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twc@transportcenter.orgResource Center
The Transit Workforce Center is pleased to host a curated collection of publications and other materials to assist stakeholders engaged in transit workforce development. The Resource Center includes case studies, training materials, research reports, and other materials of interest, including publications produced by federal government agencies, transit organizations, and independent research entities. Resources may be filtered by topic, resource type, and transit mode. This TWC blog post explains how to use the Resource Center.
We are continuing to update the Resource Center regularly. Please contact us via the Request Help menu option if you would like assistance using the Resource Center or are looking for resources on a particular topic. We also welcome suggestions of topics or specific resources to add.
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Case Study: Bilingual Transit Workforce Initiatives
The United States is a multilingual country. According to 2019-2023 5-year American Community Survey estimates, 22% of people in the U.S. spoke a language other than English at home, including 13.4% who spoke Spanish at home. In light of many transit agencies’ needs to serve linguistically diverse riders and recruit and retain workers, locations around the country have begun to offer English language pathways and to adapt recruitment and training initiatives to support bilingual workers. This TWC case study explores several such initiatives.
Transit Workforce Center
December 2024
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US Centers for Independent Living (CIL) Map
CILs can be a great partner in connecting people with disabilities to transit jobs. CILs are advocacy organizations run by and for people with disabilities in local communities. CILs provide peer support, independent living skills training, information and referral, individual and systems advocacy, and transition from institutions and secondary education. Use the link below to find the nearest your nearest CIL.
National Council on Independent Living
December 2024
TOPICS: Career Pathways, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access, Hiring and Recruitment, Workforce Shortage
NCIL maintains a map of US CILs on their website. CILs can be a great partner in connecting people with disabilities to transit jobs. CILs are advocacy organizations run by and for people with disabilities in local communities. CILs provide peer support, independent living skills training, information and referral, individual and systems advocacy, and transition from institutions and secondary education. Use the link below to find the nearest your nearest CIL.
Accessible Interview Training
In this short online training, you will learn about creating a process for interviewing job candidates that is accessible and effective for people with disabilities.
Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN)
TOPICS: Career Pathways, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access, Hiring and Recruitment, Workforce Shortage
Explore EARN’s “Accessible Interviews” training to learn how to create an interview process that is both accessible and effective for candidates with disabilities. This short course is designed to complement and expand upon the information in EARN’s Inclusion@Work Framework, which offers guidance on creating a disability-inclusive workplace culture.
Helping Workers with Disabilities Get Ahead Through Good Jobs: A Toolkit of Practical Strategies
This U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) toolkit provides strategies and best practices to recruit, hire, retain, and advance workers with disabilities. The toolkit provides a menu of strategies and practical advice, and shares examples and resources from government agencies and other entities.
Office of Disability Employment Policy
TOPICS: Career Pathways, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access, Hiring and Recruitment, Retention, Workforce Shortage
People with disabilities are experiencing record employment rates. In 2023, the employment rate for working-age people with disabilities was the highest on record at 37.2%. This U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) toolkit provides strategies and best practices to recruit, hire, retain, and advance workers with disabilities. The toolkit provides a menu of strategies and practical advice, and shares examples and resources from government agencies and other entities.
The toolkit is organized into the following sections:
- Defining disability
- Planning to include disabled workers
- Recruiting and Hiring Disabled Workers
- Retaining and Supporting Disabled Workers
- Advancing Disabled Workers
Developing an ROI Assessment Model for Employee Development Programs Implemented by California Transit Agencies
Though employee development programs improve recruitment, retention, and morale, transit agencies struggle to solicit adequate funding for these programs absent the ability to demonstrate their value to a broader audience. This report includes a literature review, survey, and follow-up interviews conducted by the MTI research team that found program outcome measures and programmatic expense data required for ROI assesment is similar across employee development programs but is not currently being uniformly collected across agencies. The research findings demonstrate the need for technical assistance to combat data collection challenges such as staff capacity and know-how.
Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)
December 2024
TOPICS: Hiring and Recruitment, Program Evaluation and ROI, Retention, Trainer and Mentor Development, Training, Workforce Shortage
Transit agencies will necessarily incur expenses in efforts to improve the recruitment, retention, and morale of employees, but will struggle to solicit adequate funding unless they are able to demonstrate the value of such efforts to a broader audience. Thus, developing and implementing ROI assessments is critical. The literature review, survey, and follow-up interviews conducted by the MTI research team found that program outcome measures and programmatic expense data required for ROI is similar across employee development programs but is not currently being uniformly collected across agencies. The research findings demonstrate the need for technical assistance to combat data collection challenges such as staff capacity and know-how.
Driver Retention Best Practices
It is increasingly difficult to recruit and retain rural and tribal transit drivers. This National RTAP Best Practices Spotlight Article provides practical and easy-to-implement strategies from transit leaders that agencies can use to create a workplace that drivers will want to remain in and thrive in.
National RTAP
December 2024
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It is increasingly difficult to recruit and retain rural and tribal transit drivers. This National RTAP Best Practices Spotlight Article provides practical and easy-to-implement strategies from transit leaders that agencies can use to create a workplace that drivers will want to remain in and thrive in. This article includes advice from Eastern Sierra Transit Authority (ESTA), Redding Area Bus Authority (RABA), Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency (HIRTA), and Big Woods Transit (BWT).
Making Connections 2024 – The College Connection: Strategies for Effective Partnerships
This session about partnerships between transit and local colleges was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2024 transit workforce conference in November, 2024.
Transit Workforce Center
November 2024
TOPICS: Apprenticeship, Career Pathways, Hiring and Recruitment, Making Connections Conference, Retention, Training
Session Description: Strong partnerships between transit and local colleges across the country currently support recruitment, retention, apprenticeships and other career advancement initiatives developed by agencies and their workforce partners. Presenters in this session reviewed and discussed several different models of industry-education partnerships, focusing on how to establish productive working relationships with local colleges to advance workforce development goals.
Moderator:
- Patricia Greenfield: Senior Director, Workforce Education – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
Speakers:
- Jamaine “G” Gibson: Director of Apprenticeships and Workforce Development – Amalgamated Transit Union
- Jason Abbott: Executive Director, Workforce Operations – Cuyahoga Community College
- Celeste Chavis: Interim Chair and Professor, Transportation & Urban Infrastructure Studies – Morgan State University (Baltimore)
- Rich Diaz: Workforce Development Coordinator – Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1575
- Rob Gamble: Sr Workforce and Academic Strategist – California Transit Works!
Making Connections 2024 – Foundational Skills for Successful Career Pathways in a Changing Industry
This session about career pathways was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2024 transit workforce conference in November, 2024.
Transit Workforce Center
November 2024
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Session Description: In this engaging session attendees explored strategies for bridging the skills gaps of new hires and heard from presenters as they shared how they identified critical needs and implemented solutions. Participants took part in a working group to provide feedback on national resources being developed in key areas such as mechanical, electrical, computer skills, shop math, and technical writing.
Moderator:
- Kristen Ribaudo: Senior Instructional Designer – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
Speakers:
- Michael Hanssen: Supervisor of Technical Skills Training Washington – Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
- Ona Veda: Manager, Rail Training and Development – Metro Transit (MN)