Underground Construction - February 2021 - 32

PCCA Maintains Essential Work During 2020
Broadband coalition

The PCCA Board of Directors, some socially distanced and others
participating via Zoom, conduct important association business during
the 2020 PCCA Mid-Year Meeting.

James Clyburn, John Burchett of Google Fiber, and the
Senate Commerce Committee.
At the end of the day, it was clear that even the COVID-19
pandemic could not stop PCCA from making the points on a
variety of issues that the association wants to express.

Huge strides in workforce development
Funds from the U.S. Department of Labor are part of the
agency's grant program, Apprenticeship: Closing the Skills
Gap, which is designed to support large-scale expansions
of apprenticeship. PCCA partnered with the Wireless
Infrastructure Association (WIA) on the grant, which will
provide the necessary funding to design curricula and deliver
training to develop qualified applicants for placement in
middle- to high-skilled jobs nationwide.
The nearly $6-million grant is supplemented by more than
$9 million in matching support from industry, including
cash and in-kind contributions from WIA, PCCA, several
PCCA associate members, and participating employers,
for a total commitment to apprenticeship of $15 million
in a public-private partnership.
Five institutions of higher education have been developing
utility construction programs as part of PCCA's " Who Will Do the
Work? " program, and they are already committed as technical
partner schools with PCCA and WIA: State Technical College
of Missouri, Terra State Community College (Ohio), Wisconsin
Indianhead Technical College, Monroe County Community
College (Mich.), and Somerset Community College (Ky.).
" This grant will greatly accelerate the good work that
PCCA's Education Committee and Education & Research
Foundation have undertaken to tackle the broadband industry's
critical workforce shortage, " Wagner said. " PCCA and its
foundation are now poised to help train the workforce necessary
to realize the promise of the nation's 5G network.
" All of PCCA thanks Sellenriek Construction for having the
vision to involve State Technical College of Missouri in its
workforce solution and Mark Bridgers for conceiving the idea of
a standardized curriculum and for moving the ball forward with
the PCCA-affiliated schools. "
32

FEBRUARY 2021 | UCONonline.com

Continuing its 75-year effort to bring utility services to rural
Americans, PCCA proudly joined the American Connection
Project Broadband Coalition in July. Coalition members are
working together to bring high-speed internet access to
all households, with a focus on those in rural areas.
Representing hundreds of companies and business
organizations from a cross-section of the U.S. economy, the
coalition is spearheaded by farmer-owned cooperative Land
O'Lakes Inc., which like PCCA, advocates for full internet
accessibility, including for all rural Americans.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Land O'Lakes and
other partners have established free, guest Wi-Fi access
points outside Land O'Lakes' business locations in hundreds
of communities. For example, Microsoft donated hotspot
boosters to further the reach of the guest Wi-Fi, so that area
residents could safely conduct business, communicate with
family and friends, and carry out other daily activities online,
while staying socially distanced in their cars.

PCCA Earns CGA President's Award
PCCA continued to expand its efforts to " fix the very-broken
underground damage prevention system that historically and
reflexively burdens and blames contractors, " according to
Chairman John Fluharty, amplifying the PCCA three pillars
of damage prevention:
* Membership of all owners/operators of underground
facilities to the state one-call center
* Accurate locating
* Potholing of underground facilities.
The association urges its members to submit damage
prevention data into the Common Ground Alliance's (CGA)
annual DIRT Report to help create a safer underground
environment.
At the 2021 PCCA Convention in March, the first PCCA/
CGA Excavation Safety Summit will be held, where participants
will look more closely at what's actually being done in damage
prevention and listen to what PCCA members are experiencing
in the field. Topics will include the CGA Next Practices
initiative, DIRT Report results, the evolution of SiteRight
as a DIRT report input and damage mitigation tool, and a
progress report on the What Gets Measured Gets Done study.
Recognizing the association's work on damage prevention,
CGA awarded PCCA with the 2019 CGA President's Award.
" The members of PCCA have embraced the philosophy that
damage prevention is a shared responsibility, " CGA President
& CEO Sarah Magruder Lyle said. " This group has come to
the table ready to work and find solutions to the damage
prevention challenges that we face. PCCA's leadership has
been clear: they want to be part of the solution. "
To learn more about PCCA and the 76th Annual PCCA
Convention at the Naples Grande Beach Resort, Naples, Fla.,
March 5-10, visit www.pccaweb.org. *
http://www.pccaweb.org http://www.UCONonline.com
Underground Construction - February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Construction - February 2021
