How States Can Address Broadband Worker Shortages

After several years of planning, states and territories are receiving final approval of their plans for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a federal initiative that aims to connect all Americans to high-speed internet.

For states to meet the goal of completing all infrastructure projects by 2030, expansion of the broadband workforce is critical. Analysis from The Pew Charitable Trusts has found that worker availability, wages and competition, and data limitations present barriers to growing the workforce. States and internet service providers (ISPs) should consider how labor availability will affect their ability to complete BEAD projects on time, particularly amid a historically shrinking workforce and competition with other industries for similarly skilled workers as data center expansion accelerates.

Strengthen State Government The Challenges of Rising Demand for Broadband Workers

Issue Brief October 30, 2025

In 2025, the U.S. Commerce Department reviewed the BEAD program, which was enacted as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and issued a restructuring policy notice. Among other changes, the policy notice rescinded funds previously allocated for nondeployment activities, or programs that are complementary to broadband network construction—including funds earmarked for broadband workforce development. Many states had already begun using these funds to train prospective workers; after the release of the policy notice, they canceled programming as they awaited further guidance. The availability of these funds remains uncertain as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) continues a delayed review of which activities will be eligible for support.

Regardless of the outcome of that review, workforce shortages will require state policymakers, higher education partners, and ISPs to coordinate closely to fill gaps and meet BEAD milestones. Following are prominent examples of the varied approaches that are currently in use and that show the importance of cross-sector collaboration as states prepare for BEAD implementation.

State and Tribal workforce programs

Outside the BEAD program, states and Tribal Nations have used their own appropriations or other federal funding sources to create or expand existing workforce development programs to include training for broadband jobs. For example:

• In 2019, the Cherokee Nation established a fiber technician program combining fundamental and technical instruction in fiber and broadband technology. In addition to free tuition, the program offers benefits including free training supplies and a $10-per-hour stipend, which allows students to earn money while pursuing training. Students graduate from the program with up to seven micro-credentials recognized by Oklahoma’s higher education system.
• Ohio’s Regionally Aligned Priorities in Delivering Skills (RAPIDS) program allocates grants—totaling $8 million in state fiscal year 2025—to universities, community colleges, and career technical centers for training and equipment that will help to meet regional workforce needs. The University of Dayton and Sinclair Community College are using one of these grants to establish 5G broadband teaching and wireless communications labs, with the goal of offering training for students at all degree levels.
• Texas established the Building the Texas Broadband Workforce Grant Program in 2025, awarding $25 million to seven organizations that will provide tuition-free broadband training. This program is funded by a one-time commitment from the state’s Broadband Infrastructure Fund.
• In January 2026, New Mexico announced plans to offer free monthly broadband certification classes across the state, using $2 million in congressionally directed spending from fiscal year 2024. The classes will consist of a five-day training program that includes instruction in introductory installation, fiber and copper-based cable installation, and technician training.

By taking a leadership role in funding and administering workforce programs, state and Tribal governments can direct resources to the specific jobs or skills needed in their regions. States do not need to start from scratch; even if they choose to implement new, broadband-specific programming, they may also repurpose or expand existing workforce development programs, saving time and resources. This approach may be a solution for states, particularly as they advance toward BEAD construction amid uncertainty surrounding nondeployment funds and with less time to prepare their workforce strategies than was expected under original BEAD rules.

Credentialing and certification programs

In addition to state workforce programs, community and technical colleges offer certifications and other credentials for the technical and construction roles that the NTIA has deemed critical for BEAD. These credentials demonstrate the attainment of foundational and high-demand skills required for immediate employment in broadband jobs. Training programs can be developed in collaboration with practitioners or companies that seek to fill these specific roles. For example:

• The Fiber Broadband Association developed a fiber-optic technician curriculum offered at more than 70 partner community and technical colleges in 40 states.
• Louisiana’s Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity has partnered with the Louisiana Community and Technical College System to offer broadband-related training at each of its 12 campuses.

