‘Where did I see myself in 10 years?’: A look at life-changing telecom apprenticeships in Alaska

Presented by Alaska Communications and MTA

Amanda Sagmoen had settled into her career. At 30, she was a hard-working administrative assistant at an Anchorage office. But something in her life was missing.

“I had a lot of job offers from law firms and corporations,” she said. “It made me think, where did I see myself in 10 years?”

Sagmoen is from Stony River, a Southwest Alaska community of about 40 people. In high school, she entered Anchorage’s foster care system and at 18, she attended the University of Alaska, Anchorage, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in finance.

At her Anchorage office job, she thought about what she truly enjoyed. She liked logistics and problem-solving. She wanted to help rural Alaska communities thrive.

“I wanted something fulfilling, something that I could use my hands on,” she said.

Then she found an opportunity that changed the course of her life: An apprenticeship in telecommunications through the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust.

As an apprentice, Sagmoen is learning to maintain, repair and grow the state’s internet and telephone systems—all while getting paid to go to school. She has tapped into a trade that is both highly skilled and in high demand, with exceptional benefits on and off the job.

Telecom workers like Sagmoen are also poised to change the trajectory of rural Alaska for generations to come, as federal funds bring broadband internet to some of the nation’s most underserved communities.

Skills in high demand, with a $90k starting salary

The Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust is a partnership between the Alaska Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1547.

Apprentices choose between three job classifications: Wiremen, linemen and telecom. Sagmoen first applied to the wireman classification, but a colleague recommended pursuing telecom, specifically cable splicing, which is experiencing a worldwide shortage.

“They’re screaming for help,” said Sagmoen. “They’re screaming for cable splicers.”

Telecom apprentices learn to install, repair and maintain communications equipment. They fix damaged cable lines, cutting and fusing fibers together, and build office internet networks.

These highly technical skills are accompanied by physical challenges. Apprentices learn to climb telephone poles, handle heavy equipment and safely work outdoors in all kinds of weather.

On her first work dispatch, Sagmoen installed outdoor cable lines, digging trenches and laying fiber cables. On another work call, she flew to Kodiak, where she helped set up a complex camera system.

Apprentices work under the supervision of journeymen year-round.. They must have 8,000 hours on-the-job experience to complete the program and become a journeyman, which usually takes four or five years.

During the offseason, students take eight-week classes with hands-on training. Some are hired as permanent employees at companies like MTA and Alaska Communications, like Sagmoen. Others receive unemployment benefits and return to the field in the spring. Either way, apprentices have financial stability.

Sagmoen has about 1,500 hours left until she completes her apprenticeship. Her career has taken her across Alaska, equipped with a new sense of purpose and security. She loves working with her colleagues and residents in small communities.

“I don’t go to work to make friends, but sure enough, I’ve made a lot of lifelong partnerships in the trade,” said Sagmoen.

From apprentices to journeymen: ‘they’re thriving’

Roughly 400 students from across Alaska attend the apprentice schools in Anchorage and Fairbanks.

“There’s no better training than what we’re seeing coming out of the union; the skill level, the talent of the teachers, the commitment to the student,” said Matthew McConnell, president and CEO at Alaska Communications.

The apprentice program works closely with its industry partners, like Alaska Communications and MTA, to provide education relevant to Alaska, which ensures students can practice new skills in a real-world environment.

“We take pride in developing homegrown talent right here in Alaska, ensuring that our communities are served by professionals who have a deep connection to and understanding of Alaska’s unique needs,” said Michael Burke, CEO of MTA.

Cache Carr is a cable maintenance technician at MTA. A longtime journeyman, he has helped to help teach cable splicing at the school and on the job.

“Telecommunications is a broad spectrum. What I enjoy about training apprentices is if you can find that little niche, and they’re happy in that niche, they might enjoy showing up to work for the rest of their career,” said Carr.

Not all telecom work is outdoors—the field is vast, and teams of engineers and data operations specialists work inside, he said.

The industry is a great option for Alaskans who want to develop lifelong skills but may not feel drawn to attending college. Instead of incurring debt, apprentices walk away with investments.

“You’re getting paid and you’re gaining a skill,” said Carr.

“Once a journeyman, workers enjoy more flexibility and steadfast job security through the IBEW. Both the IBEW and AJEATT act as liaisons for contractors who are hiring, so journeymen and apprentices do not have to find jobs on their own,” said Statewide Training Director at the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust, Melissa Caress.

Starting wages upon graduation are competitive at roughly $90,000 a year. Apprentices and journeymen enjoy excellent benefits, including a pension, annuities, health care coverage, legal coverage and collective bargaining for increased wages every year, she said.

“I love watching 18-year-olds come into this program and by the time they’re 23 they are journeymen and they’re thriving in their careers, and they’re set,” said Caress.

“The apprenticeship model allows students to build a solid foundation for their careers without the burden of student debt,” said MTA’s Burke.

To apply, students must be 18 with a valid driver’s license and high school diploma or state issued GED certificate. Applicants are considered on a quarterly basis; the next deadline is June 30.

Building a stronger Alaska

Telecom workers are on the forefront of life-changing infrastructure investment in Alaska. Over the next several years, roughly $2 billion in federal funding will bring broadband to communities in rural Alaska which today lack basic internet access.

“Alaska is on the cusp of the next generation of technology and connectivity,” said McConnell at Alaska Communications.

Alaska Communications’ partners have received $139 million so far to build reliable, high-speed fiber broadband in 15 communities along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers.

The project involves the careful laying of 600-miles of fiber cable across tundra and underwater. Once complete, residents will have access to lightning-fast internet, creating new opportunities for small businesses, education and health care.

MTA was awarded a USDA Grant Project in Tyonek and Beluga. This project will construct over 50 miles of high-speed fiber to all homes and businesses in the area, bringing Alaska closer to its goal of closing the digital divide.

“We’re bringing some of the latest and greatest technology to places that otherwise would have no means of communication. And that’s really cool,” said Jaclyn Johnson, an apprentice at MTA.

Johnson left a 10-year career as a veterinary assistant to pursue her new path. She wanted more financial stability and a change of pace. At 27, she became an apprentice.

“Everybody has been so friendly and so interested in giving me an opportunity to prove myself. They’ve let me be all-hands-on and it has been super empowering,” said Johnson.

Johnson started out in installation and repair and is now cross-training in cable splicing. She works alongside two journeymen and another apprentice. The trade has brought her a new sense of security, confidence and gratitude.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” she said.

It’s an exciting time for Alaska and the telecoms industry. Yet in a state already squeezed by a shrinking workforce, the need for apprentices and journeymen will only increase in the years to come.

At the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprentice and Training Trust, the next generation of skilled telecoms professionals is already carving out lifelong careers for themselves while investing in a stronger future for the state.

“Communications is always going to be important. It’s always going to be valued,” said Johnson. “Anyone who is considering looking into a different career, or is just curious about what you can do, I can’t recommend enough that you just call the school.”

Learn more about the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprentice and Training Trust and how a career in telecommunications changes lives and builds stronger communities.

This article was produced by the sponsored content department of Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with Alaska Communications and MTA. The ADN newsroom was not involved in its production.