Eleven companies have signed agreements to be Participating Employers in the nation’s only telecommunications apprenticeship program, according to the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) and the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). This pledge from private businesses will accelerate the fulfillment of TIRAP’s goal to address the skills gap in the telecommunications industry by adopting an apprenticeship model, which is new to the industry.
“This is a very exciting time for the telecommunications sector since apprenticeship is a crucial tool in building a stronger more productive workforce for our industry,” said TIRAP Chairman Scott Kisting, who’s also Executive Vice President Proactive Telecommunications Solutions, LLC. “We’re excited that so many telecommunications companies, large and small, are throwing their support behind apprenticeships to strengthen their workforce and provide valuable career opportunities to hard-working Americans.”
WIA represents over 200 businesses that develop, build, own and operate the nation’s wireless infrastructure. It was named the National Sponsor for TIRAP in March 2017. As National Sponsor, WIA now coordinates activities for participating employers to ensure that apprenticeship programs are developed, monitored and measured effectively. This supports the Trump Administration’s announced intention to shift certification of federally funded apprenticeship programs from the Department of Labor (DOL) to industry participants, including trade associations.
“Since WIA took over as the National Sponsor from DOL in March, the number of participating telecommunications employers jumped from one to 11 virtually overnight – a 1,000 percent increase,” said WIA President/CEO Jonathan Adelstein. “WIA can now directly connect employers with apprenticeships without them having to go through DOL. It’s a lot more attractive for employers under a management-led initiative like TIRAP to avoid the DOL bureaucracy and work directly with their own trade association.” Adelstein said WIA enthusiastically endorses the apprenticeship reforms announced Thursday by President Trump, and plans to rely on them to make apprenticeships a reality in a whole new sector: the telecommunications industry.
June 16, 2017
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