On this Veterans Day, we say “thank you for your service!” to all our military veterans. Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FYBR) is saying thank you in its own unique way. The company is donating high-speed fiber internet connections, equipment, and training to Tampa, FL-based Learning Alliance Corporation in support of Frontier’s mission to provide U.S. veterans with the structured training and resources they need to start a career in telecommunications.
The donation is part of the company’s “Broadband for Good” social impact program which is Frontier’s commitment to advancing digital inclusion and connecting more people in the digital society through the company’s Building Gigabit America fiber buildout initiative. Moreover, Frontier is committed to supporting veterans who make up more than 10 percent of its workforce. To recruit and hire even more veterans, the company is partnering with Learning Alliance, which provides structured training to help expand job opportunities in telecommunications to people of all backgrounds, including U.S. veterans.
“We are incredibly excited to be a recipient of Frontier’s Broadband for Good program,” comments Cesar Ruiz, Learning Alliance Corporation CEO. “Frontier is invested in readying its workforce and adding more veterans to their roster. Learning Alliance is a training, trade education organization. We focus specifically on taking people that are not from the industry, bringing them in – veterans, people of color, women – and ensuring that they have an opportunity to learn the skills necessary to come into broadband and telecommunications as a whole.”
Ruiz explains that through Broadband for Good, Frontier’s high speed, low latency internet access allows Learning Alliance to make better use of some of its virtual reality training tools. More importantly, he emphasizes that Frontier is providing guidance, direction, and training along with a significant amount of tools used on vehicles, and basic safety tools. Ruiz says this approach will help men and women going into the telecom industry to know what to expect, and what to do when they get into the field. He says the Frontier training framework basically removes the theory from the classroom and brings practical examples of how the training applies in the real world.
Ruiz points out, “Because of the opportunities that exist [for truly high skilled, high wage targeted occupations], we can ensure that black, brown, [men and] women and transitioning veterans and anyone from a protected class can understand and realize the fact that the middle class is not just a dream. It’s the American dream.”
“We are proud to donate to [Learning Alliance], a minority-owned organization that offers a diverse group of veterans exceptional training and critical resources to start a career in telecommunications, hopefully at Frontier,” says Alan Gardner, Frontier’s Chief People Officer.
