Resource Center

MODERATOR(S)

• Tim Theberge, Division Director, Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance

PRESENTER(S)

• Adam Wagoner, Deputy Director, South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce
• Chris Mills, Program Coordinator, MassHire Department of Career Services

Link to Webinar Recording and Supplemental Documents

The goal of this research is to provide transit industry executives and transportation professionals with awareness of the many tools that are available to help attract more qualified candidates to the transit industry, as well as ways to advance the development
of the transit workforce. This research highlights social media recruiting; online hiring platform improvements; and partnerships with career centers, universities, and recruitment centers to attract new employees to the transit workforce. In addition, increases in pay, benefits, bonuses, providing flexible schedule options, and some other atypical ideas have successfully been used to retain workers in the transit workforce. This research focuses on ways in which all transit stakeholders can invest in all aspects of industry workforce development to ensure qualified employees choose the transit industry and that they are subsequently trained to be the most beneficial assets to the organization and remain there via effective retention strategies.

Link to Full Report

Shifting demographics in the U.S. workforce indicate that businesses are probably going to need to recruit, train, and retain older workers to ensure their companies remain competitive. However, workplace surveys indicate that most firms are currently not prepared to find and welcome workers who are 50 years of age or older.

Fortunately, a broad array of evidence-based hiring and talent development strategies are at the ready for U.S. employers. These strategies draw from a recent and comprehensive review of employer practices and their influence on economic security and mobility for U.S. workers.

Three key connected takeaways for employers to consider as they plan for ways to leverage this segment of the workforce are as follows:

• Engage directly with older employees in developing their digital skills.

• Seek out the social networks in which older workers operate to find the best recruiting matches.

• Lean into current or former employees and their online connections to identify these social networks.

Recruiting and Retaining Older Workers

The importance of security barriers for transit bus operators became even clearer after the fatal attack on a Tampa, Florida, bus operator in 2019. The need for security barriers was reinforced by a serious attack on another operator for that same system later that year. While these are two extreme examples, they are likely not unique, as many assaults against transit workers have been underreported in the past. Another important but more pernicious risk to bus operator health is viral and bacterial infection.

TCRP Research Report 249: Bus Operator Barrier Design: Guidelines and Considerations provides information and guidance for North American public transportation agencies, standards committees, and government and non-government policymaking organizations on designing, procuring, and installing bus operator barriers to prioritize the health and safety of essential operators and the public they serve.

Contributor(s): National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; STYL&TECH; International Transportation Learning Center; Transportation Research Board; Transit Cooperative Research Program; Andrew Krum; Scott Tidwell; Joshua Skole; Erin Mabry; Aditi Manke; Tarah Crowder; Christy Campoll

TCRP Research Report 249

Given current workforce shortages, reaching out and engaging older workers is of interest to many employers. The AmeriCorps Seniors research team developed five older adult workforce program tip sheets on topics relevant to interacting with older adults in the workforce. You can view the tip sheets on the project website, which are linked here:

Tipsheet 1 Recruitment Strategies for Older Workers Tipsheet 2 Learning Community Principles Tipsheet 3 Older Adult Workforce Tipsheet 4 Participant Challenges Tipsheet 5 Volunteer Matching

The Project on Workforce released new recommendations for educators, employers, and policymakers on how to improve college-to-jobs connections. With these webinars and stakeholder briefs, they aim to increase attention and investment in college-to-career transitions and show how colleges can better deliver on economic prosperity.

College-to-Jobs Initiative page

The rapid advancement and proliferation of technology increases the need for accelerated and continuous workforce development. Prioritizing the upskilling of frontline workers requires a variety of educational programs, and there is no single answer to the upskilling challenge. Still, UpSkill America and the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) created this report of best practices that can help any organization become more productive and resilient via a skilled workforce.

Read the brief to learn more about next practices in upskilling, including internal training, apprenticeship, and tuition assistance that will help any organization to be more productive and resilient for the future.

Upskilling Frontline Workers: Three Strategies to Future-Proof your Workforce