These classes in Alexandria could help you land an internet job paying up to $24 an hour

Melinda Martinez, Alexandria Town Talk
·2 min read
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Residents who want to train for high-demand jobs to help Louisiana expand high-speed internet access can sign up for classes that start Sept. 12 at an Alexandria community college.

Central Louisiana Technical Community College is offering fiber-optics certification classes as the state gets started on broadband expansion using more than $1 billion in federal aid. It was the subject of a summit Wednesday in Alexandria where Gov. John Bel Edwards, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and other Louisiana officials announced new grants and plans to expand high-speed internet top thousands of homes, businesses, schools and other places in almost every parish that now lack such access.

The programs have created a need for construction and maintenance technicians to help install and maintain the new cables, equipment and technology, said Misty Slayter, vice chancellor of Workforce Solutions at the local school.

In preparation for the rural broadband expansion that will roll out across the state, Central Louisiana Technical Community College in Alexandria is offering a course series in fiber-optics certification beginning Sept. 12.
In preparation for the rural broadband expansion that will roll out across the state, Central Louisiana Technical Community College in Alexandria is offering a course series in fiber-optics certification beginning Sept. 12.

Internet service providers have already started to expand with grants awarded last year, Slayter said. The need will only grow among local internet providers who will eventually be hiring more technicians.

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Here's a schedule of upcoming classes:

  • Sept. 12-14: Certified fiber-optics technician training.

  • Sept. 14-15: Fiber-optics testing.

  • Sept. 16: Fiber-optics splicing.

  • Sept. 17: Training to install fiber optics in special settings, called outside plant installation.

  • Sept. 18: Fiber-optics home installation.

“It will be A to Z training over the course of seven days,” Slayter said. “People don’t have to take all five. There’s five different courses over that seven-day period and there’s five certifications that result.”

During the week of training, a few employers will drop by the classes to visit with students to make them aware of employment opportunities, she said. Some jobs could pay around $16-$24 an hour.

For these kinds of technical jobs, certification often gives students an edge because it shows they have the skills needed for the job, Slayter said.

Another course series will be offered in November and four more in 2023, she said.

“This will become a course series that we offer three or four times a year,” she said.

For information, call the school at (318) 487-5443.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Alexandria school is training people for high-demand internet jobs