heard
everyplace I went at home.
This is--and particularly hear it from students and young
people that are trying to figure out what the options are for
them. And as you say, Mr. Hendricks, you know, are not like
fully aware of what the opportunities are. And this is so
important for us to address, because we need these workers. We
cannot realize the economic potential of our Country and
individuals can't realize their own economic potential if we
can't figure this out.
I appreciate very much that it is a bipartisan, an issue of
great bipartisan interest here in the Senate. So it is great to
have this hearing. I want to focus in a little bit on rural
issues. And Mr. Hendricks and Mr. Gillum and Mr. Holcomb, I am
going to be addressing this question to you. So together, the
American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure law will
lay the fiber and make the connections that connect Americans
to jobs, to education, to health care, really to the world.
We need to make sure that these historic investments that
are getting out to states, hundreds of millions of dollars for
mapping and infrastructure and connectivity, that they are
deployed where they are going to have the greatest impact. And
similarly, I think we need to be training people in those
communities, in those rural communities, so that they are able
to do that work where they live.
Mr. Gillum, I am looking at you because I was smiling as
you were talking about how people go away to go to school, and
they get homesick. They want to be back where their families
are. And so I appreciate that.
Can you talk a little bit about how do we prioritize hiring
employees where training, you know--hiring employees that we
are trained in local apprenticeship programs or technical
colleges near where they live and trying to understand what we
can do to sort of encourage that workforce development in
community where we are deploying broadband, where people want
to stay.
Mr. Gillum.
[Technical problems]--sorry. Thank you very much, ma'am,
for the question. Back to this small community college, this
scholarship that we developed, it is only been around now, I
think, for 3 years. It was an idea. Again, we lost multiple
employees that had went back home to the 30 mile radius of
where this small college is. We know that we need local talent
to come back home.
With the scholarship we offer priority internships between
their potential 2 year degree. We try to accommodate. We go to
their local job fair and high school job fairs and guidance
counselors to help promote. The community college itself is
willing and ready to come and speak with the students and
counselors. So we are very excited for the opportunity.
Senator Smith. That is great. And Mr. Hendricks, do you
find that students in your apprenticeship programs want to stay
in their communities? And what have you seen about how we can
encourage that local workforce development?
Mr. Hendricks. Thank you, Senator. Yes, absolutely. They
want to stay close to home. Two weeks ago, I drove an hour from
Denver to a little speck on the map, called Elizabeth,
Colorado, to talk to five high school students about our
program.
Two of those students, their parents actually own an
electrical company, and their whole thought is to learn the
trade and then go back and take over this company from their
parents. And there was one young lady and one young man, and
that was their intent, they were going to take over the company
from their parents once they learned the trade. So they are
absolutely going home.
Our thoughts on all this as far as the apprenticeship, we
want to train them where they are. Years ago, we had students
up in the mountains, out on the plains, and we have developed a
remote training model, and this was way before COVID. We
experimented with this. We developed this to train them where
they are.
We are actually one step behind all of this broadband
building and infrastructure, because as it expands into those
areas, we are ready to train people where they are. Thank you.
Senator Smith. I think that the registered apprenticeship
programs are really the gold standard for workforce training,
with an excellent return on investment for both workers and for
businesses. And, you know, I just want--I note in your
testimony, you made a great point by posing this question, can
you imagine a citizen of the United States not knowing that you
could go to college, get a degree in a chosen field, and better
your life by doing so? It is simply unthinkable.
Yet that is the case with opportunities for registered
apprenticeship programs. So what else can we be doing at the
Federal level to be lifting up these apprenticeships and what
the kinds of--what this preparation and training can accomplish
for people? Mr. Hendricks, thank you.
Mr. Hendricks. Thank you, Senator. As I stated, we need
more exposure. We need to be put into the minds of people, and
we were talking about people transitioning. I would love to
have an office next to our local community college registrar's
office as those people are leaving college and deciding this is
not for them, and I could pull them right into my office and
say, look what I have for you.
