Two technical institutes in Rhode Island offer training in telecommunications
that one instructor says puts graduates at a significant advantage over those
hired with no formal training.
“Our six-month course gives (technicians) a two-year lead on others” with little or no training, said David Sterling, communications instructor at MotoRing Technical Training Institute in East Providence. “I’ve seen so much bad work, mainly from people coming in off the streets with no training, and companies, especially small ones, offer little (on-the-job) training.”
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MTTI, a private technical school, offers a 24-week course and certification as a communications technician. The course offers introductory skills in cable installation, network construction, data network installation, cable, satellite and broadband networks, telephoning, security and alarms, fiber optics, commercial cabling, customer service and troubleshooting.
The course is multi-disciplinary, Sterling said, because telecommunications is expanding quickly as more companies are selling a wider variety of data services.
“Because all of the areas are related, a lot of things are common to them, like how to run cable through a building,” he said. “More companies are selling data services, like Cox. Cox used to sell just cable.” Now the company sells a variety of cable services, telephone and high-speed Internet. “The lines between the industries – which used to be well-defined – are blurring,” Sterling said.
New England Institute of Technology in Warwick offers students television and radio-based telecommunications education, with associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in both disciplines. Jobs within telecommunications can range from operation to production in traditional broadcast medium, radio and television and video.
New England Tech offers an associate’s degree in video and radio production technology, where students will learn about field-shooting, lighting, studio production, scriptwriting, sales and promotion, with courses that include digital filmmaking and editing. The bachelor’s degree in digital recording arts technology – which was overhauled recently to upgrade to all digital courses and skills – expands on the associate’s program.
Students enrolled in the program can learn about multi-camera location shooting, multi-track studio recording and mixing, graphic design and production, pre- and post-production techniques with virtual studio production and remote location audio and video production. Students can also learn how to use industry standards in advanced software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe AfterEffects, Pro Tools, Final Cut Pro and Avid Xpress DV. There are also opportunities to learn specialized skills training in corporate media, videoconferencing and advertising.
According to Seth Kurn, New England Tech’s executive vice president, NEIT has offered the bachelor’s degree since the mid-1990s, but recently changed the curriculum from analog and some digital-based courses to all digital, to respond to the industry.
“Each (degree program) has an advisory committee of employers who keep us up to date on industry trends and technology,” he said.
There are approximately 180 students enrolled in both programs, Kurn said. As technology has advanced within telecommunications, so has the interest in the programs at New England Tech, according to Pat Blakemore, director of career services at the institute.
“It seems like a lot more companies are branching out, companies are going high-tech, and a lot more students want to volunteer on the sets of independent films,” she said. “Massachusetts is bigger (in the popularity of telecom) but Rhode Island is getting there.”
The industry is now heavily computer-oriented, Blakemore said, and there is an increasing focus on customer service. NEIT’s office of career services offers workshops on workplace ethics, how to conduct oneself in an interview and other skills.
“How to run a cable neatly” is one of the skills that students at MTTI learn, Sterling said, along with computers and programming telephone systems, setting up VCRs, TVs and satellite systems, as well as the importance of grounding on systems. And even six months of training will put technicians ahead of the competition, he said.
Working without it, he said, “is like building a puzzle with no picture and no borders. You don’t know what you’re missing without training, and you don’t know what’s out there.”
