The Fiber Optic Association

6 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 7 universities, trade groups, and even governments globally. It has long- lasting partnerships with the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, two trade organizations with tens of thousands of members that utilize FOA training courses in their apprenticeship programs and for members. FOA has 35 training programs specifically for electrical apprenticeships currently running in the U.S. Trainers are located around the world and are leaders in bringing and advocating for regional certification. Hayes rattled off a list of his colleagues in countries from Japan to France to UAE who have highly specialized training expertise that they bring to professionals through in-person, but mainly online courses. Free, online self-study courses are available through the FOA’s Fiber U page on its website. In addition to courses and tutorials, Fiber U includes links to other web pages focused on fiber optics and premises cabling. At the end of the day, Hayes has witnessed an incredible transformation in the fiber optics industry over the years. He has seen networks go from megabytes per second to terabytes per second. Over that time though the fiber itself hasn’t changed. “What has changed,” Hayes says, “is how we cable it, install it and equip it. And we’re the (association) who will keep its professionals educated on best practices.”