Leading Cable’s Continuum for Training
By Robin Fenton
Broadband continues to grow, requiring new services and more bandwidth. Service providers are investing a large amount of capital in upgrades and expansions to keep up with demand, throughout North America and across the globe. And government stimulus programs are also attempting to fund the spike in needed technological infrastructure to support the exponential increase. A fully-trained workforce is needed to power the tidal wave of demand for connectivity.
Supporting the explosive growth of broadband throughout the pandemic, the Society for Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE®), a subsidiary of CableLabs®, has experienced a surge in courses, completion rates and certifications. The not-for-profit member organization continues to lead the industry in providing workforce training for every phase of one’s telecom career.
Looking at 2021 increases, SCTE saw 15 percent more training sessions completed and 22 percent more learners enrolled. Certifications grew by more than 10 percent from 2020, but by almost 80 percent from 2019 results!
The interest in broadband is certainly booming, as the rising volume in ANSI-accredited standards certification illustrates. SCTE certifications help ensure that organizations have the skills to build next generation networks that seize today’s massive broadband opportunity. Developed in conjunction with industry experts representing the most successful service providers around the world, these certifications embody what network operators truly want — workers with a depth of knowledge and practical expertise that is unmatched. That translates into faster rollouts, fewer issues, higher growth and better profit margins.
Top five SCTE certifications completed in 2021
- Instalador de Banda Ancha a Domicilio (BPI Spanish)
- Broadband Premises Installer v2.0
- Broadband Distribution Specialist
- Broadband Transport Specialist
- Broadband TelecomCenter Specialist
Mega interest in microlessons
The double-digit growth experienced across the board in training sessions and certifications was eclipsed by MicroLesson completion, which more than doubled year over year. Fifty different MicroLessons were consumed in 2020, which increased to a menu of 60 in 2021 with 22 percent more learners accessing them.
Available exclusively to SCTE members, these short, focused learning segments provide just-in-time training. Available on multiple devices, MicroLessons are easily accessible and can quickly expand knowledge of a technology, process or program, or serve as a technical refresher which can immediately be applied to a job or project. MicroLessons are intended are designed to aid an individual’s development and/or help prepare them for SCTE certification.
Some of the most popular MicroLessons of the past year include several introductory lessons from the “What is…?” series, including an alphabet soup of topics such as EPON, DOCSIS 3.1, OFDMA, 5G, Remote PHY, LTE and Fiber Deep.
Desperately seeking sims
As part of its interactive, multisensory training experience for today’s cable technical workforce, SCTE also provides real life experiences in 3D-simulated environments that bridge the gap between eBook knowledge and actual application. Workers eagerly took advantage of the 25 percent more simulations available in 2021, with the variety of different NetworkSims® increasing to 50 titles. From troubleshooting a triple play installation to performing an emergency fiber restoration, learners solved issues in simulation by the droves to prepare for on-the-job applications.
Additionally as part of the CORTEX® VirtuLearn platform, learners are getting a clear and concise overview of course content to prepare their minds for training with LightningMods™ in as little as 10 minutes. eBooks provide in-depth content presented at a pace that suits learners and provides them with knowledge of how and why. And correlating patented games improve knowledge absorption and retention.
Level up your cable career
Delivering access to elite online courses, certifications, best practices, and standards to educate the workforce of the future, SCTE has been leading the cable telecommunication industry in standards and training for more than 50 years. Regardless of where a worker is on their journey as a cable professional, SCTE can help them elevate their skills and level up in their career.
Thousands of professionals have earned SCTE certifications thanks to the myriad of training opportunities available. Course offerings are even organized into Learning Journeys that focus on industry-specific areas of expertise. Each journey is divided into three levels, from fundamental courses, providing the required foundational knowledge and principles of a selected topic area, through advanced and then expert courses, providing veteran employees with more advanced techniques and skills, along with the theories associated with them.
SCTE also has established educational partnerships with a growing number of colleges and universities including Dartmouth Cornell, Georgia Tech and Tuck. Most recently, we expanded our partnership with Fort Hays State University to create an Associate Degree program for professionals working in the telecom industry. Through a combination of courses from both Fort Hays and SCTE, learners can earn an Associate of General Studies degree with an emphasis on Computer Networking & Telecommunications. SCTE online courses count toward the associate degree that can be completed through FHSU Online.
Coming soon
Understanding the technologies supporting today’s cable telecommunications architecture is critical to making informed business decisions, thus maximizing an organization’s potential. SCTE will soon be adding to their understanding series, Understanding Fiber Technology. This new online course, similar to our Understanding Cable Technology course, will help learners understand the basics of the fiber to the X (FTTx) architecture and how it is used to deliver services to the customer.
Also coming soon is the IP’s: Impact on Cable Networks online course, which provides all the details on the capabilities of IP and the role it plays in the cable network management process, the rollout aspects of IPv6 implementation, DOCSIS integration, configuration, provisioning and troubleshooting the network components, and the impact on the cable network.
Finally, the new Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) online course will help learners understand the delivery methods used by operators, along with the digital compression techniques used to optimize bandwidth efficiency in the network.
Perks of the right training partner
The FCC formed the Telecommunications Workforce Interagency Group to address the workforce needs of the telecom industry, as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and will submit a report to Congress with recommendations on how to address labor challenges. In the meantime, learning and development teams are scurrying to train the current workforce.
To assist with learning and development (L&D), organizations need a credible partner that has a global view of a technology empowered by thousands of connections throughout the industry. At SCTE, we have conversations with operators to discover pain points, identify issues and confirm operational goals and objectives, so we can collaborate and align training strategy to upskill the workforce of the future. Avail yourself to an international society of engineers with the experience to strategically construct a comprehensive curriculum with industry stakeholders in a collaborative relationship.
We work with industry leadership to solve real-world challenges. Curriculums are based on current job roles, specific job tasks, and required practical behaviors to empower future technologies.
Robin Fenton,
Vice President, Membership & Learning Operations,
SCTE®, a subsidiary of CableLabs®
Robin Fenton is the vice president of membership and learning operations at SCTE®, a subsidiary of CableLabs® and the nonprofit member organization leading the acceleration and deployment of cable telecommunications technology. Fenton’s team develops and facilitates industry certifications and training courses for professionals at all levels of the cable industry.
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