Wireless Infrastructure Associaton Partners with HBCUs to Connect Minority Communities with Careers in Broadband

As a national leader in developing the broadband workforce, the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) is proud to announce it has launched a new Connecting Minority Communities Apprenticeship Consortium (CMCAC) with three HBCUs: Central State University, Tennessee State University, and Virginia State University. Apprenticeships are a proven model for building a diverse and highly skilled workforce to meet the demands of broadband and 5G buildout. WIA established CMCAC with its HBCU partners to sustain and expand workforce partnerships between industry, education, and government with the goal of creating and promoting accessible apprenticeship opportunities that allow the students HBCUs serve to earn while they learn. CMCAC members are committed to these focus areas:

1. Accelerate and strengthen the HBCUs’ capacity to develop and maintain sustainable apprenticeship programs for students, alumni, and surrounding communities.
2. Establish an apprenticeship development process of shared resources within the CMCAC network members to enable universities and the region to produce more highly qualified apprentices for high paying jobs in broadband.
3. Strengthen apprenticeship awareness within all academic departments and programs involving STEM and increase the number of STEM health sciences, business, and other students interested in apprenticeships within the broadband industry and government sectors.
4. Increase the number of apprenticeship placements each year and the number of industry partnerships where demand exceeds available qualified labor sources.
5. Collect and share information and resources across institutional boundaries.