Credentialing programs that encompass a variety of skills benefit workers by giving them portability across roles or sectors. These credentials also benefit employers, providing them with employees who have a variety of skills that can be applied to different project types. For example:

• Southwest Virginia Community College pairs its fiber-optic technician credential with commercial driver’s license (CDL) training. CDLs are in high demand across sectors.
• Northshore Technical Community College in Louisiana integrated a fiber-optics certification into its existing information technology associate degree program; it also incorporates fiber-optics training into its heavy equipment operating program, with plans to include training in directional drilling and utility line locating in the future.

States or other entities interested in developing these credentialing programs should consider coordinating with local adult education providers, which often design and implement workforce programs. Funded through Title II of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, they typically include nonprofit community-based organizations, community colleges, and school districts’ community education programs.

Stakeholders designing or updating these programs should equip students with the skills needed to support BEAD projects within their states as well as competencies they can apply to other infrastructure projects in the future. An increase in expected retirements will result in demand for these workers and skills long after BEAD projects conclude.

ISP and trade association recruitment

A lack of public awareness of broadband job opportunities is a key barrier to attracting new workers and may create challenges as BEAD sub-grantees receive funding and make more positions available. ISPs and the trade associations that represent them play a key role in recruiting and training the workers needed to complete infrastructure projects. For example, the Telecommunications Industry Association, the Fiber Broadband Association, and NTCA—the Rural Broadband Association maintain career exploration websites and job posting databases. Nonprofit organizations also can help; for example, Heartland Forward, which works toward economic development in 20 states in the central U.S., maintains a database of job postings and training opportunities in Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Apprenticeships, which pair on-the-job training with classroom instruction, are recognized as an especially effective workforce development strategy because they allow entry-level workers to earn wages while they build skills. Apprentices benefit from obtaining industry-recognized credentials, while employers develop a pipeline of skilled job candidates. The Wireless Infrastructure Association shares data on hiring trends, training requirements, and salaries and operates the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), which is approved and validated by the U.S. Labor Department.

Other federal resources

State workforce programs, ISPs, and higher education providers may consider engaging with a number of existing federally funded workforce development programs administered by the departments of Education, Labor, Veterans Affairs, and Defense to fund credentialing programs or apprenticeships and inform prospective job applicants of broadband job opportunities. For example:

• The Education Department’s Pell Grant program, which provides grant aid for low-income students, was recently expanded to cover programs that offer eight to 15 weeks of instruction and may enable greater access to broadband training programs for eligible students and providers. As shared by Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, a senior fellow with the National Skills Coalition, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Texas Broadband Summit on Feb. 10, 2026, this program expansion could create additional financial support for new pipelines of workers entering the broadband field.
• The Labor Department’s H-1B Skills Training Grants program uses fees paid by companies hiring high-skilled foreign workers to fund several workforce training programs.

In 2025, the Commerce, Education, and Labor departments collaborated on a federal workforce strategy that emphasizes the importance of designing training to align with employer needs, identifying high-value credentials, streamlining and ensuring the quality of federal workforce programming, and promoting a workforce prepared to use artificial intelligence. The strategy notes that states may be eligible for Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund grants, which seek to address critical workforce needs.

Cross-sector collaboration

State policymakers will find value in close coordination with higher education and industry partners to ensure that broadband workforce development policies and programs are aligned with the training that workers need and the skills that employers expect applicants to have. For example, sector partnerships are public-private collaborations that seek to address industry-specific skills gaps while expanding access to high-quality job opportunities within communities. NTIA identified industry-led sector partnerships as a best practice for workforce planning. Some states, such as Ohio, had previously implemented broadband sector partnerships before the pause on nondeployment funds.

States also have workforce development boards, which oversee federal workforce training funds and convene cross-sector stakeholders to align statewide workforce plans with employer demand and educational offerings. These workforce boards can designate broadband jobs as high-demand occupations, which can direct resources and elevate awareness of job opportunities.

As states receive BEAD funds and move into a new phase of implementation, it is crucial that they work quickly with partners to identify expected workforce shortages and consider potential solutions to meet construction deadlines. With timeline constraints and uncertain access to BEAD nondeployment funds, states can look to existing programming and approaches, including working with higher education and industry partners. Leveraging existing efforts will also benefit states if nondeployment funds are made available for workforce needs. As implementation approaches, such advance planning by state leaders will play an important role in helping to achieve the goal of universal broadband connectivity.

Lexi West works to translate research into policy solutions for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ broadband access initiative.