Posted February 06, 2019 07:11:00 The Trump administration is planning to eliminate the program to train workers to become telecommunication technicians, which was established under the Obama administration to assist with the growing shortage of telecommunications workers in the U.S. The Trump team also plans to eliminate an apprenticeship program in which companies offer telecommunication work to students and the unemployed.
Trump has proposed cutting the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Telecommunication Technology Development Program, which administers the apprenticeship and telecommunication program, to $9.6 billion from $10.2 billion.
The NTIA provides technical training and apprenticeships to workers to improve their technical skills.
The cuts would have a dramatic impact on the telecommunications industry, which has suffered a massive drop in business due to the economic downturn and the government shutdown.
Telecommunication companies such as Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, and CenturyLink have announced layoffs, as well as job cuts, and the Trump Administration has cut federal grants for apprenticeships.
The telecommunications industry is currently facing a $6.8 billion shortfall in its annual budget.
It is unclear if the cuts to the NTIA program will impact any existing apprenticeship or training programs.
The program was established to help ensure that the telecommunications sector can attract skilled workers who are able to operate telecommunication systems and maintain their job skills.
It provides technical and professional training to people who have not previously held a telecommunication job.
“This is an important development,” said Matthew O. Rabe, NTIA’s vice president for workforce programs, in a statement.
“The NTIA was established in the 1970s to help build and sustain the American telecommunications sector.
Today, we must do more to help our nation’s telecom workers maintain their skills and meet the challenges of today.”
Trump’s administration has already announced that it plans to cut federal subsidies for telecommunication industry jobs by $7.9 billion over the next two years.
NTIA has received $4.4 billion from the federal government since 2019, which will go to the Federal Communications Commission and to the National Labor Relations Board.
In a statement, the company said that while the NTISA was created as an important tool for building an economy that works for all Americans, it is also essential to maintaining an economy in which American workers are protected from unfair trade practices and predatory lending practices.
