Workforce Development

Six areas have been identified for the 2009-2010 subcommittee agenda:

9,000 IN ’09
The 9,000 in ’09 initiative launched to communicate career opportunities available in public transportation to 9,000 students of all ages. The 9,000 in ’09 Web site (http://www.apta.com/9000in09) was created to record and quantify the impacts of student outreach efforts being initiated, organized, or sponsored by APTA’s members and partner organizations, result ing in a database efforts and contacts helping transit agencies to establish their own programs.

The second phase of the program is to partner with Junior Achievement of America to help local transit agencies recruit youth in their communities and develop several pilot programs to demonstrate the model. Organizations can register their efforts to introduce transportation to youth at the Web site.

University Transportation Center Webinar
The goal of this initiative is to provide an online industry forum where university transportation centers (UTCs), students and leaders can engage in a robust dialogue about transit professional development programs, industry needs and career goals of prospective transit professionals. For details, contact Starletta Gaddis at sgaddis@apta.com.

Marketing the New Generations
In 2007, a working group of Leadership APTA prepared the “Next Generation” report that highlighted the values, goals and work ethic of the next generation of transit professionals. The project has been adopted by the workforce subcommittee who is working closely with the Blue Ribbon Panel to develop strategies to help attract and engage this next generation.

Build and Communicate the Case for Dedicated Funding and Training
This is a collaborative effort with the Blue Ribbon Panel’s Immediate Issues Working Group to secure a dedicated source of funding available for training and education. While transit agencies may use operating funds to support training activities, in the current economic climate there are less available funds with which to operate and the education and training of workers lags.

Career Education and Development Roadmap
A Web-based brochure of transit industry training and development opportunities will go online in fall 2009. The initial phase will be to catalogue the senior-level programs and courses such as Leadership APTA, Eno’s Senior Executive Seminar, TCRP’s International Transit Studies Program and NTI’s Leadership Institute. As the Blue Ribbon Panel completes its work, the road map will be expanded to include training initiatives across the transportation workforce.

APTA Business Members’ Workforce Needs
Building on the results of the Blue Ribbon Panel and the APTA member survey and collaborating with the APTA business member committee, the work to identify the workforce needs of APTA business members will commence in fall 2009.

The transit CEOs queried in the 2004 study were on target when asked “Why transit?”, “Why stay?”: The transportation industry attracts fascinating people who engage fully in the “good work of transit.” Take a moment to thank your colleagues and the hard-working APTA staff for the good work they do to further the workforce development efforts for this great industry.

Dr. Barbara Gannon chairs the workforce subcommittee of the APTA human resource committee. She is the executive director of the Eno Transportation Foundation’s Center for Transportation Leadership.