As the demand for high-speed internet continues to surge across the nation, creating a critical need for skilled technicians to build and maintain the digital backbone of modern society, one North Carolina community has pioneered a solution born not in a corporate boardroom but from a simple conversation in a parking lot. This grassroots initiative, driven by local leaders and fueled by strategic collaboration, has rapidly culminated in a new fiber optics technician training program at Johnston Community College (JCC). The program stands as a powerful example of how community-level partnerships can effectively address pressing workforce shortages and support regional economic development. By connecting the dots between educational resources, business needs, and corporate expertise, Johnston County has created a direct pipeline of talent to power its digital infrastructure expansion, demonstrating a nimble and highly responsive approach to workforce development that is already yielding tangible results for students and employers alike.
From a Parking Lot Idea to a Formal Program
The genesis of this impactful program was a spontaneous discussion among three recent graduates of the Triangle East Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Johnston Program. Marc David, chief academic officer at JCC, Ann Rizzardi, a local real estate broker, and Andy Thompson, a business development director for the Chamber, found themselves discussing the region’s workforce challenges. The conversation quickly turned to the growing need for fiber infrastructure and the lack of a trained local labor pool to support it. This informal brainstorming session highlighted the power of a bottom-up approach; rather than waiting for a top-down mandate from a large corporation or government agency, these community leaders identified a problem and began architecting a solution from the ground up. Their combined perspectives from academia, private business, and economic development provided a holistic understanding of the issue, enabling them to envision a program that would directly serve the needs of both residents seeking new skills and companies requiring them.
The momentum from that initial idea accelerated dramatically when the trio established a connection with Corning Incorporated, a global leader in materials science and fiber optics. Through its established FiberIQ initiative, Corning provided a comprehensive, ready-to-implement framework that included a two-week training curriculum and a vital train-the-trainer component. This partnership offered the credibility and structured expertise needed to transform the concept into a formal academic program. The leadership at Johnston Community College, under President Vern Lindquist, recognized the immense potential and moved decisively to embrace the opportunity. Institutional support was swift and unequivocal, resulting in six JCC faculty and staff members quickly becoming certified as instructors through the Corning program. This rapid mobilization demonstrated the college’s agility and deep commitment to its role as a key driver of workforce development, ensuring the program could be launched efficiently to meet the region’s urgent needs.
Seizing a Moment of Regional Growth
The launch of the fiber optics program was perfectly timed with significant investments in the region’s digital infrastructure, creating an immediate and robust demand for its graduates. The North Carolina state government had recently announced a landmark $63 million investment through the Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) Program, an initiative designed to extend high-speed internet access to underserved areas. Johnston County was a direct beneficiary of this funding, with a specific allocation of $3.2 million earmarked to connect nearly 1,500 homes and businesses. This substantial public investment created a clear and present need for a skilled workforce. The selection of Brightspeed to spearhead the local installation work further solidified this demand, providing a tangible employment destination for newly trained technicians. The convergence of a state-funded infrastructure project and a new, locally-based training program created a powerful synergy, ensuring that students would be entering a field with guaranteed job opportunities right in their own community.
With a clear market demand and a fully developed curriculum, Johnston Community College successfully rolled out the program, celebrating its launch with an industry-focused reception in October. The event served as a critical bridge, showcasing the program’s capabilities to local business leaders and potential employers, thereby beginning the process of building a direct hiring pipeline. The very next week, the initiative achieved its first major milestone as the inaugural class of students completed their fiber broadband training, ready to enter the workforce. The outlook for these graduates is exceptionally strong, with industry projections indicating that employment for fiber optics technicians is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations, offering competitive wages and stable career paths. Bolstered by this initial success and sustained demand, the college is already planning a second course, affirming the program’s vital role in the region’s economic landscape.
A Blueprint for Community-Led Innovation
The successful creation and implementation of the fiber technician program at Johnston Community College became a definitive case study in responsive, community-driven workforce development. The initiative’s triumph was not merely in training a new cohort of skilled workers but in the collaborative model it pioneered. The organic partnership that formed between the community college, local business advocates, and an industry-leading corporation provided a powerful and replicable blueprint for other regions facing similar economic challenges. It demonstrated that by listening to the specific needs of the local economy and leveraging the unique strengths of each partner, educational institutions can rapidly deploy programs that deliver immediate and lasting value. This project perfectly encapsulated JCC’s mission to partner with industry, champion economic growth, and ultimately improve the lives of local residents by providing them with the skills to succeed in high-demand fields.