That would be, I think, one of the greatest things I could
do for the apprenticeship. Now, that is not going to happen,
obviously. However, I think if we were to incentivize the high
schools to make people ready for registered apprenticeships the
way--the same way that we incentivize them to be college ready,
that is going to go a long way in introducing people to our
trade.
Senator Smith. Yes. Thank you. Dr. Lee, would you like to
add anything to this discussion? I know you have thought a lot
about this as well.
Ms. Turner Lee. Yes. No, thank you, Senator. I want to just
add to what has already been said, the need for the supportive
services.
Obviously, having transportation vouchers, ensuring that
there is some type of tuition offset, as we have heard in the
scholarship program, making sure that we are also being
culturally efficacious when it comes to getting populations
that have not seen the type of career path of interest,
ensuring that we have, you know, approaches in bilingual
pamphlets or narratives for folks to actually get involved
with.
I want to agree with the other colleagues that the
apprenticeship model has historically been a success for the
U.S. The challenge is people need help getting to some of the
programs. So we have got to increase the social services and
support services.
Senator Smith. Thank you. Ranking Member Braun, do you have
another round of questions?
Senator Braun. I do.
Senator Smith. Very good.
Senator Braun. Thank you. Mr. Hendricks, I asked Mr. Gillum
and Holcomb earlier, because I think it is important that you
put the particulars out there--so through your apprentice
approach, No. 1, you said no debt. I think that resonates more
loudly than almost anything good for especially parents that
have, you know, been misguided along with their kids along the
way and end up with debt and maybe nothing to show for it.
Why don't you explain what that range of starting wage
would be, pay, through career and maybe the benefits that go
along with it? I think that is what the public needs to hear
because the numbers that I heard earlier would be associated
mostly with 4 year degrees. Go ahead, can you expand on that?
Mr. Hendricks. Absolutely. Thank you, Senator. We have two
programs in our apprenticeship. One for the electrician, one
for the low voltage technician. And since we are talking about
the broadband arena, I will focus on the low voltage
technician. Their starting wage is nearly $16 an hour, so they
are making $32,000 a year on the check. Their benefits are
another $9 an hour to start.
We are talking an $80,000 job out of the gate. Day one, on
the job. A technician can earn up to, as the turnout and become
journey workers, they can earn well over $50,000 on the check
and another $12 in benefits. So we are talking over $100,000
job in 4 years. I don't know if you can find a college degree
where you can start at $60,000 and go to $100,000 in 4 years.
Senator Braun. I think that message that you just have
given us, and what Mr. Gillum and Holcomb talked about, that
needs to resonate because it is not only in broadband, it is
across the rest of the spectrum. I remember back when I was in
our state legislature, 60,000 to 80000 jobs out there, high
demand, high wage carried those same characteristics, and the
main barrier was that you were not given an honest kind of
discussion about it, especially early on in middle school and
especially before you hit the ground running in high school.
Dr. Lee, I was reading your kind of affirmation of what I
just said. I like from your think tank, your studies. Is this
broader than just broadband when it comes to what we need to do
to revolutionize a better guidance, a better education for our
kids, in light of the fact that we are wrestling with $1.6
trillion in student debt?
Ms. Turner Lee. You know, I love that question for a
variety of reasons, Senator. One, because I think that there is
this opportunity of transferable skills. So what I like about
this panel is that I am probably the only broadband geek
sitting in the square center of it. But you do need
electricians and you need other types of occupations that are
going through apprenticeship programs that will apply to
broadband infrastructure.
But more importantly, to your question, one of the things
that we do have with this $1.2 trillion investment is we have
incentive for demand and supply and demand. And I think we will
miss opportunities, for example, of states don't think about
ways in which they can incentivize a workforce, contribute to
some of the education initiatives that you have discussed, find
ways to promote apprenticeships because you are going to have
to build the architecture within their local communities.
