As the broadband industry copes with a fiber technician shortage, Verizon this week unveiled an initiative to hire 1,800 new Fios technicians over the next three years.
Hiring is underway across eight Northeast states plus Washington D.C., with focus on areas where Verizon is working on projects funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The carrier said it expects to fill all 1,800 positions by July 2026.
Yoli Stancil, Verizon’s SVP of Wireline Network Field Operations, said the 1,800 number is “based on some details that we know about our employee base” as well as information about “where we are looking to build.”
She told Fierce the hiring will be “pretty split 50-50” between the Northern states – New England and the New York tri-state area – and the southern part of Fios’ footprint; Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and D.C.
In terms of qualifications, Stancil said Verizon will look for a combination of experienced technicians and people who can build their skillset on the job.
“I think that we will have some people who already have some experience working in this field, and I think we will have a whole set of individuals that don’t necessarily have that skill, but they possess other skills,” she said, referring to customer service as an example.
While Verizon does do some self-installs, “a lot of times” a technician must come into the customer’s home to complete the work.
Essentially, the company is looking for employees “who can come in and demonstrate that they have great customer service skills to explain to the customer, ‘this is what I’m doing in your home…this is how you work the service.’”
In addition to installing equipment and boosting customer experience, Stancil said new technicians will learn how to place fiber, which in most cases will be aerial.
“They’ll also learn how to make the connectivity from our central office back to the customer’s location,” she explained. “So you know, quite a bit of technical work.”
Verizon’s release also mentioned the hiring spree was bolstered by partnerships with local and state governments. The carrier is working with those entities to make sure “that they have any details that they need for their constituents,” Stancil said.
“They’d be able to say, this is coming, letting them know there are jobs,” she said, noting these governments can also “answer questions specific about your community.”
As for Verizon’s fiber expansion, the company has said it’s working to increase its footprint to 18 million locations – with 500,000 new Fios passings slated for 2023.
Asked whether Verizon has any plans to increase its longer-term buildout goals in light of this hiring wave, Stancil said, “we continue to partner internally to take a look at what our proposed plans are for the next year.”
“So that’s an ongoing process that will absolutely continue.”