Southeast Regional Transportation Workforce Development Conference

SponsorsThe University of Tennessee | National Transportation Research Center, Inc. | Center for IntermodalFreight Transportation Studies | The Center for Transportation Research | The SoutheasternTransportation Center | The Research and Innovative Technologies Administration of the USDOT |Tennessee State Departments of Transportation, Education, and Labor & Workforce Development

Agenda

7:45am - Breakfast

8:15am - Welcome and Opening RemarksDrs. Stephen H. Richards and David B. Clarke, University of Tennessee8:30am - Tennessee State Government PerspectiveCommissioner Tim Webb, Tennessee Department of EducationState Senator Jim Tracy, Chair of Senate Transportation Committee

9:15am - National Transportation Workforce Development Conference; Regional PerspectivesLydia Mercado, University Programs Specialist, Research and Innovative Technologies Administration

9:30am - Break

9:45am - TransportationKent Starwalt, Executive Vice President, Tennessee Road Builders AssociationRandy Lovett, Tennessee Department of TransportationMarshall Elizer, Gresham Smith & Partners, Past President ITE International, UT CEE Board of Advisors

10:45am - Education, Labor and Workforce DevelopmentGary Nixon, Executive Director, Tennessee Board of EducationSusan Cowden, Administrator for Workforce Development Division of the Tennessee Department of Labor andWorkforce Development

11:45am - Lunch

1:00pm - Market Needs: Trucking, Rail, Air, HighwayG. Tommy Hodges, Chairman, American Trucking AssociationClark Martin, Affiliate Programs Team Leader, Federal Highway AdministrationMarshall Elizer, Gresham Smith & Partners, Past President ITE International, UT CEE Board of Advisors

1:45pm - Best Practices, Innovative Transportation ProgramsSunny Morris, Executive Director of the Arkansas Delta Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development(ADWIRED) AcademyScott Shelar, Construction Education Foundation of GeorgiaKay Dobie, Executive Director of the Small Business Transportation Resource Center for the South Atlantic Region,Director of the Transportation Institute and UPS Chair at NCA&T State University Deborah Underwood, Director for the Summer High School Transportation Institute and Program Manager for theTransportation Institute at North Carolina A&T State University Susie Alcorn, Tennessee Infrastructure AllianceAlene Arnold, Director of SCORE Statewide Outreach

3:00pm - Break

3:15pm - Open Discussion and Wrap-up

4:00pm - Adjourn

Agenda

Location

Contact Us

Conference Home

STC Home

May 11, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee

CUTC Summer Meeting: June 13-15, Portland, Ore. Register today!

CUTC Newsletter

S U M M E R 2 0 1 1

Transportation Graduate Leadership Certificate Finds New Home

Southeast Regional Workforce Development Conference

The Southeastern

Transportation Center

(STC) and the Center for

Transportation Research at

the University of Tennessee,

Knoxville hosted a day-long

transportation workforce

development conference on

May 11, 2010 in Nashville,

Tenn.

The goal of the conference

was to bring together

those in industry who need

transportation workers at all

levels and the institutions

that educate and train this

workforce. The focus was on

the high school, community

college, and technical school

sectors in the southeast.

“We want these sectors to

talk directly with each other

about the needs of the market

and how institutional education

can meet those needs,” said

Stephen H. Richards, STC

director and associate professor

of civil engineering at UT

Knoxville. “The ideas this

dialogue promises to yield

will help us create innovative

programs to produce and

retain the best possible

transportation workforce—one

that is an integral component

of a well-designed, well-

maintained, safe, secure and

environmentally sustainable

system of moving people and

goods across the nation.”

Participants included

representatives from

transportation agencies at the

federal, state, and local level;

educational institutions and

related government agencies;

transportation carriers,

contractors and suppliers; and

elected decision makers.

This regional conference

was part of a larger, national

effort by the U.S. Department

of Transportation whose results

will help shape the future of

transportation in the U.S. for

decades to come.

Visit online for further

information about the

conference, or contact Lissa

Gay.

Several years ago, the RITA-

sponsored Regional University

Transportation Centers

(RUTCs) started an initiative to

provide graduate level training

for future transportation

leaders. The Transportation

Leadership Graduate Certificate

program is the formal

outgrowth of that initiative.