We need companies like Mr. Holcomb's to have more than 25
employees to do so. And so the more that we can incentivize and
use this body of money as a way to encourage the workforce, I
think we will have better results in the end. And that goes
back to, I think, something you said and the Ranking Member--
the Chairman, which is strategic and calibrated.
Senator Braun. And the other point I am hearing, too, this
isn't complicated. It is simply getting businesses involved to
where they are going to do things like Toyota has done down in
Southern Indiana, close connections with the local school
districts. Begs the question here too, not only the $1.6
trillion in debt that we have amassed, but the fact that we are
heavily in debt as a Federal Government.
A lot of this can be done at the grassroots level and
hardly cost anything. And even to the opposite effect, have a
return on investment with very little other than a
recalculation, a reorientation. And those are the things that
excite me, because so often you get grandiose plans that come
from here that you have trouble paying for, currently borrowing
money to spend it, and this is within our grasp at the
grassroots level.
That concludes questions that I have, and I really enjoyed
the conversation with all of you.
Senator Smith. Thank you very much, Senator Braun. I have
one last question. And then pending whether Senator
Hickenlooper comes back or not, I will adjourn the hearing. And
my question has to do with the following, what we need to do to
get, you know, outreach into people earlier in their
educational careers. And it makes me think about a bill that I
have with Senator Graham, which is called the Youth Workforce
Readiness Act.
What our bill would do is to pull in afterschool providers,
like, for example, boys and girls clubs, to help young people
connect with employers early on for the purposes of job
training and internships, career exploration, and registered
apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeship programs to get the gears
turning for young folks as they are trying to decide what
direction they want to go and not waiting until they are
already on a track that isn't--doesn't work for them. So I just
want to pose the question to the panel.
Would anyone like to comment on how important you think it
is to take this kind of an earlier approach for workforce
programs starting at younger ages?
Mr. Holcomb. Thank you, Senator. It is a local effort for
my Tipmont/Wintek. So we have a strong, ongoing relationship
with Ivy Tech. I think the community colleges are absolutely a
key to this, addressing this issue. We work with their
professors. They give us a pipeline. We help keep them up to
date on, you know, where the curriculum is going. We work with
regional leaders in the community, with youth programs.
We have a STEM project that we are starting with the
Catholic schools to help kind of build awareness of these types
of things. So we are kind of taking the approach that we got to
build the pipeline early and we got to go do it ourselves with
outreach, and that is how we do that. It has been very
successful in that regard, but it has been very much a
localized effort.
Senator Smith. Thank you.
Mr. Gillum. Exactly right for us. We are very, very
involved with our local community from hosting local junior
board meetings in our facility, educating those students at
those board meetings on exactly what LightStream is and does,
to providing during the pandemic and currently free Wi-Fi
throughout the city and city park so students could go and do
their homework if they didn't have access to the high speed
internet. We are heavily involved in sponsoring athletic
programs to prom after parties----
Senator Smith. I understand.
[Laughter.]
Senator Smith. It is all about building relationships.
Mr. Gillum. That is exactly right. That is exactly right.
And myself and all the employees included that. You know, we
try to interject and involve ourselves with the community and
we see them at church. We see them at the school, we see them
at dinner, and it is very important to us. I think also kind of
on the subject as we talk to you, you know, as things pop into
your mind, is there starting to release or come up with the
playing of the BEAD program for--sorry, $42.5 billion.
I really strongly believe that there should be some
educational applications within those grant opportunities that
to help further educate. You know, as we--as bandwidth needs
increase, so does the technology, then providing that
bandwidth. And along with new technology comes new training.
And as we are talking about existing employees and furthering
that education, I think it is very important and I think it
should be part of some of that money.
Senator Smith. Thank you very much.
Ms. Turner Lee. And if I can add, I want to just followup
on that. I mean, as the BEAD money is being distributed as part
of the broadband infrastructure portion of the infrastructure
bill, I think that we need to embed workforce training into if
not the deployment side of it, but we do have the $2 billion in
digital equity. So where we are funding local intermediary--
local organizations to actually assist with this, as well as
workforce intermediaries who have the responsibility to ensure
that they are providing access to 21st century skills, not just
perhaps pushing a broom or doing other occupational skills that
aren't as important.
