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Learning Technology Online
As Internet technology transforms the last century's telephone companies into full-service communications corporations, CWA is responding with hands-on and "distance-learning" opportunities using the Internet to prepare its members for jobs of the future.
CWA is partnering with its traditional telecom employers, the U.S. government, major information technology providers like Cisco Systems, and universities to give members and prospective members a chance to upgrade their skills while continuing to work.
"The traditional campus student will be there for a long, long time," said CWA President Morton Bahr. "What we're talking about is making learning available to the millions of others who will not have the opportunity to attend a traditional college or university."
Techs in Transition
Darren Kygar of CWA Local 9423 in San Jose, Calif. is an apprentice at Apex, a small telecommunications contractor in Mountain View, Calif. "When you join this industry, companies are concerned with results, but there's not enough time to learn everything on the job. In class, they go into how things work and why," says Kygar eager to progress in his career.
He works full-time days and attends cabling and wiring classes one evening a week at a CWA training center in Fremont, Calif. Kygar hopes to progress through apprentice, installer and technician levels and eventually move to information technology (IT) training offered by CWA and Cisco Systems.
José García, an E-6 tech sergeant at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., has 12 years experience in telecommunications and computer systems. "I have a year left in the service, and I'm going to get all that I can while I'm here," he said at a recruitment seminar put on by CWA. Enthusiastic about the connections the union offers, García would like to work in computer networking, get job referrals through the union and acquire a
CWA/Cisco certification.
García is a candidate for CWA/Cisco training through the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Services, which helps military personnel make the transition to civilian life. The CWA/Cisco initiative is funded in part by a grant from DOL/VETS.
One a member and the other a potential member, Kygar and García are both candidates to receive some of the most advanced technical training available as well as job referrals to CWA employers.
Last September, CWA announced a partnership with Cisco Systems and the U.S. Department of Labor to offer A+ and Cisco Network Associate certifications through distance learning. Most course work is performed over the Internet by logging onto computers.
More than 400 CWA members and veterans have signed up through CWA's website. They are currently beginning their studies or are in various stages leading to participation. Each must take an assessment test of current skills, be referred to a university proctor for placement and registration, then begin one of three self-paced distance-learning semesters.
Each semester will require 16 hours of lab work and will lead to three university credits. Tuition may be reimbursable through programs CWA has negotiated with employers.
Kygar, enrolled in CWA's Multi-Employer Apprenticeship Program, is already training at one of three facilities that will be used as labs for the CWA/Cisco initiative. A second CWA training center in Cleveland, which began offering apprenticeship classes last fall, will also serve as a lab for CWA/Cisco training. The union's newest training center just opened in Washington, D.C. and is currently in use as a wiring lab for aspiring telecom and computer technicians recruited by a partnership of CWA, local employers and a community agency, the Prince Georges Workforce Services Corp.
All three centers are being equipped with computers linked to the Internet and Cisco network routers. In addition, CWA Local 9400 has established a mini-lab at its union hall in the Los Angeles area, and Local 9509 has set up a mini-lab in San Diego. Paul Anderson, CWA director of apprenticeship, benefits and training, said students in the CWA/Cisco program will begin using the labs shortly and that others may be established based on local involvement and available funding.
Setting the Pace
A new college degree program in tele-communications is online, the result of a new partnership between CWA and several major telecommunications employers.
Students are earning associate degrees in telecommunications from New York's Pace University through two to three years of mentored, online, Internet studies in electronics, networks, computer studies, technical math and other areas of telecommunications. Pace is one of the nation's leading institutions for providing online academic opportunities to students.
The program was developed through the National Advisory Coalition for Telecommunications Education and Learning (NACTEL) - a coalition of CWA, the Electrical Workers, telecommunications companies, and nonprofit and higher education groups - with a $500,000 start-up grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
The first class of students, a pilot program of about 100, was selected from people already working in the telecommunications industry at participating companies: Bell Atlantic, GTE, SBC Communica-tions and US West. The program will be expanded to 1,000 students in the second year and 3,000 by the year 2001.
