News
A new pre-apprenticeship program for broadband industry careers has launched at Youngstown State University in Ohio.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
An expanded partnership has led to the establishment of a pre-apprenticeship broadband training program at Youngstown State University, giving a direct employment pathway to the industry for graduates.
The existing partnership, “powered by the Wireless Infrastructure Association,” has attempted to connect graduates with careers in telecommunications.
Adding a pre-apprenticeship program for broadband careers will now provide “ongoing workforce development opportunities for graduates,” an April release from the university stated.
The new program will also provide direct employment pathways, according to the school.
Lindsey Ekstrand, a director of workforce education programs for the university, stressed the importance of pre-apprenticeship programs in comments included with YSU’s announcement.
She called them “a proven way to create accessible career paths within high-demand fields such as the broadband industry.”
The partnership, developed within YSU’s STEM Workforce Education and Innovation program, also provides benefits to the university, according to Ekstrand.
She said the new pre-apprenticeship program “builds upon the solid foundation of telecom and broadband trainings” developed within the program.
According to Ekstrand, the partnership is also making YSU ” a growing center for next-gen broadband career development.”
Patrick Halley, the president and CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, also offered comment.
Halley said YSU “is leading the way in Ohio, and nationally, in developing industry-driven workforce training programs.”
“By creating a new program aligned to WIA’s Registered Apprenticeship program, YSU’s pre-apprenticeship graduates will have a head start towards a well-paying job and a rewarding career in the wireless and broadband industries,” Halley said.
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