I would just say one last thing, too. I think at the heart
of this as well, particularly in rural communities, is closing
the digital divide. The more that we can think about the
pairing of the money that is invested in infrastructure, that
is why I promoted a digital service corp, with what we are
trying to do locally with people, changing their trajectory in
life, they have to go hand in hand. People can't do what they
can't see, experience, or imagine.
Senator Smith. Thank you very much. That will conclude our
hearing today. I would like to thank my colleagues and our
witnesses for your participation. For any Senators who wish to
ask additional questions, questions for the record will be due
in ten business days by May 17th at 5 p.m..
The Committee will next meet on Tuesday, May 10th, for a
hearing on the nomination of Kalpana Kotagal to be a member of
the EEOC.
The Committee stands adjourned.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Jonathan Adelstein, President and CEO, Wireless Infrastructure
Association
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) is the
principal organization representing the companies that build,
develop, own, and operate wireless facilities in the U.S. and
throughout the world. Our members include infrastructure
providers, wireless carriers, equipment manufacturers, and
professional services firms. Our mission is to enable wireless
broadband access everywhere.
WIA shares Congress' goal of closing the digital divide to
ensure economic, educational, and health opportunity for all
Americans, including rural and underserved populations. To
achieve this goal, though, the U.S. needs a properly trained
workforce ready to deploy broadband. Currently, neither a large
enough nor a fully trained workforce is available to meet the
demand for the massive future broadband buildout ahead of us
that Congress envisioned. I commend this Committee for its
focus on developing the broadband workforce and the wireless
industry stands ready to assist you to build that workforce so
that the U.S. can continue to lead the world in wireless
innovation.
The telecommunications industry, like most other
industries, is already seeing a shortage of workers to meet the
demand for broadband network buildout. The recently enacted
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included historic
funding for broadband deployment and will make the workforce
shortage even more acute. This major new Federal investment in
broadband infrastructure will create hundreds of thousands of
new jobs, increasing demand on the already short supply of
skilled and diverse workers. To increase the efficiency and
success of this Federal funding, a corresponding initiative is
needed to develop the broadband workforce through support for
registered apprenticeships and the educational system.
Apprenticeship is an essential way to expand the broadband
workforce to speed the deployment of high-speed internet.
The Department of Labor has done great recent work in
supporting a pipeline of skilled broadband workforce through
apprenticeships, yet more Federal investment and focus are
needed. Of the more than $850 million in Department of Labor
grants for apprenticeship, less than 1 percent has gone to
support broadband or the telecommunications workforce. Current
broadband buildout had already created 106,000 direct jobs in
installation and engineering. At the current rate of
deployment, there will be 500,000 more new direct broadband
jobs through 2025.
The workforce training effort is designed to diversify the
workforce with high-wage, upwardly mobile jobs of the future.
It can jumpstart careers for underserved populations in an
industry evenly spread across the U.S. and provide new career
paths for those that lost jobs during the pandemic. Congress
needs to continue to invest in developing a skilled broadband
workforce by funding telecommunications and broadband
registered apprenticeship through the Department of Labor.
President Biden has called on Congress to invest even more in
workforce development, including apprenticeships.
We applaud the interagency efforts recognizing that
workforce development and economic development are intertwined.
The Administration should be lauded for funding innovative
programs, with EDA's Good Jobs Challenge as an example of this
kind of program. The Good Jobs Challenge is a great opportunity
to invest and support the broadband workforce. We urge Congress
and the Administration to fund impactful projects that will
rapidly expand education and workforce development, with
wireless and broadband being a high priority.
Wireless jobs are different than other jobs because they
create jobs in other industries throughout the economy. Each
direct wireless job results in a total employment multiplier
effect of 7.7x, which is far ahead of other sectors, such as
full-service restaurants at 1.5x, and hardware manufacturing at
3.9x. Each $1 of the wireless industry's direct GDP
contribution results in $3.20 of total GDP impact across the
American economy.
