|
HARRISBURG, PA - Four Pennsylvania community colleges that make up the Technology and Trades Consortium in the Expanded Northeast Pennsylvania region are joining forces with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to offer a unique and collaborative training opportunity.
Luzerne County Community College, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Northampton Community College, and Bucks County Community College make up the Technology and Trades Consortium. Each had faculty representatives at a Fiber Optics training held at Lehigh Carbon Community College, August 3-6, 2026. The training was supported by Amazon and held from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day. It culminated in a celebration of the participants on August 6. A small group of instructors from local Career and Technical Centers, which partner with the four community colleges, were also trained.
In total, 13 invited faculty were instructed through Light Brigade for this Fiber Optics training. Those who completed this certification will be moved to a train-the-trainer two-day class and will be certified to teach Fiber Optics training at all four institutions, supporting local skilled workers.
"Skilled technicians are the backbone of the infrastructure that powers our digital lives, and demand for them is only growing,” said Nicholas Lee-Romagnolo of AWS Workforce Development. “By training the trainers, including high school teachers from the Career and Technical Education Centers in these regions, these community colleges and their collaborating CTCs are creating a lasting pipeline of talent right here in Pennsylvania, and we're proud to support their work."
“This is just an incredible example of how Pennsylvania’s community colleges are at the center of addressing the Commonwealth’s workforce needs,” said Dr. Tuesday Stanley, President of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges. “So much credit goes to these four community colleges – their leaders, staff, and faculty. We look to replicate similar training throughout the state.”
Dr. Kelly Trahan, Dean of the Center for Workforce Development at Lehigh Carbon Community College, stated the training is a combination of “knowledge and application.”
Light Brigade is located in Kent, Washington and is a leading fiber optic training company founded in 1987. Light Brigade provides instructor-led, certified training courses and hands-on skills education for nearly 100,000 technicians, engineers, and installers worldwide.
Light Brigade describes the training as follows:
Fiber Optics 1-2-3 Training is a four-day instructor-led course that includes two days of classroom knowledge and two days of hands-on skills training to provide the practical understanding and skills required to specify, install, test, and maintain fiber optic networks in many outside plant and inside plant applications. The course is designed to provide an understanding of fiber optic technology, how fiber works, various link components as well as industry standards and best practices. Knowledge gained from the classroom session is then applied in two days of hands-on skills exercises.
The community colleges in the Technology and Trades Consortium will announce additional Fiber Optics Training sessions in the near future.
| 
