Nationwide Fiber and Wireless Infrastructure Employer Congruex Taps into WIA’s Registered Apprenticeship Program to Address Workforce Gap
‘The apprenticeship program has become a staple in everything that we do’: Congruex explains how the company uses WIA’s TIRAP to implement its apprenticeship program
By Deb Bennett, Vice President, Apprenticeship, Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA)
As the nation seeks to provide connectivity to more underserved communities, companies in the broadband and wireless infrastructure industry are facing a workforce gap for field technicians and other skilled trade positions.
“The biggest challenge we are facing is the skilled workforce,” said Dave Hall, Vice President of Safety for Congruex.
Congruex was formed in 2017 to take advantage of historic demand for digital connectivity. The organization aligns operators across the country to deliver design-build solutions for fiber and wireless infrastructure. SCI, a Congruex company headquartered in Syracuse, Utah, specializes in Fiber-to-the-Home shallow trenching, or microtrenching, and serves the Rocky Mountain and West regions.
Congruex turned to the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s (WIA) Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) to create the game plan they needed to upskill current employees and hire and retain new individuals.
“The apprenticeship program has become a staple in everything that we do,” said Chad Sorensen, Regional Vice President, Construction Services West, for Congruex. “From the time that you come to work for Congruex you are going to be entrenched in that from your new hire orientation all the way through stage training and we are going to continue to use it as we grow our business.”
TIRAP offers a framework for employers to systematically and consistently apply broadband and telecommunications occupational training across their organizations. Congruex is one of more than 100 employers nationwide offering apprenticeships for employees that align with TIRAP’s 16 occupation outlines.
“Our entire training program is built around the TIRAP model,” said Hall. “When you look at how we are developing training and developing apprenticeships and educating the workforce to help us build out the infrastructure, the model that we put together on our training aspect follows the TIRAP plan almost specifically.”
Wade Cannon, a foreman with Congruex, says the company’s apprenticeship program has helped him progress in his career and creates more loyalty to Congruex among his team. “I got into the industry and there wasn’t any type of apprenticeship programs,” said Cannon. “The path was very vague. I think [the program] has made everything clear. There is no guessing ‘am I doing well enough, am I hitting these milestones?”
“TIRAP has impacted our program by really taking the top off all the tools we have accessible to get our employees trained to be safe and to be productive out in the field,” said Jeremy Bowles, President of Construction Services for Congruex. “It has allowed… upward momentum for our employees. They feel more valued because we are investing back into them. Our clients get a better product because we are sending a more skilled workforce out there. The program has really helped us to organize that and push it out into the field.”
Since 2017, WIA has administered National Standards of Apprenticeship for US Department of Labor-approved occupations established under TIRAP. Graduates receive national, industry-recognized credentials that certify occupation proficiency and expand opportunities for career advancement. WIA supports participating employers in promoting consistency and uniformity in training across occupations to improve the safety and quality of the wireless and broadband workforce.
For more information on how your company can participate with TIRAP, contact me via TIRAP.org.