FCC's Telecom Interagency Working Group Releases Report on Workforce Needs

Telecommunications infrastructure will be built, operated, maintained, and upgraded over time by a well-trained, highly skilled, workforce of broadband industry professionals—tower climbers and technicians, fiber optic technicians and fiber splicers, RF engineers, overhead and underground utility installers, small cell technicians, trencher and heavy equipment operators, and many others. In recognition of the importance of recruiting and retaining workers for the high-quality jobs created in the telecommunications industry, Congress directed Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, in partnership with Secretary of Labor, Martin J. Walsh, to establish the Telecommunications Interagency Working Group to develop recommendations to address the workforce needs of the telecommunications industry, including the safety of that workforce. The Working Group recently released its report on how to address the workforce needs of telecommunications employees.