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.”
