11/12/2022
A Salute To FOA's Schools And Training Organizations
When the FOA was started in 1995, the founders were mostly teachers. They taught for their companies, schools, military services or were independent trainers offering courses wherever they were needed. They recognized the need for a trained workforce and had been doing their part to train people to join that workforce.
The FOA was created to not be a training organization but as a professional organization that would set standards for training and certifying techs. The FOA created a network of training organizations that offered training that met the FOA's stringent standards for curriculum, facilities and instructor competence.
A quarter of a century later, the FOA network of approved schools worldwide is recognized as the best source for general fiber optic training and certification. We do not mean to slight the many manufacturers who offer training on their products; that training is among the best you can get, but it's specific to their products. Some of the FOA approved schools even train for or in partnership with specific manufacturers.
As a non-profit organization founded by the industry specifically to develop a competent workforce, FOA provides the consultation, curriculum and contacts to get schools started as a service to new schools. FOA's worldwide network of 200+ approved schools is growing as more organizations take advantage of our expertise in workforce development and our comprehensive support for getting new schools started. FOA has over 25 years experience and nearly 90,000 certified fiber techs (with ~120,000 certifications) have been trained and certified by FOA schools.
FOA's schools join a network of schools that collaborate to create better training. We share technical knowledge, new training techniques and experiences in training that often results in better training at all the schools. That was especially important in during the pandemic as schools adapted to the need for student safety while ensuring high quality training. One useful technique that was first used then was controlling instruments remotely using the participants smart devices (phone or tablet), allowing students to use OTDRs themselves without ever touching the instrument itself.
FOA encourages the schools to adapt the basic CFOT curriculum to the needs of their students. This allows FOA to also use its schools to help us learn about new technologies being used in the field. Schools are encouraged to bring vendors into the training to teach about the use of new products and techniques. They share this with the FOA and we can help inform others about this. It has also led to new courses and certifications, like data centers, fiber for wireless and premises cabling.
The process of becoming a FOA approved school is not easy. Schools must have a proven track record in training, meet requirements for curriculum and hands-on labs, then identify a capable instructor who must follow the path to FOA instructor certification. It takes all that to ensure a school can provide quality training for fiber optic techs.
FOA is proud of its schools! We're pleased to show you below more about them and their facilities, instructors and trained and certified fiber optic techs.
Photos from FOA schools https://foa.org/foanewsletter.html - but only about 1/8th of them. More in the future!
Map of FOA Approved Schools: http://foa-approved.org/schools/map