WIA is leading the way in broadband workforce development.
Notably, WIA is the National Sponsor of the Telecommunications
Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), a
Department of Labor registered program and the leading
apprenticeship program in the wireless industry. Since 2017,
WIA has administered National Standards of Apprenticeship along
with the Department of Labor for approved occupations
established under the program. Graduates receive a national,
industry-recognized credentials that certify occupational
proficiency and provides opportunities for career advancement.
WIA supports employers in promoting consistency and uniformity
in training across occupations to improve the safety and
quality of the wireless workforce. WIA works closely with the
Department of Labor and appreciates their support for TIRAP and
workforce development.
In 2020, WIA received a 5-year grant from the Department of
Labor to expand TIRAP, with a commitment of 5,500 new
apprentices. In addition, the Department of Labor named WIA as
the only industry intermediary for registered apprenticeship
for the telecommunications industry, with a focus on
underrepresented populations, including veterans, women, and
people of color. TIRAP currently has registered 11 critical
occupations, including cell tower installation, radio frequency
technicians, utilities technicians, leads, and supervisors.
In addition to TIRAP, WIA is working with institutions of
higher education across the country to develop and expand
telecommunications programs, build curriculum, and train
students and jobseekers for high-growth careers. WIA is working
actively with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and
a broad network of Career and Technical Education programs
focused on raising awareness of wireless careers, fostering
training, and attaining diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Currently, working with our partner organization the Power
and Communication Contractors Association, WIA has five
community and technical college pre-apprentice partners. These
five institutions are: Monroe County Community College
(Michigan), Somerset Community College (Kentucky), State
Technical College of Missouri, Terra State Community College
(Ohio), and Northwood Technical College (Wisconsin). If there
are institutions in your state that would make good partners
for a pre-apprentice program, please let WIA know. Our goal is
to create these programs across the country.
Thank you again for your focus on these important issues.
There is undoubtedly more work ahead, and we look forward to
partnering with this Committee to build a diverse and properly
trained broadband workforce to advance the connectivity that
has become so essential in all our lives.
------
Independent Electrical Contractors
Arlington, VA 22206
May 2, 2022
Hon. John Hickenlooper, Chairman,
Hon. Mike Braun, Ranking Member,
Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety,
United States Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Hickenlooper, Ranking Member Braun, and
Subcommittee Members:
The Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) welcomes the
efforts of the Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
to address workforce issues as it relates to construction and
installation of broadband technology and appreciates the
opportunity to provide comment. Given the impact of the COVID-
19 pandemic, IEC believes the Federal Government must play a
more significant role in supporting individuals seeking skills
that will lead to new careers in fields like electrical
contracting.
Established in 1957, Independent Electrical Contractors is
a trade association representing over 3,600 members with more
than 52 chapters and training centers nationwide. Headquartered
in Arlington, VA., IEC is the Nation's premier trade
association representing America's independent electrical and
systems contractors. IEC National aggressively works with the
industry to establish a competitive environment for the merit
shop--a philosophy that promotes the concept of free
enterprise, open competition, and economic opportunity for all.
IEC is uniquely situated to comment on Federal policies
aimed at helping to address the industry's workforce shortages.
For decades, IEC has been at the forefront of the industry
providing highly skilled electricians through its registered
apprenticeship program. An IEC apprentice is able to earn while
they learn, incurs little to no debt and enters into a well-
paying job upon graduation. According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS), the median salary for an electrician in 2021
was $60,040. In addition to being certified by DOL's Office of
Apprenticeship and 38 State Apprenticeship Councils, the
American Council on Education (ACE) has recommended that
students that graduate the IEC apprenticeship program be
eligible for up to 46 semester hours of college credit. IEC is
also a member of DOL's Registered Apprenticeship--College
Consortium (RACC), a national network of postsecondary
institutions, employers, unions and associations working to
create opportunities for apprentice graduates who may want to
further enhance their skills by completing an associate's or
bachelor's degree. RACC members have their programs evaluated
by a third-party organization to determine the college credit
value of the apprenticeship completion certificate. During the
2021-2022 school year, IEC's merit shop contractors and
chapters will educate over 14,000 electrical apprentices across
the country.
