New Mexico seeks to build broadband workforce
Apr. 22—As public and private officials look to strengthen broadband access across the state, it begs the questions: Who will train the workforce to help complete those projects? And how can the state play a role in getting workers suited for that type of work?
That's the question the state Department of Workforce Solutions and Cabinet Secretary Sarita Nair are trying to solve, as the state and other entities work with a budget of close to $2 billion for broadband infrastructure projects over the next decade.
"In New Mexico, we have two different types of challenges," Nair said in an interview last week. "We have people who are unserved, meaning there's no broadband at all in their community. And then there are people who are underserved, where there are pockets — even within the major urban areas like Santa Fe and Albuquerque — where internet speeds are not where they should be to be able to have a meaningful broadband connection to be able to do things like telehealth or telework in a functional way."
The focus has led to a recent report, "Part One of New Mexico's Broadband Sector Strategy," in which the department looked at the needs for broadband access throughout the state and how a workforce can be built.
The 35-page report was completed in partnership with the state's Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, and it says about 16%, or 143,000 residents and business locations, were either unserved or underserved last year.
With the state looking to build broadband access, Nair said the opportunity exists for a workforce specifically suited to building the infrastructure needed, from linemen to pipefitters and carpenters. But in speaking with people, she said there also is a need for other jobs outside the construction field.
"They need grant writers ... they need accountants who understand the federal funding processes," she said. "We were able to put all of those things into this report. And so we divided into categories of occupations and the first one, sequentially in the report, is administrative, and that's where I had the most surprises about what the demands of this industry were going to be."
She said "thousands of jobs" will be needed to help build the broadband infrastructure needed. But she also noted those positions won't come "all at once."
In creating a broadband workforce, Nair said partners such as community colleges and four-year colleges will play an important role. The same goes for training programs located outside the typical classroom setting.
She said connecting with those institutions is the next step in the process — creating what she calls a "gap analysis" for what training programs related to the needs for a broadband workforce exist and which ones don't. The report also will help the department and the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion develop needs and holes in funding in different areas throughout the state.
Getting people to join the workforce has continued to be a problem for state officials. New Mexico has one of the lowest labor force participation rates in the country. Standing at 57.2% in March, it measures the number of working-age people who are actively working or looking for work. That ultimately means a large chunk of residents in the state are not participating in the workforce.
Nair said she sees the state's efforts in building a tailored workforce and the state's low labor force participation rate as "highly compatible."
"Part of the challenge with working with that population is they don't see the path or we haven't shown them [a] clear path," she said. "We've said you can do tuition-free college, but we really have to connect the dots to say, 'Here's the training and here's the job that leads to and here's the career that leads to and here's the future for your family that that can create.
"So articulating that entire pathway within this broadband sector, we believe is going to actually bring people into the labor market," she added. "Because they're going to be able to see that path really clearly."
