Fiber Optics Technology

Viscar Industrial Capacity Ltd provides on-the-job training in Engineering technologies. Our vision is to enhance individual and organizations performance and productivity. Our Fiber technology training has been ongoing for the past 10+ years and in that time we have trained over 500 Fiber technicians.
There is an ever-increasing demand for fibre optics communications. The government of Kenya has announced plans to deploy 100,000 Kms of fiber optic infrastructure across the country in its 10 year digital masterplan. Safaricom, the leading connectivity provider in Kenya aims to reach 1 Million home subscribers in its 5 year plan whilst new entrants such as KPLC have also indicated plans to rollout rural home connectivity. These statistics point to the growing demand for fast and reliable internet connectivity especially into homes, rural and marginalized communities. The latest Communications Authority sector statistics show that broadband connectivity has grown by 300% in the last 5 years, with latest fixed broadband connections just shy of 1 Million. The growth has been driven by FTTx, with CoVID-19 accelerating demand for Work from Home (WFH) and homeschooling or remote learning. As the demand grows, so does the demand for qualified technicians to carry out the fiber optics design, installations and maintenance. 

FOA (Fiber Optics Association) is an internationally recognized certifying body for fiber optic technicians. The FOA defines the areas of study for a Fiber Optics professional. Fiber Optics certifications are based on the  Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) expected of a technician, contractor or manager working in fiber optics and premises cabling. Here is a description of each of the FOA certifications:
1.Fiber Foundations – CFOT® – Certified Fiber Optic Technician

This is the primary FOA certification for all fiber optics applications. The FOA Certification course is designed to provide real-life experience with solid classroom instruction using various labs and practical exercises designed around advanced installation, testing techniques, procedures, and standards of inside and outside plant fiber networks.
This course offers the fiber Technician both practical and theoretical skills in fiber installation, splicing and management. The CFOT® course covers all the requirements as per the FOA-CFOT certification.

2.Fiber Specialist Certifications – Fibre to Network Design Certification (FOND)

This is a specialist application certification intended for technicians involved in the planning, design and management of installation of fiber networks. It entails fiber optic network design from concept to completion. The course covers fiber optic network design intended for network owners, IT personnel, facilities managers, network designers, estimators or technicians involved in the design or installation of fiber networks. The FOND course is especially recommended for network owners and planners who may not be familiar with the process of fiber optic network design. Which can make their jobs easier and their projects better.

3.Fiber Application Certification- Fibre To The Home Certification (FTTH)

This is an application specialist certification covering broadband FTTx networks, cabling design and installation, which includes passive optician network (PON). It is intended for anyone interested in the application of FTTH networks. 

Our FOA trainer, Stephen Musamuli Kichinda, was recently awarded by IEEE Photonics Society as the Technical Skills Educator – IEEE 2022 Award for his outstanding contributions to the technical education of Fiber Optic practitioners in Africa for Government, Industry, and Academia.

Globally, the G20 Training Strategy by the International Labor Organization contends that skills development has a direct impact on improved productivity. According to the strategy, an estimate from some European countries shows that a share of overall productivity growth attributable to training is approximately 16 percent (CEDEFOP, 2007). Our post training assessments show that individuals report a huge improvement in their overall performance whilst organizations have immediate gains in workforce productivity.

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