March 26, 2019 (Exton, PA)—The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) and its global arm, the International Society of Broadband Experts (ISBE), today announced the launch of a multi-faceted VirtuLearn Critical Facilities course that is intended to prepare technical workforces to support the the changing role of headends and data centers in cable network footprints.
The course, which is available online at https://www.scte.org/criticalfacilities or via an instructor-led onsite boot camp, provides in-depth instruction for current and prospective engineering and technical operations professionals across six disciplines: Critical Facilities; Critical Infrastructure; Cooling; Powering; Disaster Recovery; and Greener Facilities.
“As we evolve our networks to serve the growing needs of our customers, we’re continuously looking for ways to make our network facilities smarter, faster and more efficient,” said Sherita Ceasar, senior vice president, technology environments and strategy for Comcast Cable. “This Critical Facilities curriculum is a valuable tool for current and future workforce professionals seeking to support that evolution and achieve the highest possible levels of operational readiness.”
“FTTx/xPON technologies, Distributed Access Architectures, DOCSIS 3.1 and the rise in broadband traffic are creating unprecedented demands for capacity and reliability on operator networks,” said Steve Harris, executive director, Technical Sales, Learning & Development for SCTE•ISBE. “Upwards of 80% of unplanned downtime is caused by people or process issues; we’ve designed this course to reduce those possibilities and to provide the decision-making structures and processes that can address unpredictable events such as power outages, natural disasters and manmade disasters.”
Enrollment in the Critical Facilities course includes: access to in-depth interactive VirtuLearn eBook™ modules; interactive VirtuLearn LightningMod™ microlessons; and confirmation of learning of the course of discipline. Those who complete the full course will receive a completion certificate and four recertification units toward SCTE•ISBE recertification renewal. Learners also can take, and earn course completion certificates and recertification units for, individual modules.
The world’s leading provider of cable telecommunications education,certification and standards, SCTE•ISBE offers a rich curriculum that has been developed in conjunction with leading industry operators, subject matter experts, and vendors. Educational content powered by SCTE•ISBE’s CORTEX VirtuLearn system is delivered in a wide variety of formats that incorporate the latest advances in learning science to drive the transfer of knowledge and increase workforce capabilities. More information on SCTE•ISBE professional development can be found here.
