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First Class Graduates from Online Telecom Training Program
For Joseph Courtemanche, a Qwest employee and member of Local 7200, St. Paul, Minn., a joint union-industry distance learning program “enabled me to get the best tech job in the company.”
Courtemanche was one of eight workers who received an Associate of Science in Telecommunications degree May 21 as the first graduating class of the Internet-based program sponsored by NACTEL — the National Coalition for Telecommunications Education and Learning.
NACTEL was formed in 1997 to develop a distance learning program for the industry, and grew out of a partnership among CWA, IBEW, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and several telecom companies, with support from Pace University and the Sloan Foundation.
The initial class began studies about three years ago. Today, about 1,000 students are enrolled in the three-year program, taking courses in computer applications, applied physics, electricity, writing and other areas to gain their degrees.
Courtemanche joined CWA President Morton Bahr and representatives from NACTEL and Sloan at the graduation ceremony on the Pace campus, where he praised the program and said, “I hope my union brothers and sisters avail themselves of this opportunity.” He said he tells co-workers, “the only thing that stands between you and the next level job” is more training and education.
Now a customer communications technician, Courtemanche was working as a representative in residential sales when he heard about the NACTEL program.
At the graduation ceremony, Bahr said the on-line degree program “was a natural evolution process for us in CWA,” outlining how CWA realized nearly two decades ago that in the telecom industry there were growing forces, such as changing technology and an expanding global marketplace, over which the union would have little or no control.
“We changed our focus to winning employment security, to helping our members become more employable by negotiating education and training benefits and programs and by encouraging members to participate,” he said.
CWA’s first effort was the Alliance for Future Growth and Development, begun in 1986. Over the past 15 years, 150,000 members have moved through the program, Bahr said, with additional programs established with other telecom employers.
Such education and training gives everyone the opportunity to advance, Bahr said.
Cathy Shufelt, a CWA member from Local 6171 in Euless, Texas, is among the first graduates of the program. Her family is focused on education — her father recently gained an associate of science degree and her mother is just three courses away from completing her own AS degree.
Shuflet began working at GTE, now Verizon, in October 1998 as a meteorologist, calibrating and repairing test equipment and telecom instruments used in the field. Her first semester at Pace coincided with a tough travel schedule, as much as 18 weeks during her first year.
“I liked the Pace program because I could take it with me, I could do it anywhere,” she said. “Because there is a lot of freedom in this kind of program, it takes discipline and you need to be self-motivated. The program gives me the opportunity to push myself, to explore new areas.”
Shufelt tells her co-workers, “There’s no reason for anyone not to do this program, if they want to get ahead and get somewhere.”
Other CWA members in the first graduating class were Shawn Henson, Local 7019; Phyllis Jones, Local 6222; Terry Sanner, Local 2001 and Thomas Toner, Local 9404.
Also attending the graduation ceremony were Dean Susan Merritt and Assistant Dean David Sachs, school of computer science and information systems; Marilyn Jaffe-Ruiz, provost of Pace University; Jo Winger, representing CAEL and NACTEL; Terri Newman, vice president of joint CWA-Qwest board for Pathways and Nancy Hale, co-director of the NACTEL program.
Courtemanche was one of eight workers who received an Associate of Science in Telecommunications degree May 21 as the first graduating class of the Internet-based program sponsored by NACTEL — the National Coalition for Telecommunications Education and Learning.
NACTEL was formed in 1997 to develop a distance learning program for the industry, and grew out of a partnership among CWA, IBEW, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and several telecom companies, with support from Pace University and the Sloan Foundation.
The initial class began studies about three years ago. Today, about 1,000 students are enrolled in the three-year program, taking courses in computer applications, applied physics, electricity, writing and other areas to gain their degrees.
Courtemanche joined CWA President Morton Bahr and representatives from NACTEL and Sloan at the graduation ceremony on the Pace campus, where he praised the program and said, “I hope my union brothers and sisters avail themselves of this opportunity.” He said he tells co-workers, “the only thing that stands between you and the next level job” is more training and education.
Now a customer communications technician, Courtemanche was working as a representative in residential sales when he heard about the NACTEL program.
At the graduation ceremony, Bahr said the on-line degree program “was a natural evolution process for us in CWA,” outlining how CWA realized nearly two decades ago that in the telecom industry there were growing forces, such as changing technology and an expanding global marketplace, over which the union would have little or no control.
“We changed our focus to winning employment security, to helping our members become more employable by negotiating education and training benefits and programs and by encouraging members to participate,” he said.
CWA’s first effort was the Alliance for Future Growth and Development, begun in 1986. Over the past 15 years, 150,000 members have moved through the program, Bahr said, with additional programs established with other telecom employers.
Such education and training gives everyone the opportunity to advance, Bahr said.
Cathy Shufelt, a CWA member from Local 6171 in Euless, Texas, is among the first graduates of the program. Her family is focused on education — her father recently gained an associate of science degree and her mother is just three courses away from completing her own AS degree.
Shuflet began working at GTE, now Verizon, in October 1998 as a meteorologist, calibrating and repairing test equipment and telecom instruments used in the field. Her first semester at Pace coincided with a tough travel schedule, as much as 18 weeks during her first year.
“I liked the Pace program because I could take it with me, I could do it anywhere,” she said. “Because there is a lot of freedom in this kind of program, it takes discipline and you need to be self-motivated. The program gives me the opportunity to push myself, to explore new areas.”
Shufelt tells her co-workers, “There’s no reason for anyone not to do this program, if they want to get ahead and get somewhere.”
Other CWA members in the first graduating class were Shawn Henson, Local 7019; Phyllis Jones, Local 6222; Terry Sanner, Local 2001 and Thomas Toner, Local 9404.
Also attending the graduation ceremony were Dean Susan Merritt and Assistant Dean David Sachs, school of computer science and information systems; Marilyn Jaffe-Ruiz, provost of Pace University; Jo Winger, representing CAEL and NACTEL; Terri Newman, vice president of joint CWA-Qwest board for Pathways and Nancy Hale, co-director of the NACTEL program.