AWS Offers New Career Opportunities for Local Workers

Last month, I had the opportunity to visit Ivy Tech for its two-day fiber optic fusion splicing certificate course on fiber optic installation and repair.  Ivy Tech teamed up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and other employers to offer this no-cost program for anyone wanting to enter the fiber optic industry and professionals wishing to learn fusion splicing skills.

This was the first of many opportunities for people in our region to gain the necessary skills for jobs such as those at the new AWS facilities near New Carlisle. AWS is advancing an $11 billion project in St. Joseph County, the largest project in the history of the State of Indiana, creating one thousand new jobs in our region.  

Fiber optic cables are critical to the modern world. They carry internet, TV, and telephone data, and are key to everything we do. In this class students learn real-world deployment techniques ranging from hand tools to state-of-the-art automated fusion splicing technology.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about fusion splicing. But I do understand that it is an important skill for places like the new AWS and Microsoft facilities in our area and there is a great need for people to do this work. But it’s just one example of the dozens of skills that will be required for the roll-out of our area’s newest data centers.

I was really impressed by the students in the class. I thought it was a great cross section of our community. For example, participants were men and women, old and young, experienced and inexperienced, black, white, and Hispanic. The common thread amongst them all was the desire to add to their skill base and better prepare themselves for career opportunities here in the region. I saw a lot of excitement in the participants and their families.

To their credit, they realized that companies like AWS present a good career opportunity for individuals in our area and are at a wage 25% higher than the average wage here in the County. They also realized training like the fusion splicing training could be the first step on a journey that could include many stops along the way at a company like AWS.

The class was a nice reminder of why we need projects like the AWS project in our community. In addition to adding a great taxpayer and utility customer, our residents need good career opportunities. These jobs will provide them with some stability and a good wage to help support their families. Projects like this are critical to our region’s talent attraction and retention efforts.

I was also impressed by the AWS-Ivy Tech partnership. Ivy Tech is a critical partner with local employers as they help prepare future workers. They can customize training to meet employers' needs and will play a critical role in the rollout of projects like AWS, Microsoft, and GM/Samsung SDI.

AWS recognizes that an investment in people on the front end will net dividends on the back end with better workers. Watch for future opportunities in our community for training ahead of their 2025 data center openings. AWS plans to work closely with K-12 partners and Ivy Tech as their project advances.

If you are currently unsure about what you want to do with your career, or want to make sure you don’t miss out on future training opportunities like what was done with the fusion splicing training,  I encourage you to reach out to Ivy Tech for further discussion

on the 51 programs they currently offer and how those might prepare you for a better career here in local industry.