NCTI, the Colorado-based provider of cable and broadband technology training services, has signed a three-year enterprise license agreement with Schurz Communications, Inc.

Under the deal, Schurz will have the ability to select content applicable to its own specific business objectives at heavily discounted rates, NCTI said. NCTI is also helping Schurz to build career progression programs.

The program is expected to launch in mid-to-late February, beginning with technicians. 

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“SCI ardently believes the most valuable asset to any company is its employees,” Tom Williams, VP of engineering and technology for Schurz’s broadband division, said in a statement. Vice President of Engineering and Technology, Broadband Division. “We want to attract and retain the best talent, and the best talent needs to know their employer cares enough to invest in their future.”

On the cable side, SCI operates Antietam Broadband (Hagerstown, Md.); Orbitel Communications (Maricopa, Ariz.); and Long Lines Broadband (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa).

The SCTE/ISBE and the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) have forged a partnership that will bring the SCTE/ISBE’s technology training to the workforces of independent operators that are part of the co-op.

Under the agreement, SCTE/ISBE will provide NCTC members with discounted prices for all online training courses, including those that are included in the organization’s CORTEX Expert Development System, which has been tailored for the industry’s technical workforce.

The organizations will also support “promotional opportunities” that highlight the benefits of the training and work together on other events and projects.

“SCTE/ISBE has always been a key provider of training for our industry,” said Rich Fickle, president and CEO of NCTC, in a statement. “We believe that our ability to help technology workforces access SCTE•ISBE learning and development resources can help improve business results for our member companies.”

“Through alliances with organizations within and outside of the industry, we’re leveraging SCTE/ISBE programs to drive real benefits for the cable telecommunications community,” added Mark Dzuban, president and CEO of SCTE/ISBE.  “Our partnership with NCTC will enable positive outcomes for NCTC members via educational resources that have been developed in direct collaboration with the operator community, and that have been proven to improve service quality, increase subscriber satisfaction, and generate value.”

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), its global arm, the International Society of Broadband Experts (ISBE), and Colorado-based tech training specialist opXL Learning Systems have inked a partnership aimed at expanding workforce learning and development opportunities for cable operators.

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Under the deal, they’ll make opXL’s Safety and HFC Technician courses available to SCTE/ISBE’s 25,000 members via the Society’s “learning infrastructure.” They’ll begin to offer opXL's courses, which are interactive and distributed online, later this year.

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opXL's Safety Series includes refresher training for Ladder Safety, Driving, Bucket Truck Safety, Electrical Safety (two courses) and Slips, Trips and Falls. Its HFC Technician programs include Cable Math, RF Theory & Troubleshooting and AC Power.  All courses are interactive, are offered online, and include rich animations and graphics.

The partnership will also open the door for opXL and SCTE/ISBE to collaborate on new training content, with opXL positioned as the sales channel for coursework covered by the partnership.

They announced the deal on the eve of Cable-Tec Expo 2016, set to run through Thursday (September 29) in Philadelphia.

“opXL’s strong technical knowledge base, its engaging curricula and its results-oriented methodologies all have established it as a ‘go-to’ resource for training expertise,” Mark Dzuban, president and CEO of SCTE/ISBE, said in a statement. “By collaborating on both course creation and distribution through both SCTE and ISBE, we can accelerate the global availability of customized, personalized training that can have a direct and meaningful impact on operators’ bottom lines.”

“With its vast membership base, its deep relationships with operators and technology partners and its role as the industry’s only ANSI-accredited standards body, SCTE/ISBE is able to expand both the footprint of opXL training as well as the portfolio of course offerings,” added Tom Gorman, president of opXL and industry vet who is late of several MSOs, including Charter Communications, Prime Cable, Comcast, and Jones Intercable. “We look forward to building a relationship that will achieve the goals of both of our organizations—a better-trained, more valuable workforce for our industry.”

Two Colorado–based companies -- NCTI (formerly Jones/NCTI) and opXL LLC -- have come together to launch nine courses for frontline cable and broadband industry techs.

The courses, a three-part series focused on the HFC Outside Plant, and a six-part Safety Series, are being offered online and address two of the top training requests from cable operators in educating frontline teams, they said.

