WASHINGTON – The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) today published its Workforce Development Guidebook—a comprehensive resource for state broadband offices (SBOs), state and local workforce/economic development boards, and other equivalent agencies as they formulate their workforce development strategy for the NTIA's $42.45B Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

The sudden and historic influx of public funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and BEAD Program will spur an unprecedented amount of construction activity and create a nationwide demand for skilled labor far beyond what the current workforce can support. FBA's Workforce Development Guidebook notes that, according to the government's calculations, 150,000 telecom jobs will be created by BEAD, while research by the Fiber Broadband Association estimates the industry will need over 205,000 new jobs in the next five years to construct, operate, and maintain these new networks in every state.

In anticipation of labor shortages, NTIA included workforce planning requirements in its Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), forcing states to consider on the front end how to ensure enough high-skilled workers are available to deliver funded projects. NTIA outlines key components of a workforce plan that states must consider and respond to in their Five-Year Action Plans, including training and workforce development activities, skilled workforce activities, labor and employment laws, and contracting requirements. While those components are instrumental to creating a prosperous workforce ecosystem, FBA's Workforce Development Guidebook primarily focuses on training and upskilling activities. It provides context on the telecommunications landscape, broadband workforce development, and practical guidance on how to craft and deploy an effective workforce development strategy.

The Fiber Broadband Association will present highlights from the Workforce Development Guidebook in a webinar on May 18, 2023, at 1:00 pm EDT. Registration information can be found here.

Read the full press release here.

Fiber Broadband Association