West Georgia Technical College, Amazon Web Services Bring Hands-On Fiber Optic Training to Douglasville
DOUGLASVILLE, GA – West Georgia Technical College (WGTC), in partnership with Elevate Douglas, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, hosted two hands-on fiber optic training events: an interactive micro course on June 25 and a two-day certificate course on June 26–27. These high-demand training opportunities brought practical fiber optic skills directly to Douglas County’s growing workforce.
Led by industry experts from Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, the training offered participants hands-on experience with advanced fiber optic tools and techniques, building practical skills in cabling and splicing. The two-day certificate course also included a culminating ceremony and networking fair, giving learners the chance to connect with local fiber and tech infrastructure professionals. Participants earned an AWS Fiber Optic Fusion Splicing certificate, enhancing their credentials in a high-demand field. Both courses were held on WGTC’s Douglasville Campus and drew a diverse group of career changers, students, and industry professionals looking to upskill.
Participants in the AWS Fiber Optic Fusion Splicing Certificate course at West Georgia Technical College proudly display their certificates after completing the two-day hands-on training, held June 26–27 on WGTC’s Douglasville Campus. The course was presented in partnership with AWS, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, and Elevate Douglas. Photo courtesy of Elevate Douglas.
“West Georgia Technical College is proud to partner with Elevate Douglas, AWS, and Sumitomo Electric Lightwave to offer this free, hands-on fiber optic training opportunity in Douglas County,” said Kristen Buoy, VP of Academic Affairs at WGTC. “The courses deliver practical, industry-relevant skills that address the rising demand for fiber optic installation, repair, and splicing. By investing in training for high-demand fields, we are equipping students, community members, and industry professionals to meet the evolving needs of our region’s workforce.”
AWS has continued to deploy similar workforce development initiatives nationwide to address the growing demand for fiber technicians in cloud infrastructure and connectivity.
“At AWS, we’ve always recognized the transformative value of skills development and the lasting benefits and opportunities it brings to local workforces where we operate,” stated Roger Wehner, VP of Economic Development for AWS. “We’re excited that our AWS Fusion Splicing program is creating new professional avenues for participants. Those trained in fiber optic installation and maintenance will be equipped to take on essential roles constructing the foundation necessary to connect our nation for the digital era.”
About West Georgia Technical College
West Georgia Technical College, with campuses in Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Haralson, and Troup counties and class sites in Heard and Meriwether counties, offers more than 120 associate degree, diploma, and technical certificate programs of study. A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, West Georgia Tech is one of the largest of the state’s 22 technical colleges. For more information, please visit www.westgatech.edu.
About Amazon Web Services
Since 2006, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud. AWS has been continually expanding its services to support virtually any workload, and it now has more than 240 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, media, and application development, deployment, and management from 117 Availability Zones within 37 geographic regions, with announced plans for 13 more Availability Zones and four more AWS Regions in Chile, New Zealand, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com