Some costs are covered by tuition assistance plans and education benefit programs negotiated by CWA with employers. In addition, CWA Vice President Vince Maisano, District 13, helped arrange for a discounted tuition program for all CWA members - including those who work for employers other than the participating telecom companies - and associate members who may sign up as the program continues.
"This distance learning program is a great opportunity for CWA members from all sectors - cable, public service, customer service and others," Maisano said. In addition, persons leaving the service or others can sign on as associate members, get the tuition discount and learn more about the benefits of union membership, he said.
About 50 US West employees are learning online, making the cut after program coordinators received 400 calls in the first three days from workers interested in logging on. "After meeting the basic requirements for the degree program - access to a computer and the Internet and passing a math screening test - students began with an online seminar. The program is very interactive," CWA Representative Lou Ellingson said.
Rounding out the freshman class are about 50 students from SBC Communica-tions, Bell Atlantic and GTE.
CWA President Morton Bahr has called the program "an unprecedented union-management effort that will not only help the industry find the skilled workers it will need over the next five to 10 years, but will enable thousands of workers to continue their educations and improve their skills through online programs."
Check It Out on the Web!
To learn more about the programs above or to register for CWA's job referral service, visit our website at ga.cwa-union.org. Click on "Jobs and Training" at the bottom of the home page and follow directories.
NACTEL and Cisco training are listed under "New Training Initiatives." To register for the online degree program, follow the link to NACTEL's website. For CWA/Cisco, other technical training, and for job referrals, you must register in the section "Employment Services."
To log in, type "member" for ID and "cwajobs" for password. Further information on CWA technical training is available by calling (877) 876-4553.
CWA has collectively bargained other joint union-management education and training programs with about 20 employers.
The Alliance for Employee Growth and Development is sponsored by CWA, the Electrical Workers, AT&T and Lucent Technologies. Pathways to the Future is a joint program of CWA and US West. Both are linked to CWA's website.
For information on joint union-management training programs not listed above, call the CWA Education Department at (202) 434-1499.
CWA is partnering with its traditional telecom employers, the U.S. government, major information technology providers like Cisco Systems, and universities to give members and prospective members a chance to upgrade their skills while continuing to work.
"The traditional campus student will be there for a long, long time," said CWA President Morton Bahr. "What we're talking about is making learning available to the millions of others who will not have the opportunity to attend a traditional college or university."
Techs in Transition
Darren Kygar of CWA Local 9423 in San Jose, Calif. is an apprentice at Apex, a small telecommunications contractor in Mountain View, Calif. "When you join this industry, companies are concerned with results, but there's not enough time to learn everything on the job. In class, they go into how things work and why," says Kygar eager to progress in his career.
He works full-time days and attends cabling and wiring classes one evening a week at a CWA training center in Fremont, Calif. Kygar hopes to progress through apprentice, installer and technician levels and eventually move to information technology (IT) training offered by CWA and Cisco Systems.
José García, an E-6 tech sergeant at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., has 12 years experience in telecommunications and computer systems. "I have a year left in the service, and I'm going to get all that I can while I'm here," he said at a recruitment seminar put on by CWA. Enthusiastic about the connections the union offers, García would like to work in computer networking, get job referrals through the union and acquire a
CWA/Cisco certification.
García is a candidate for CWA/Cisco training through the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Services, which helps military personnel make the transition to civilian life. The CWA/Cisco initiative is funded in part by a grant from DOL/VETS.
One a member and the other a potential member, Kygar and García are both candidates to receive some of the most advanced technical training available as well as job referrals to CWA employers.
Last September, CWA announced a partnership with Cisco Systems and the U.S. Department of Labor to offer A+ and Cisco Network Associate certifications through distance learning. Most course work is performed over the Internet by logging onto computers.
More than 400 CWA members and veterans have signed up through CWA's website. They are currently beginning their studies or are in various stages leading to participation. Each must take an assessment test of current skills, be referred to a university proctor for placement and registration, then begin one of three self-paced distance-learning semesters.
