|
See You at Making Connections 2024!
Transit Workforce Center's (TWC) Making Connections 2024 (MC24) is just around the corner, with only 39 days left until the start of the event! Don’t miss this opportunity to gain fresh insights, skills, and perspectives on critical transit workforce development topics and connect with a diverse network of transit agencies, unions, nonprofits, government officials, educators, and workforce development organizations.
Book at our host hotel by October 17 to stay close to conference sessions, networking events, and everything MC24. Payment by check option is available until October 4. Registration payments made after that date must be by credit card.
Visit the MC24 website or email mc24@transportcenter.org for more information.
| |
|
ITLC National Rail Car Consortium Holds Annual Meeting
ITLC’s National Rail Car Consortium held its annual in-person meeting in Saint Paul, Minnesota, September 9-13, hosted by Metro Transit and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1005. Metro Transit’s management team, including Lesley Kandaras, Brian Funk, Ed Meyer, and Ona Pradhan welcomed the attendees on Tuesday morning. ITLC staff, including Addie Khanu, Jason Macumber, and Kristen Ribaudo attended alongside 11 rail car member agencies.
Twenty-four Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) participated, including rail car maintenance trainers, frontline workers, and representatives from: Capital Area Transit System (CATS); Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) and ATU Local 268; Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA); Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and ATU Local 1300; Metro Transit and ATU Local 1005; Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA); Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245; San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS); Sound Transit; TriMet; and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and ATU Local 689.
The SMEs developed and reviewed courses on basic mechanical skills, general safety for rail maintenance, wire maintenance, computer basics, and communications. Attendees also toured several of Metro Transit’s rail facilities and participated in team-building activities. ITLC’s annual in-person Consortium meetings offer various networking opportunities for SMEs to connect and share insights and best practices.
For more information on ITLC’s Rail Car Training Consortium and future meetings, reach out to Kristen Ribaudo at kribaudo@transportcenter.org.
|  | Rail Car Consortium members and attendees | |
|
Advancing the Workforce: ITLC's Participation at the TAM Conference
Last month, Senior Workforce Development Advisor Maurice Beard and Instructional Designer Frank Burnett participated in the Transportation Association of Maryland’s (TAM) annual conference in Stevensville, Maryland, co-facilitating a session titled, “Workforce Development Programs that Strengthen Recruitment, Retention, and Career Advancement.” The session focused on the impact of training instructors and mentors and demonstrating key segments of ITLC’s and TWC’s Train-the-Trainer and Train-the-Mentor programs. Frank focused on the varied ways adults learn best, while Maurice discussed coach-operator mentorship’s positive impact on retention, reductions in absenteeism, and a reenergizing of veteran operators as they mentor new hires.
| |
Senior Workforce Development Advisor Maurice Beard and Instructional Designer Frank Burnett | |
|
ITLC Delivers Presentation at the TRB Workshop
Communications Manager David Stephen and Senior Director for Workforce Education Pat Greenfield joined a group of university, industry, and government representatives at the Transportation Research Board’s “Workshop to Broaden the Diversity of the Skilled, Technical Transportation Workforce” on September 18-19.
Following opening remarks by Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Associate Administrator for Research, Development, and Innovation Mary Leary and California State Transportation Agency's Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin, Pat and ATU’s Director of Apprenticeship and Workforce Development Jamaine Gibson co-presented on the panel, “Building Partnerships between Communities, Training Programs, and Employers.” Pat and David also facilitated breakout discussions throughout the day-and-a-half conference. Participants, included representatives from community colleges, HBCUs, American Public Transportation Association (APTA), and FTA discussed challenges, opportunities, and best practices in the areas of recruitment, partnerships, training programs, and funding.
| |
|
ATTAIN Facilities and Elevator/Escalator Maintenance Meeting
On September 17, TWC held a virtual American Transit Training and Apprenticeship Innovators Network (ATTAIN) meeting on registered apprenticeships for maintenance occupations in transit, which highlighted two individual apprenticeship programs at Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT). The meeting brought together ATTAIN members and anyone interested in starting or expanding an apprenticeship program.
Senior Policy Analyst Karitsa Holdzkom opened the meeting with a presentation outlining available TWC resources and the steps needed to develop and implement an apprenticeship program and register it with the relevant office of apprenticeship. BART’s Superintendent for Elevator/Escalator Vince Bevilacqua and Operations Training Supervisor Jeff Gon discussed the elevator/escalator maintenance apprenticeship registered jointly with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1021, highlighting key apprenticeship program outcomes, such as BART workers access to career pathways and a now fully staffed and certified maintenance department.
PRT’s Training Support Administrator Alex Kumnik and Assistant Director of Bus and Rail Training Michael Siegel, along with ATU Local 85 President, Ross Nicotero, discussed the building maintenance apprenticeship’s impacts, with President Nicotero emphasizing the benefits to his members in entry-level positions and its alignment with industry best practices and the priorities of the international union. Alex and Michael provided a detailed breakdown of the apprenticeship’s costs, the positive return on investment, and the grant funding available from their county that will further offset some of the costs of the program. Senior Advisor for Workforce Development and Technology Jason Macumber facilitated a panel discussion with the presenters to underscore some of the lessons learned, followed by audience questions, feedback, and a valuable exchange of ideas.
If you missed the live meeting, the recording and presentation slides are available in TWC’s Resource Center.
For more information about apprenticeship and future ATTAIN meetings, contact Karitsa Holdzkom at kholdzkom@transportcenter.org.
| |
|
Driving Recruitment & Retention: ITLC Presents at the MPTA Conference
In early September, Research Associate Shayna Gleason and Communications Manager David Stephen attended the Missouri Public Transit Association (MPTA) State Conference and Expo in St. Louis. Shayna and David staffed an exhibit table and led two respective conference sessions. Shayna’s session, led by Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency (HIRTA) Executive Director Julia Castillo, was titled "New Avenues for Recruitment and Retention.” The session targeted recruitment efforts for untapped, underserved, and underrepresented populations, including: veterans, older workers and retirees, people with disabilities, second-chance populations, and individuals experiencing homelessness.
David's session, titled "Recruitment & Retention for Rural Transit Systems," panelists included OATS Transit Inc. Midwest Regional Director Tracy Walkup and East Region Director Pam Knox, and Metro Transit, St. Louis’s Assistant Executive Director Trenise Winters. The panelists highlighted several practices that positively impacted driver recruitment and retention, including driver referrals, applicant ride-alongs, and emphasizing the strong community bond drivers develop. Trenise also shared how they have achieved success with Metro Transit's mentorship program.
| |
|
Building Effective Employer Partnerships Webinar
ITLC’s Executive Director Jack Clark joined a group of U.S. Department of Labor’s (USDOL) Employment and Training Administration officials for a Jobs for the Future (JFF) webinar on USDOL’s Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs grant program. The audience of grantees, workforce board representatives, and members of the general public heard Jack speak on Employer Engagement in Transportation, with a focus on industry trends, joint labor-management initiatives, employer training needs, supported by joint curriculum development processes.
| | See what's happening on our social sites: | | | | |
