Pathways to Success

Garden Spot High School

Ethan Martin Earns Fiber Optics Certificate

Ethan Martin works for Haines & Kibblehouse in their IT and Communications Department.  In order to be more successful in his job, Ethan pursued a fiber optics certificate.  This certificate was paid for by the Business & Education Partnership grant provided by CareerLink Lancaster.  He was eligible for this grant because of the coursework that he completed in his Garden Spot Cooperative Education course.  Below Ethan explains fiber optics, he details his fiber school program, and the impact this certificate will have on his career.

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Fiber Optics is taking over the communication and internet world. A fiber cable is made off three different layers. The first layer being the outer casing which protects the fiber, the rubber coating, and then the bare glass. The fiber optic cable is then used to move information from one point to another point. The information is moving at the speed of light through the inner glass layer which makes your internet very fast. This is why fiber optics is taking over the world.

There were two main parts to the Fiber school, an online component, and a hands-on course. The online course consisted of five sections. The first two modules taught you the basics of fiber optics and it’s history. The third module was a practical exam to test your knowledge of what you had learned in the first two modules. Then remaining modules explained the details of fiber optics.  Finally, I took a final exam which consisted of 50-questions.

The second part of the Fiber School was the hands-on two-day class. On the first day of the class, I was taught how to use all the basic tools that are needed. Then we put the tools to work and learned how to strip the wire down to the bare fiber. After we learned that we got the fusion splicer out which fuses the glass together which makes it seamless and the light to travel without interruption. On the second day of the class, we learned how to terminate the ends on the fiber. That is the part that takes the longest. To do one end it could take anywhere from an hour to four hours. After we finished with that we were awarded our certificates.

I signed up for this class because, at the Haines and Kibblehouse group, I work in the IT/Communications department and our department wanted to expand what we can do. The past practice was to hire an outside contractor to do all fiber work. Now that I have the Certified Fiber Optic Installer (TC-CFI) certification, I can do all in house fiber work which will be cheaper for the company and will be an opportunity for me to increase my salary.

BEPGrantfiberopticsITworkkeys

jhackman • August 9, 2019


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