The goal of the program is

to assist in identifying and

helping to educate individuals

who are outstanding technical

professionals and have been

identified by the public and

private sectors as individuals

who have the potential for

moving from technical, to

management, to leadership

roles in the future. The

founding group of RUTCs and

their consortium university

members have led the effort

to implement this program

as a high national priority in

cooperation with FHWA. One of

the challenges in operating the

program has been identifying

an administrative home for the

program. The TLGC program

Continued on page 2

CUTCNewsletter

From the Editor

Education and workforce development are important driving missions for CUTC members. Over the past several years, the U.S.

Department of Transportation (USDOT) and several University Transportation Centers (UTCs) have been working on efforts related

to addressing the current and future transportation workforces. This issue of the CUTC Newsletter highlights the individual regional

workforce summits host by CUTC members.

Building upon what our members have learned, CUTC is teaming with USDOT, USDOL, US ED, AASHTO, APTA, ARTBA, ASCE, ATRI and

many other key partners to organize a National Transportation Workforce Summit. The Summit, on April 23-26, 2012 in Washington,

D.C., has the objectives to:

• Foster a national dialog on the needs and solutions for development of the transportation workforce in the U.S.

• Promote greater visibility for transportation careers in industry, government agencies, and academia.

• Address key workforce challenges: recruit and retain qualified personnel; fill cur¬rent and future workforce shortages; define

competencies for a high-performing workforce now and in the future; identify and close gaps in training and education.

• Identify administrative and legislative actions required at Federal and State levels to institutionalize effective workforce policy and

programs.

• Establish a National Transportation Strategic Framework and adopt a coordinated plan to identify and manage joint actions by industry,

Federal, State and Local transportation and education agencies, and transportation professional organization that will link workforce

needs to workforce development policies and programs.

We are grateful to have many CUTC members and partners willing to contribute financial support and serve in leadership roles on the

Steering and Program Committees. If you want to get involved, please contact me or John Collura. Together we will make the Summit a

tremendous success.

Teresa AdamsTeresa Adams

University of Wisconsin-Madison

2011 CUTC Newsletter Editor

3CUTC Newsletter

Transportation Graduate Leadership Certificate Finds New Home

is pleased to announce that the Region VIII

center, the Mountain-Plains Consortium

(MPC) through its lead university center,

the Upper Great Plains Transportation

Institute (UGPTI) at North Dakota State

University, is the new administrative home

for the program. Please visit the program’s

new website for more information about

student registration and university.

Continued from page 1

CUTC Seeks to Broaden International Membership

In an effort to broaden its membership

to include international university

transportation research centers, the

CUTC Executive Board is interested in

finding transportation institute contacts

at universities outside of the United

States. The plan is to identify key people

in leadership positions at non-US centers

and send them information about CUTC

and its activities along with extending

them an invitation to join CUTC as member

institutions. If you know or have contact

with someone leading a foreign university’s

transportation research center, please

forward their contact information to Martin

Pietrucha, CUTC Treasurer.

CUTC Looking for Members for Ad-Hoc Committee on Communications

The CUTC Executive Board is seeking

members for an ad-hoc committee on

communications. The members of this

committee will consider what are the best

means to communicate to CUTC members

and identify how the many potential CUTC

friends should be engaged via different

media. The objective of the committee is to

produce a short white paper identifying the

relevant issues related to communicating

with CUTC’s many stakeholders along

with a set of recommendations on how to

proceed in this arena. Volunteers should

contact Martin Pietrucha, CUTC Treasurer,

to express interest in serving on this

committee.

21st Century Transportation Workforce Summit

On December 8-9, 2008, in Madison,

Wis., the “21st Century Transportation

Workforce Summit” brought together

leaders from the transportation community

and from educational institutions to

explore the factors that will influence

transportation needs over the next ten

years, to estimate the impact of these

factors on transportation agencies and

the transportation workforce, to define

approaches for agencies and education

institutions to ensure a qualified workforce

in the future, and to explore institutional

arrangements to meet the learning and

training needs of the transportation

workforce of the future.

The summit was designed for the senior

leaders of the transportation agencies of the

ten states of the Mississippi Valley Freight

Coalition (MVFC) as well as leaders from

the consulting and contracting industries,

University Transportation Centers (UTCs),

and selected federal leaders. More than 60

transportation professionals from these

areas attended the summit.

