Building the NBN

Much has been said about the need for faster and more relevant training - but have we got it right? Is the method of training best served in a classroom, or through practical hands-on learning, or a combination of both? If we use both, how much should be the hands-on training and how much theoretical information do we need?

Australia has seen huge change in the way we train industry personnel. With a significant reduction in publically funded technical schooling and the challenge for young ones to access hands-on training, many industry heavyweights are being concerned about the quality of skills available to the industry. Even more concerning is the loss of knowledge transfer from experienced industry veterans to the new entrants to the industry. The training system has to cater for all learning types to ensure we educate and relate to a wider audience.

The government’s own figures show a staggering demand for some 22500 trained personnel to construct the National Broadband Network (NBN). Where would they come from, many would ask? They must come from other industries that are experiencing limited investment cycles (eg, manufacturing) or from overseas. When consulting to industry about resourcing strategies, the common concern or question that is raised is - how quickly can I expect the new employees to be productive? With industry margins being tighter than ever before, the luxury of historic training frameworks can cause significant pressures on a company’s bottom line. Certification (Cert 2, 3, etc)-based training programs are valuable but what about the need for productivity-based training? Certifications unfortunately do not equal resource productivity.

For people without an industry-specific knowledge, the new ICT10 program can provide a platform for more training that is specific to the requirements of the employer. The newly released ICT10 training framework attends to the needs of industry (specifically NBN) far better than ICT02. The improvements to its theoretical association with modern industry technologies provide learners with a better understanding of the industry. The challenge for the RTO industry is how to introduce practical elements to ICT10 without incurring exorbitant costs?

For an individual who completes the required training for a Cert 2 or 3, a classroom-based training investment of 10-12 weeks is needed. There is a possibility that the individual was never exposed to the real-world practical elements. Without the hands-on training elements relevant to the industry being included in the course program, employee productivity can be impacted significantly. The ICT 10 Cert 2-4 program provides a great knowledge foundation for new entrants but the industry needs to be aware that just because an individual possesses these credentials, s/he may not necessarily execute functions in a manner that would deliver productivity and profitability. With tight industry margins, increasing competition and the ever-increasing pressures on labour rates, organisations need to use the tool of HR leverage to deliver the required financial returns. HR leverage is about increasing the daily invoiceable revenue associated with the activity of each employee; and to achieve this, productivity and quality are vital.

One of the most common disciplines needed to construct the NBN is the ability to splice and test (commission) fibre-optic infrastructure. Splicing a fibre is a relatively easy process with modern core alignment splicing machines, but many struggle with the complexity of routing high fibre count (eg, 312) cables into joint enclosures without causing significant fault conditions. Added to this complexity is the likely introduction of ribbon splicing. Ribbon fibre in simple terms is a flat ribbon of 12 fibre-optic cores. These cables need to be handled and spliced using new techniques that have not been explored by the industry or by the training organisations in the past. The complexities of commissioning fibre-optic infrastructure are even more challenging. New standards, processes and techniques are required by NBN as a part of the handover from a construction company to the national broadband. Failure to provide the completed commissioning information is likely to impact contract payment. With the new process, new hardware and the need to infuse new talent, the training framework needs to accommodate the needs of all entrants - some without the relevant industry knowledge and some who have industry experience but need to modernise their skills. This is a challenging task but it is crucial. A learner would have completed a Cert 2, 3 or 4 but may have never spliced a fibre-optic core or built the relevant high fibre count (telco) joint enclosures. This can threaten a company’s profitability as the abovementioned skills are essential in constructing the NBN. An even more contentious issue is associated with the commissioning process. It can take days of training just to learn how to undertake the most basic commissioning process. In most cases, RTO/ICT10-based course deployment results in many attendees only being exposed to the concept of test. The commissioning component needs to be covered in a manner relevant to the needs of the NBN or any other major telco. Making it even more challenging is the fact that the NBN architecture will be introducing a construction method never seen before in Australia.

When considering hiring new employees, employers can ask key questions to assist in the assessment process. Some of the key points that should be covered include: how can dirty connectors be recognised using an OTDR; describe the process of detecting singlemode optical pressure points; and, describe the correct process of measuring splice loss.

Productivity-based training could be categorised as being an upskilling program that has target productivity-based outcomes - not just certification outcomes. The opportunity to touch and feel versus the theoretical training framework of real-world activities is often a challenge for training organisations due to infrastructure cost and the ever-changing and evolving nature of technology. The government’s ICT10 training framework goes a long way to connecting the industry to the modern communications environment. However, many are concerned about the hands-on capabilities, productivity and workmanship of the individuals who have completed this training. Business risks associated with deployed field workforce can be challenging.

Organisations need to consider the introduction of internally or externally conducted productivity-based knowledge assessments. These can be as simple as asking an individual to build minor elements of a field activity to developing a detailed commissioning report with previously collected data. It is important that businesses connect with the commercial reality of contracting telco infrastructure. In most cases, if an organisation fails to provide a commissioning/construction report in accordance with the issued standards, payments for the project would be withheld. The ultimate challenge for us all is to delicately balance corporate financial pressures with our responsibility for recruiting and training the next generation - finding the balance between certification and productivity-based training is the first step in finding the right model.

By Mathew Wegener, Managing Director of Celemetrix, an Australian test and measurement and consulting services company. Wegener, who was a finalist in the 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, has over 21 years of industry experience.