There has been a push in the country lately to give jobs to veterans of the military. The tower climbing industry is no different. In November of 2013, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, along with many privately held telecommunication companies, joined forces to create the program “Warriors 4 Wireless.” The purpose of this nonprofit program is to connect former military members to jobs in the telecommunications industry. This program will ideally create 5,000 jobs specifically for veterans by 2015.
One main reason that so many industries like to hire veterans is to show their patriotism. There are additional benefits though. Soldiers are well adept at taking and following orders, from day one of boot camp they have been taught to follow the words, learned from experience, of those who have been enlisted longer than they have. Many new hires straight out of college are cocky and refuse to listen to the experience of others. On a job where you are 500 feet up in the air, this is dangerous for everyone on a crew.
Military members, especially those who had telecommunications jobs while enlisted, had government approved training. The same guidelines that are required by regulatory agencies are taught in the armed forces and they are kept current regularly. While colleges, trade schools, and apprentices may also teach these guidelines, it is hard to be certain with a lesser know college or program. They also tend to institute program changes at a slightly lower rate than the military. However, IT specialists in the military may not possess the equivalent certificates, even though they possess the skills.
Veterans have learned how to remain calm in the face of danger. They usually know how to handle life or death situations and are natural leaders. Everything is done to ensure the safety of each tower climber crew, both those on the tower and those on the ground, but, it is good to know that if one of those situations happens someone who has these skills is present.
The Warriors 4 Wireless Tower Program provides additional training in several areas. They reinforce the knowledge learned in the military and also provide courses in Basic Rigging, Principles in Electricity, Fiber Optics Training, Wireless Technology, Antenna Basics, Spectrum Management, and Fall Protection Theory. These courses also serve as an introduction to veterans who were in non-telecomm related fields. The course through the Warriors 4 Wireless Program is five weeks long.
In addition to the government funded program, many corporations have their own individual programs designed to help veterans find jobs after their service requirement has been met. This is just one of the ways that the telecommunications industry is trying to give back to the troops. If you are still enlisted in the military you can get a hold of this program as your date draws close. If you are done with your service obligation you can contact this program as well.
Not all the jobs offered by participating companies are entry level either. Depending on your years of experience within the communication and/or electrical field, many of these companies will hire former military into supervisory roles.