Published on March 24, 2026
Franklin County Board of Commissioners I Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services
The Franklin County Board of Commissioners has approved a $550,000 sub-award to the National Center for Urban Solutions to continue the Franklin County Broadband Futures Program, an initiative which trains county residents to enter the fiber optic technician field.
Approved at the March 24 General Session, the agreement will fund enrollment of at least 50 new trainees into a six-week skills program where participants earn the fiber optics basic installer certification. Program graduates are connected to employment with employer partners in NCUS TEC’s network, with starting wages ranging from $22 to $30 per hour. The program aims to graduate and place at least 80 percent of enrolled participants in trade-specific employment.
The program's reach was illustrated at the session by Dunard Garner, a recent graduate who described going from the six-week training to being hired as a technician at CRE Direct Line, a global company. He has since been promoted to senior lead and now runs a team of 48 workers while training others to splice fiber on site. Garner told commissioners that his certification was the key differentiator that helped him advance in a field where most workers at the time had only hands-on experience and no credentials.
Garner also made a direct case for additional investment, telling the Commissioners that local residents are not filling open data center positions, and that traveling workers are being brought in from other regions to fill the gap. He described his current work as an effort to change that pattern by training local residents on site.
NCUS TEC President Perry Gregory noted that data center infrastructure is continuing to expand in Franklin County, describing fiber optic technician roles as careers that will remain in demand as AI-driven industries grow. As of the most recent program cycle, 100 percent of graduates were placed in career and training-related fields. Among last year's graduates, 80 percent remain employed in training-related positions.