Each semester will require 16 hours of lab work and will lead to three university credits. Tuition may be reimbursable through programs CWA has negotiated with employers.
Kygar, enrolled in CWA's Multi-Employer Apprenticeship Program, is already training at one of three facilities that will be used as labs for the CWA/Cisco initiative. A second CWA training center in Cleveland, which began offering apprenticeship classes last fall, will also serve as a lab for CWA/Cisco training. The union's newest training center just opened in Washington, D.C. and is currently in use as a wiring lab for aspiring telecom and computer technicians recruited by a partnership of CWA, local employers and a community agency, the Prince Georges Workforce Services Corp.
All three centers are being equipped with computers linked to the Internet and Cisco network routers. In addition, CWA Local 9400 has established a mini-lab at its union hall in the Los Angeles area, and Local 9509 has set up a mini-lab in San Diego. Paul Anderson, CWA director of apprenticeship, benefits and training, said students in the CWA/Cisco program will begin using the labs shortly and that others may be established based on local involvement and available funding.
Setting the Pace
A new college degree program in tele-communications is online, the result of a new partnership between CWA and several major telecommunications employers.
Students are earning associate degrees in telecommunications from New York's Pace University through two to three years of mentored, online, Internet studies in electronics, networks, computer studies, technical math and other areas of telecommunications. Pace is one of the nation's leading institutions for providing online academic opportunities to students.
The program was developed through the National Advisory Coalition for Telecommunications Education and Learning (NACTEL) - a coalition of CWA, the Electrical Workers, telecommunications companies, and nonprofit and higher education groups - with a $500,000 start-up grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
The first class of students, a pilot program of about 100, was selected from people already working in the telecommunications industry at participating companies: Bell Atlantic, GTE, SBC Communica-tions and US West. The program will be expanded to 1,000 students in the second year and 3,000 by the year 2001.
Some costs are covered by tuition assistance plans and education benefit programs negotiated by CWA with employers. In addition, CWA Vice President Vince Maisano, District 13, helped arrange for a discounted tuition program for all CWA members - including those who work for employers other than the participating telecom companies - and associate members who may sign up as the program continues.
"This distance learning program is a great opportunity for CWA members from all sectors - cable, public service, customer service and others," Maisano said. In addition, persons leaving the service or others can sign on as associate members, get the tuition discount and learn more about the benefits of union membership, he said.
About 50 US West employees are learning online, making the cut after program coordinators received 400 calls in the first three days from workers interested in logging on. "After meeting the basic requirements for the degree program - access to a computer and the Internet and passing a math screening test - students began with an online seminar. The program is very interactive," CWA Representative Lou Ellingson said.
Rounding out the freshman class are about 50 students from SBC Communica-tions, Bell Atlantic and GTE.
CWA President Morton Bahr has called the program "an unprecedented union-management effort that will not only help the industry find the skilled workers it will need over the next five to 10 years, but will enable thousands of workers to continue their educations and improve their skills through online programs."
Check It Out on the Web!
To learn more about the programs above or to register for CWA's job referral service, visit our website at ga.cwa-union.org. Click on "Jobs and Training" at the bottom of the home page and follow directories.
NACTEL and Cisco training are listed under "New Training Initiatives." To register for the online degree program, follow the link to NACTEL's website. For CWA/Cisco, other technical training, and for job referrals, you must register in the section "Employment Services."
To log in, type "member" for ID and "cwajobs" for password. Further information on CWA technical training is available by calling (877) 876-4553.
CWA has collectively bargained other joint union-management education and training programs with about 20 employers.
The Alliance for Employee Growth and Development is sponsored by CWA, the Electrical Workers, AT&T and Lucent Technologies. Pathways to the Future is a joint program of CWA and US West. Both are linked to CWA's website.
For information on joint union-management training programs not listed above, call the CWA Education Department at (202) 434-1499.