(TNS) — Faculty members at LCCC are doing their own training to help prepare their students for the most cutting-edge opportunities in the skilled trades.

Luzerne County Community College took part in a multi-school fiber-optics training earlier this month. Edward Kuehner, the LCCC Applied Technology Department chair; and John Weaver, an LCCC HVAC Instructor, attended the training at Lehigh Carbon Community College, which ran from Aug. 3 to Aug. 6.

Kuehner praised the training in an LCCC news release issued Friday. He said the experiences would allow him to tailor what they teach students to ensure they are best prepared to handle the latest technology and meet the demands of employers today.

“This training gave us valuable hands-on experience with the latest fiber optics technology and industry practices,” Kuehner said. “We can bring that knowledge back to LCCC to strengthen our curriculum and better prepare students for the growing demand for fiber optic skills in the workforce.”

Weaver was similarly effusive in his praise, saying that he believed the training could be readily taught to students and had immediate applications out in the workforce.

“The training provided us with practical, industry-based knowledge that we can bring directly back to our students,” Weaver said in the LCCC news release. “Fiber optics is an important part of today’s infrastructure, and this experience will help us prepare LCCC students for future technology and skilled-trade career opportunities.”

Thirteen faculty members from four community colleges in the commonwealth attended the training, alongside several teachers from secondary career-and-technical-education programs.

The training offered participants direct experience in multiple aspects of working with fiber-optic networks. Light Brigade, a national fiber-optics program, provided the “train-the-trainers certification” training with the support of Amazon Web Services.

Nicholas Lee-Romagnolo, an Amazon Web Services workforce development representative, also spoke about the growing demand for trade workers skilled in practices such as fiber optics. He said an inclusive training program, including secondary and post-secondary educators alike, would help develop an in-state workforce for Pennsylvania.

“Skilled technicians are the backbone of the infrastructure that powers our digital lives, and demand for them is only growing,” Lee-Romagnolo said in the LCCC news release. “By training the trainers, including high school teachers from Career and Technical Education Centers in these regions, these community colleges and their collaborating CTCs are creating a lasting pipeline of talent right here in Pennsylvania.”

Kelly O’Brien, the LCCC vice president of workforce development and government affairs, said in the college’s news release that the training in fiber optics was needed as the economy embraces new technologies. Forming strategic partnerships with other educational institutions, O’Brien added, were vital in providing the most relevant training to students.

“Fiber optics is an essential technology that supports the infrastructure of our digital economy,” O’Brien said. “Through partnerships like this, LCCC continues to provide innovative training solutions that connect education with industry needs.”

The joint training comes as LCCC has partnered with Lehigh Carbon Community College, as well as Bucks County Community and Northampton Community colleges, to launch the Technology & Trades Consortium. With aid from the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, the four colleges in the Technology & Trades Consortium are working on developing new fiber-optic technician programs for their students.

The consortium is also part of efforts to promote PAWorks, a statewide initiative meant to promote the skilled trades and help the commonwealth bridge a widening deficit in skilled-trade workers. State officials have projected that the commonwealth will face a shortage of 300,000 skilled trade workers by 2030.

LCCC President John Yudichak said in the Friday news release that the college was rising to meet this challenge through work like participation at the fiber-optic training.

“Luzerne County Community College faculty members, like Ed Kuehner and John Weaver, epitomize the innovative spirit of the college’s faculty who are always rising to the educational challenge of helping students prepare for high-wage, high-demand careers in the ever-changing demands of the 21st-century economy,” Yudichak said.

In its release, LCCC indicated that it and its fellow community colleges will expand its fiber-optics offerings, with future fiber-optic training programs to be announced at a later date.

© 2026 The Citizens’ Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.