Fiber networks, edge deployments, and data centers are converging faster than the workforce pipelines supporting it. Fiber technicians and data center technicians are increasingly working side by side, yet they’re being trained, credentialed, and hired as if they operate in entirely separate worlds.
The result is a compounding labor shortage: not just a lack of workers, but a lack of workers who understand the full connectivity stack. This session will examine the emerging overlap between broadband infrastructure roles, the structural gaps in how the industry currently trains and classifies technicians, and the opportunity to solve both problems at once through cross-discipline, standardized training frameworks.
Attendees will leave with a clear picture of where role convergence is already happening in the field, what standardized curriculum and credentialing could look like across disciplines, and how ISPs, data center operators, workforce development programs, and policymakers can collaborate to build more resilient talent pipelines.
- Mike Vermeer | Manager, Broadband with Panduit
- Steve Harris | Vice President, Broadband with UCL Swift