Network Support Specialist Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway where employers can develop and prepare their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience, classroom instruction, and a portable, nationally-recognized credential.
On July 26, 2022, The Language Acquisition Research Foundation registered three Apprenticeship programs with the United States Department of Labor. These programs come on the heels of a new initiative to bolster the number of certified IT professionals across the nation. There is a huge shortage of qualified tech talent, especially in the Borderland. LARF is working diligently to create relationships with CompTIA, several local employers and workforce development boards to provide a sustainable local tech talent pool. Good IT technicians often leave the Borderland because pay rates are lower than other non-technical professions in El Paso. We envision a brighter future through Apprenticeship and economic change in our community by keeping our tech talent local, paying them appropriate wages and providing superior training - unlike traditional training methods which have failed to change this landscape for the last 30 years.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
Network Support Specialist
Network Support Specialists support the Infrastructure used in today's Networks. Some typical job functions include: Install, configure, and maintain an organization's local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), data communications network, operating systems, and physical and virtual servers. Perform system monitoring and verify the integrity and availability of hardware, network, and server resources and systems. Review system and application logs and verify completion of scheduled jobs, including system backups. Analyze network and server resource consumption and control user access. Install and upgrade software and maintain software licenses. May assist in network modeling, analysis, planning, and coordination between network and data communications hardware and software.
Program Details
Program Length
The term of the apprenticeship is competency-based with an OJL attainment of not less than 3032 hours or completion of competencies and supplemented by the completion of the minimum required 618 hours of related instruction. Estimated completion time of the program is 1.5 years (18 months).
Apprentice Wage Schedule
Apprentices shall be paid a progressively increasing schedule of wages based on either a percentage or a dollar amount of the current hourly journeyworker wage rate, which is: $22.00 per hour:
Certifications Obtained
Apprentices progress through our program by taking and passing CompTIA exams. With each certification, the apprentice earns more money and has greater incentive to continue to certify!
To begin your Apprenticeship in Technology, please use the Enroll Now form on this page!