The online courses, which feature video clips and animation to illustrate concepts, are optimized for iPads and Android tablets, they added. NCTI will market and sell the opXL-developed courses and offer them at www.ncti.com

The HFC Outside Plant Technician Basics Series provides an overview of cable math, AC power and RF theory. The Safety Series delivers safety refreshers in the following areas: Bucket Truck Safety; Ladder Safety; Electrical Safety-Outside Plant; Electrical Safety-Customer Premises; Slips, Trips and Falls; and Driving Safety

"Our customers told us they want basic training for HFC Outside Plant Technicians and need safety refresher courses to keep technician teams safe, and support corporate risk management goals,” said Stacey Slaughter, NCTI’s CEO, who acquired Jones/NCTI late last year. “We are pleased to collaborate with opXL to offer these important and relevant new courses in a learner-friendly format. Our superior delivery system and this high quality content creates a win-win for operators."

"NCTI provides opXL with a fantastic avenue to deliver our interactive HFC Technician and Safety courseware to the service provider market,” added Tom Gorman, president of opXL. “The HFC Tech Series gives advanced techs the knowledge and skills they need to be more effective in their job - which is invaluable as technology changes. The skill level of service techs must evolve as well.  And safety - among both field employees and contracted technicians - is of critical, and often overlooked, importance. In addition to the personal health benefits, the amount of savings an operator can realize by reducing reportable accidents is significant."

"opXL Learning Systems' HFC Tech Series and Safety Series programs are a great addition to NCTI's robust curriculum,” opXL principal Neil Sullivan said. “The HFC Tech Series is ground-breaking, online, interactive content that can be delivered via any web format and is available 24/7. Our Safety courses have been developed with employee welfare in mind. One of our MSO clients has reported a reduction in accidents of 50% since they started using the programs."

Stacey Slaughter, the CEO and CFO of Jones/NTCI, has finalized a deal to acquire the cable and broadband technology and services training company from Jones International, and plans to keep the firm based in the Denver area.

Slaughter (pictured) said she joined the bidding for the company when the Jones International board decided to seek a buyer for Jones/NCTI, a process that started following the passing of cable pioneer Glenn Jones in July. Jones International Academy closed its acquisition of NCTI,then a rival cable education and training firm, in January 2006.

Financial terms of the acquisition of Jones/NCTI were not disclosed, but Slaughter, who is coming up on her 20th year with Jones International, said she is now the sole owner of Jones/NCTI and financed the deal on her own.

Slaughter said she tossed her hat in the ring when the sales process for Jones/NCTI got underway in the late summer.  

“I believe strongly in what we do,” she said. “I believe in this team and believe in the services we provide, the products that we develop and the partners that we have in the MSO industry. I have a strong commitment to see that [business] continue to grow.”

Slaughter said all 30 Jones/NCTI employees (in true Jones form, she refers to them as “associates”) will stay with the company, which will be rebranded as “NCTI" in the coming months. 

Plans are also underway to move the company out of its current location, at the Jones headquarters building in Centennial, Colo., and set up new base of operations in nearby Littleton. Negotiations for the new space are ongoing, but Slaughter hopes to execute the move by February 2016.

“I wanted to make sure this team continued on their trajectory,” she said of her decision to buy the company, noting that developing training and courses for DOCSIS 3.1, fiber networks, and WiFi installation and troubleshooting will continue to be a near-term focus. NCTI, she added, will also focus on the “evolving the customer experience” as support increasingly links call centers with field technicians.

“I feel great about our prospects in 2016,” she said, adding that plans are underway to relaunch NCTI’s learning platform in the first quarter of next year.

Jones/NCTI, which has trained nearly 500,000 frontline employees since its founding, also offers a fully-accredited college certificate and degree program through a partnership with Arapahoe Community College. 

Slaughter joined Jones International in January 1996 as a staff accountant and worked her way up from there. She was named CFO of Jones/NCTI in 2012, appointed acting CEO in late 2013, and named permanent CEO in 2014, when Glenn Jones was appointed executive chairman of the Jones/NCTI  board.  She received her undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Washington in Seattle, and a  Masters’ degree from the University of Colorado in 2001. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Colorado Society of CPAs.