In the period leading up to the summit,

National Center for Freight & Infrastructure

Research & Education (CFIRE) conducted

pre-workshop surveys of state agencies

and UTCs to identify the challenges and

opportunities involved in educating and

recruiting the transportation workforce of

the future. CFIRE interviewed prominent

transportation agency CEOs from across

the country to gather their views about

the future of transportation and its effects

on workforce skill requirements. CFIRE

also interviewed agencies with significant

outsourcing experience and partnering to

determine how both have influenced the

skills required of their professional staff

members.

Before the summit, participants

received a copy of the survey results,

the interview results, and copies of the

two key presentations on the future of

transportation and the future of the

transportation workforce. As such,

participants came prepared for panel

discussions and working groups.

CFIRE Director Teresa Adams and

MVFC Facilitator Ernie Wittwer both

moderated panel discussions and

facilitated working group discussions.

Adams also gave a presentation on the

future of transportation. The entire CFIRE

staff contributed to the preparation and

execution of the summit.

Practitioners panel discussion on future workforce: Roberta Broeker, Missouri DOT, Van Walling, CH2M Hill, Leon Hank, Michigan DOT, Keith Hinkebein, HNTB and Ernie Wittwer, CFIRE (facilitator).

4 CUTC Newsletter

Building Transportation Professionals of the Future

The Larson Institute at Penn State hosted an eight-hour transportation workforce

development summit over two half-days on April 21 and 22, 2010, at the University Park

campus. Penn State’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development was a co-sponsor

of the event. Over 40 participants from industry, government, and academia listened

to 16 different presentations about the “new transportation professional,” along with

government, industry, and academic perspectives on education, recruitment, training,

and retention. The participants also engaged in lively workshop sessions wherein

recommendations were formulated to provide a blueprint for building “the transportation

professional of the future.”

The program opened with a welcome from David Wormley, dean of Penn State’s College

of Engineering and past president of the American Society for Engineering Education

(ASEE), who observed that a recent 50 percent increase in student interest in civil and

environmental engineering along with the introduction of a new four-year undergraduate

program in rail transportation engineering at Penn State bodes well for being able to supply

the transportation industry with the requisite new talent. The audience was also welcomed

by James Ritzman, deputy secretary for planning from the Pennsylvania Department of

Transportation (PennDOT). Ritzman opined that the field of transportation today brings

to mind a Yogi Berra-like observation: “I’ve got all the answers, I just need to choose what

problem we’re trying to solve.” He went on, “Are we trying to get more people, or more

cars, from point A to point B? In Pennsylvania there are 5,600 structurally deficient

bridges and 18,000 others that could need attention in the future. We may choose ‘Fix X’ to

the detriment of other critical needs.” The future transportation professional will grapple

with a very different world than that of his predecessors.

In the keynote address by Professor Joseph Sussman, of the Massachusetts Institute

of Technology, he noted that transportation is only one changing aspect of society. The

new transportation professional will need to be one who can deal with a higher level of

complexity and have a deep understanding of many new concepts (e.g., sustainability). That

person must be an individual partner; their buy-in will be critical.

Continued on page 4

CUTC Officers

PresidentStephen AlbertMontana State University

Vice PresidentDr. Genevieve GiulianoUniversity of Southern California

SecretaryDr. Teresa AdamsUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison

TreasurerDr. Martin PietruchaThe Pennsylvania State University

Past PresidentRobert H. “Bob” PlymaleMarshall University

Executive Director Alison Premo Black American Road & Transportation Builders Association

Executive Committee

Dock Burke Texas A&M University System

Dr. Kevin WomackUtah State University

Lawrence Sutter Michigan Technological University

Dr. Shashi NambisanIowa State University

Tony Kane, AASHTO, Jarrett Stoltzfus, FTA, Amy Lucero, FHWA, and Rich Roberts, New Jersey Transit partici-pate in a panel discussion at Penn State’s workforce summit.

5CUTC Newsletter

Three individual panels were convened to discuss the future transportation professional from the perspectives of stakeholders from

government, industry, and academia.

The second day was kicked off by Renata Engel, associate dean for academic programs, College of Engineering, Penn State and current

president of ASEE. Dean Engel observed that all future engineering curricula will need to be multidisciplinary, innovative, and global in

scope. Given that most engineering work is “hidden” from the public, the changes necessary to reshape the profession will have to come

from within.

After listening to the input provided from the content matter experts, the participants were divided into discussion groups, with each

group dealing with a specific element required to “build” a future transportation professional. Their recommendations in each area of

interest are listed below.