According to the 2022 Construction Hiring and Business
Outlook report by the Associated General Contractors of
America, 83 percent of construction businesses are having
difficulty finding qualified skilled labor to fill open
positions. This corresponds with IEC's merit shop electrical
contractors' frustration to recruit qualified individuals to
fill openings as journeyworkers or apprentices.
Congress can play a key role in assisting the construction
industry with the shortage it continues to face by enacting
prudent public policy and funding programs that grow the number
of individuals that ultimately enter the industry. Below are a
few suggestions the Subcommittee may want to consider as it
continues to craft proposals to address the industry's
workforce shortages.
Apprenticeship Funding
In recent years, policymakers have focused primarily on
providing funding to non-traditional or new apprenticeship
programs. Given that research shows that for every $1 invested
in apprenticeships leads to a public return of approximately
$28 in benefits, Congress should consider apprenticeship
funding as one of the best investments it can make for all
types of programs, including existing programs in the
construction industry. By devoting more resources to all
apprenticeship programs through tax incentives or additional
grant funding, Congress would not only help the industry
address its shortage, but also prove to be one the most
efficient uses of taxpayer dollars.
Career and Technical Education (CTE)--Perkins
CTE programs have proven to be one of the most effective
ways to expose students to construction and a career in the
skilled trades. Unfortunately, it is very expensive to
administer CTE programs given the nature of the classrooms,
equipment, and instructors necessary to operate them
effectively. IEC would recommend Congress double the funding
for CTE programs to help expand programs already in place and
establish programs where none currently exist.
Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA)
WIOA can play an even bigger role than it already does in
addressing the shortages the skilled trades. This can be
accomplished by placing a greater emphasis on job training that
will help individuals secure careers in industries like
construction. By increasing WIOA funding, Congress will help
more underemployed adults obtain a more secure career while at
the same time reduce the burden on Federal Government and its
safety net programs.
Project Labor Agreements (PLAs)
IEC urges Congress to reject discriminatory project labor
agreement (PLAs) policies implemented by the Biden
administration that inhibit the ability for the merit shop to
grow its workforce in partnership with the Federal Government.
President Biden recently signed Executive Order 14063, which
requires PLAs on Federal contracts of $35 million or more
funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
The U.S. Department of the Treasury then released its Final
Rule for the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program
enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, which
encourages state and local government that apply for funds to
use PLAs. Both include funding for broadband construction
projects.
Aside from discriminating against merit shop contractors by
requiring companies to agree to recognize unions as the
representatives of their employees on that job and use the
union hiring hall to obtain workers, PLAs are anti-competitive
and increase cost to taxpayers by 12 percent to 20 percent.
They also discriminate against over 87 percent of the
construction workforce that freely chooses to not be part of a
union. If Congress is serious about growing the workforce
within the skilled trades, IEC would ask that it support
policies that enables the majority of individuals in the
skilled trades to work with the Federal Government and help
grow our Nation's broadband workforce and infrastructure.
IEC appreciates the Subcommittee's efforts to address the
construction industry's workforce issues and as it grows our
Country's broadband network. As the Nation continues to recover
from the COVID-19 pandemic, displaced workers are going to be
seeking new opportunities and new careers. IEC's merit shop
electrical contractors stand ready to work with Congress to
craft policies to address these workforce challenges and help
put the country's economy back on track and prosper in the
years to come. Should you have any questions, feel free to
contact me at [email protected] or (703) 650-0054.
Sincerely,
Jason E. Todd,
Vice President,
Government Affairs.
------
[Whereupon, at 10:45 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
[all]