Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

The U.S. jobs market remains hot—“overheated” in the words of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Simply, the demand for workers far exceeds the supply. With billions of dollars in investment coming to improve America's infrastructure, will we have trained workers in place to build the broadband networks of the 21st century? Here's what is in the works to ensure we do. The telecommunications industry, and particularly the wireless segment, has been warning of impending labor shortages for several years. More recently, fixed-broadband providers have flagged labor shortages as a key challenge as they press ahead with large-scale network expansion efforts. The influx of federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—as well as state, local, and private investments—is expected to exacerbate the situation as more players compete for finite resources. In February 2022, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said broadband funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act alone is expected to create between 100,000 and 200,000 jobs. To help fill those positions, she said, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is allowing states to use their Broadband, Equity, Access & Deployment Program (BEAD) money to do apprenticeships, job training, and recruiting.