Recruitment:

1. Generated greater interest in engineering careers in the grammar and high schools.

2. Develop new innovative niche programs, such as the new Penn State rail engineering program.

3. Benchmark grade 6-12 outreach and other training as peer professions, such as nursing, do.

4. Encourage coordination among professional organizations (e.g., Associated General Contractors, American Council of Engineering

Companies), government agencies, and educators by introducing non-educators into different roles (e.g., senior project juries) in the

educational enterprise.

5. Increase the number of internships and shadowing experiences.

6. Offer training through a distance education format by multiple institutions to accommodate professionals who are entering the

transportation workforce with different backgrounds.

Education:

1. Reach out to K-6, 6-8 and 9-12 grades about STEM careers through devices such as engineering camps, scouts, programs for high

school students.

2. Use social media and other youth-oriented methods to reach out about how to get internships, certifications, specializations.

3. Emphasize workplace balance and the broadening of transportation as a career.

4. Reach out to non-metropolitan area people.

5. Highlight megaprojects to get students excited about the field.

Training:

1. Include technical level personnel.

2. Make it an industry priority.

3. Be flexible across various transportation subdisciplines.

4. Foresee the needed skillsets of the future.

5. Envision transportation professional continuing education as a benefit, not a requirement.

6. Be a permanent line item in the organizational budget.

Retention:

1. Develop menus of ideas to spike motivation and increase retention.

2. Make management responsible for retention.

3. Spread awareness that the lack of future transportation leaders is not necessarily immediately evident to other governmental and

industry leaders.

Building Transportation Professionals of the FutureContinued from page 3

6 CUTC Newsletter

SURTC Hosts National Summit on Workforce Development for Public Transportation

The Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC) at North

Dakota State University hosted a national conference, the

“Solutions Summit for Public Transportation Workforce

Development,” in Fargo in September 2009 to bring experts

from across the country together to exchange ideas and develop

strategies to address the need for workers and leaders in the transit

industry.

“The need for professionals in public transit could significantly

hamper the industry’s ability to meet the mobility needs of

its clients,” notes Jill Hough, director of SURTC, a sponsor

of the conference. SURTC is a part of the Upper Great Plains

Transportation Institute at North Dakota State University.

“We’re looking at how we can develop workers and leaders from

technicians, mechanics and drivers to planners, schedulers and

administrators. This is an industry that is poised for growth, but

that growth will require a dynamic workforce.”

Representatives from universities, public transit agencies,

consulting companies and other organizations attended. The goal

was to generate dialogue on workforce development needs and

actions. The summit addressed the following questions:

• Who will lead public transit into the future?

• Who will plan the next generation of transit systems?

• Who will be the transit professionals of tomorrow?

• Where will we find these professionals?

The more than 60 participants learned that there are now four generations in the workforce, and each generation values different

aspects of careers and work environments. For example, younger individuals look for job satisfaction and the use of technology, while

older employees value flexible schedules. Tailoring management and training programs to the workers in each of those generations will be

necessary. Hough also noted that participants affirmed that successful managers and organizations treat employees as a valuable resource.

Keynote speakers included:

• Doran Barnes, executive director of Foothill Transit in West Covina, Calif. Barnes is also vice-chair for human resources with

the American Public Transit Association (APTA). He described workforce issues within the transit industry and outlined APTA’s

workforce development efforts.

• John M. Inglish, general manager of the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) in Salt Lake City. Inglish outlined growth of the UTA and

described steps the agency is taking to meet its workforce needs.

• Polly Kloster, chair and professor in the Department of Nursing at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. Kloster described

similarities between the workforce challenges faced by transit and those faced recently by the nursing field. She also outlined

strategies used to boost the nursing workforce and suggested similar strategies could be used in the transit industry.

Copies of presentations and the final report are available online.

A panel of sponsors, agency officials and industry experts provided reactions to the keynote speakers, adding their perspectives

and providing a broader context. The response panel was moderated by Joung Lee of the American Association of State Highway and

Transportation Officials, and included Joseph Niegoski, APTA; Lydia Mercado, Research and Innovative Technology Administration;

Charles Dickson, Community Transportation Association of America; and Vincent Valdes, FTA Office of Research Demonstration and

Innovation.

