SKILLS
Face-to-face Ednay believes that, for many, this approach has been forced upon them by the constraints of the pandemic, working from home, with no chance for extended in-person discussions or for atending live courses or conferences. ‘So,’ he said, ‘engineers pick up a selection of random pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. Each piece might be intrinsically quite interesting, but there’s litle prospect of being able to put it all together in context so that you get to see the big picture clearly. And the pieces of the puzzle that you pick up might be from quite different pictures, depending upon the perspective of whoever is giving you the information. Oh, and the additional challenge is that the picture is constantly changing and evolving.’ Some engineers, Ednay recognised, may
have had the opportunity for online or virtual training. ‘Tis medium is great for bite-size, specific task-based learning and works well for those “just in time” personalised requirements we all have,’ he said. ‘But this delivery mechanism is not ideal for learning about large and complex subjects, such as optical networking, where there are many interrelated dependencies. Te lack of interaction and immediate feedback about any misunderstandings, can be problematic. Complex courses need to be broken up into short sessions, oſten spread out over a long period of time, easily missed, so you lose the flow and forget key points that you need to build on to achieve the objectives. In contrast, the intense, interactive, immersive shared experience of “boot-camp” style live training courses, provides an effective and efficient way to tackle more complex learning. Tere’s a reason we have all missed live experiences.’ Ednay’s advice is to seek out training that is
targeted at you or your team’s job function/s and pitched at the right level to achieve your needs. ’But,’ he warned, ‘whatever methods you choose, you do need a coherent approach to upskilling in 2022 to make sure that you get the full picture of modern optical networking. A piecemeal approach will not serve you well.’
Recruiting and retaining staff Emma Atkins, founder at boutique recruitment company FibrePeople, reiterated that 2021 has seen exponential growth of the telecoms industry, focusing particularly across the UK, as the world strives for beter connectivity. ‘It has also seen us transform how we work whilst living in a pandemic,’ she said. ‘Priorities have changed for people and employers are adapting to this.’ FibrePeople works in partnership with
operators across the UK. ‘Some are established,’ Atkins said, ‘and others where we’ve supported their recruitment before they announced their presence in the market. Te common theme
10
Optical networking course using WhizzieKit training aid
across the industry is the need for people, and more specifically, skilled people.’ Atkins revealed that during Q3 of 2021, the
company noticed fewer applicants across the board, and the requirement to find creative ways to source talent has been particularly compelling. ‘We would always encourage our partners to train and promote from within,’ she stressed. ‘However, time, financial pressures, and other factors lead to many vacancies needing to be filled by someone who can “hit the ground running.”’ Te pool of experienced talent is in high
demand. Continued Atkins: ‘We’ve seen salary increases across various roles as operators invest to retain their employees and atract new candidates. Although salary is important, the complete employee value proposition is what helps to close the deal! It’s been fantastic to see many operators introducing and growing their apprenticeship programmes bringing in new talent to the industry. Crissi Williams, CEO of the ITP, has been leading the way for this and we’d encourage any operator looking into apprenticeships to reach out to them. Additionally, the ITP has also worked on fantastic initiatives to encourage women into the industry.’
“
Top talent tips As the competition for talent continues, Atkins shared some key advice in keeping candidates engaged and practices she sees having the most success in hiring the right person, who stays. Firstly, CV feedback should be as fast as possible. Atkins explained: ‘Candidates are in demand and a competitor who responds sooner may hire them, so time really is of the essence. It is equally important to share feedback if it is a “no” however, limited it may be.’
Secondly, said Atkins, are the details. ‘Is there
a job description?’ she said, ‘who will they report to? Who will be interviewing? How? What type of interview? What is the process, through to extending an offer? Having these fundamentals established, allows us to be transparent with candidates, set expectations, as well as be beneficial for the employer brand and candidate experience.’ Onboarding is also important to consider.
Continued Atkins: ‘While working notice or waiting for their start date, there is always a chance of an offer from elsewhere. It is vitally important candidates feel valued and keen to be a part of your company and vision. As an agency we have a process in place for our successful candidates and collaborate with our partners to ensure candidates feel supported from offer to day one, and beyond.’ Another crucial point to consider is diversity
and inclusion. ‘Having a diverse workforce and inclusive hiring practices are essential for success and access to wider talent pools. More than ever candidates are looking at diversity and inclusion practices of companies and making employment decisions based on their approach to diversity and inclusion and intentions to improve.’ It is important, particularly in today’s post-
Covid era, to atract new candidates, said Atkins, but to also retain your workforce by exploring all possibilities of flexible working. Sourcing the right partners is also a sensible practise. ‘I may be biased on this one,’ said Atkins, ‘however, the most successful working relationships are where we work as an extension of an internal hiring team/manager. Communication is key and will ultimately save you time when you’re required to utilise an agency to source your next great hire. ‘In 2021, our workforces collaborated, they
It is vitally important candidates feel valued and keen to be a part of your company and vision”
innovated, they were agile and flexible. As we look towards 2022, we need to consider how we can use what we have learned to build cultures and business models to capitalise on this, especially in an industry delivering the ultimate technology to help facilitate these work-life improvements. It looks to be a very exciting 2022 and we’re glad to be playing our part to bring fibre and all its benefits across the UK.’n
Fibre Yearbook 2022
Optical Technology Training
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