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From left: Derrick Law, Garth Naar and Dr. Elvy Vieira prepare to present completion certificates
ECC’s initial fiber optics students with College officials and partners
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The first 18 graduates of Essex County College’s state funded Fiber Optics Technicians Pre-Apprenticeship in Career Education (PACE) program were recognized in a ceremony on Thursday, August 15. The College received a $502,998 New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development grant for the program.
The graduates are now prepared to enter the rapidly growing telecommunications sector, which both ECC and industry officials said is the goal of the program. Participants worked as pe-apprentices in the fiber optics and broadband industry as part of their training. The program was offered by the College’s Training, Inc office.
“This program is to create both employment and educational pathways for you, and get you on the way toward securing well-paying jobs. We’re proud of what you have accomplished; It makes us excited to be educators,” said Dr. Elvy Vieira, Dean of ECC’s Community, Continuing Education & Workforce Development, told the graduates.
The initiative is known as Fiber Optic Careers Unlock Success (FOCUS), Dr Vieira said. Another eight week program is set to begin on September 30. A third class funded by the grant will follow.
Dr. Vieira stated that in order to make the initiative a success, the College joined forces with RampUP America, Inc. RampUp has a collaborative alliance with the Minority Business Enterprises NetTarius Technology Solutions, LLC, and Avatar Tech LLC, both Newark-based networking infrastructure firms. These companies will offer pre-apprenticeship positions for the students.
“This is a successful pilot program funded by the state, in conjunction with the College and our collaborators. We will help you moving forward,” Mitra Choudhury, Director of Training, Inc., told the participants.
“All these partners came together to create this wonderful program. We’re creating career opportunities in the broadband and IT fields. ECC provides a high quality education program, and the link with industry will lead to success. Over the next few years, there will be the need for a tremendous amount of jobs in the infrastructure sector. Cybersecurity is another growing field. There will always be criminals in the digital world and we need people handling cybersecurity,” said Derrick Law, President of NetTarius.
Aniya Travers is an ECC Engineering major who said that Summer was the ideal time for her to take the class. “I’ve always enjoyed technologies and learning more about fiber optics is a good way for me to branch out my career options,” said the Newark resident. She was the only female in the inaugural class.
“The beauty of this program is we are training people, in a short time frame, for technical job in the heart of Essex County. The students don’t have to commute far and they are prepared for in-demand careers,” stated James Walker from RampUp America, Inc.
“This is historic for Newark and Essex County. We are happy to place you with good jobs in our companies and collaborators,” said Garth Naar, from Avatar Tech.