Joseph Niegoski of APTA, Lydia Mercado of USDOT RITA, and Charles Dickson of CTAA served on a panel that provided response and context to comments from the keynote speakers.

7CUTC Newsletter

Workforce Development at the Rahall Transportation Institute

The Nick J. Rahall, II Appalachian Transportation Institute (RTI) has

been actively focusing on workforce development since 2007. A study for the

West Virginia Department of Transportation’s workforce needs resulted in

one of the first CUTC workforce summits held in October 2008. RTI’s goal

for the summit was to assume a facilitative leadership position and assemble

the stakeholders, i.e., educators, employers, policy makers, to identify and

prioritize transportation workforce issues and solutions.

When asked “Why are you doing this?” the outcomes spoke for themselves.

The summit had support from all of the stakeholders. As a university

transportation center (UTC), RTI justified the summit as a way to gather

quantifiable data to support the UTC mission cited under education and

human resources, initiate action to move beyond a highway focus and

add other surface modes, and to use the summit as an opportunity to

garner support and to leverage funding in future coordinated projects.

The employers saw the summit as a way to help build a pipeline to supply

workers, to transfer training and development to agencies whose core skills

are training and development, and to witness practices and programs outside

of the immediate graphic region. The education and training providers who

attended saw the summit as a way to access data to support the development,

modification or closure of programs; to direct funding resources; to increase

industry involvement and expose them to their programs; and to eliminate

competitive and political barriers. The government officials and policy

makers who participated were able to see ways in which they could increase

efficiency in funding allocations, compare national and regional data

regarding workforce needs.

The summit was structured to make maximum use of time over a 2.5 day

period. Therefore, important data concerning occupational demand and

education providers was printed and distributed in the summit program.

Employment projection data was collected from employers and organized by

occupational classifications. Data from K-12 technical schools, West Virginia

community and technical colleges, and engineering programs was also put

into the program.

Thefirstdaywasfocusedonengineeringeducation.Akickoffreception

and dinner began with opening remarks from Congressman Nick J. Rahall,

II, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, Clark Martin, and the Federal

Highway Administration. Day two began with a presentation by transportation

representatives on a national and regional basis. Each sector was represented.

Specificemploymentprojectiondatawascollectedandpresentedinthe

program prior to the summit. Speakers included Ed Hamberger, Association

of American Railroads, Alan Hall, Amherst Industries, Huntington District

Waterways Association, Rick Colebank, American Council of Engineering

Companies of West Virginia, Jeff Black, West Virginia Department of

Transportation, Janet Vineyard, West Virginia Motor Truck Association, and

Mike Clowser, Contractors Association of West Virginia.

An Audience Response System (ARS) was used to facilitate discussion,

collect data and report audience position and opinions. The audience was

made up of K-12 technical educators, community and technical colleges,

Workforce West Virginia, (WIA representatives) labor, professional

associations, and employers.

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin

Congressman Nick J. Rahall, II

8 CUTC Newsletter

Benefits of CUTC MembershipCreated in 1979, CUTC has been a tremendous medium for information exchange for the members and has served as a networking opportunity for other organizations interested in transportation research and education. Additionally, CUTC and national partner organizations have formed the Strate-gic Alliance for Advancement of Transportation, which advo-cates for increased resources for the members’ cutting-edge research, education, and technology transfer programs.

CUTC hosts two full membership meetings per year. Atten-dance by all UTCs is encouraged. Membership applications may be found on the CUTC web page where more information about CUTC is also available. Com-pleted application forms should be sent to Laura Spitz, CUTC (c/o ARTBA), 1219 28th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20007.

The summit identified some gaps in

the area and RTI has been facilitating

discussions and initiatives designed to fill

those gaps. It was found the state has a

very low capacity to train diesel mechanics.

RTI has been working with West Virginia

Department of Education, Skill and

Technical Education Division, and the West

Virginia Community and Technical College

System to increase the diesel training. RTI

partnered with the Transportation Learning

Center to conduct a skills gap analysis

among transit mechanics in the state.

The most recent initiative is with

Mountwest Community and Technical

College to design and implement an

associate’s degree in transportation. The

program will begin offering courses in the

fall of 2011 and is designed to be delivered

to meet the schedule of transportation

workers across the nation.

For more information about the

summit or the Mountwest Community

and Technical College Associate Degree in

Transportation, contact Dr. Diana Long,

Director of Workforce Development, at

304.542.3303.