Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) is hosting a Workforce Workshop on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program this week. The session will be held Friday, July 19, in Burlington to help prospective BEAD applicants understand the program’s workforce requirements and prepare them for the upcoming application process. ISPs will compete with bids for part of the $229 million of federal funding to bring universal broadband service to Vermont.
The workshop will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 870 Williston Road in South Burlington from 8:00 to 4:30 and include speakers from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Vermont Department of Labor, Wireless Infrastructure Association, and the VCBB, who will explain the workforce requirements and how the VCBB has proposed that applications will be scored, as well as the importance of developing Vermont’s workforce.
“We are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the buildout of broadband in Vermont. Construction is picking up speed and previously unserved Vermonters are being connected every day. We need to make sure our workforce is keeping up and that we have people trained and ready. These are high-paying jobs and lucrative career paths that can enable local young people to stay in their home state or offer a new opportunity for anyone looking to provide better lives for themselves and their families,” said VCBB Executive Director Christine Hallquist.
The workshop will also include information about apprenticeships and success stories from employers who have implemented them. Presenters will share employee recruitment and retention strategies, with a focus on traditionally underrepresented populations. The BEAD Program highlights eight “covered populations,” includingpeople who are 60 and up, incarcerated individuals, veterans, people with disabilities, members of a racial or ethnic minority group, rural residents, people with a language barrier, including those who are English learners or have low literacy levels, and people living in households with incomes less than 150 percent of the poverty level.
Representatives from organizations that work with several of these populations will join a panel discussion focused on outreach and recruitment strategies to help interested telecommunication companies present a competitive application for BEAD funding as well as to benefit from an untapped pool of high-quality potential employees.
The workshop will also be available to attend virtually at this link.
Source: 7.15.2024. VCBB. Montpelier, Vermont – More information is available at VCBB Workforce Development | Department of Public Service (vermont.gov).
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