Resource 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.

Content in external resources linked from the Resource Center is solely the responsibility of the resource authors and does not necessarily reflect the perspectives of or endorsement by the Transit Workforce Center.

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Trade and Transportation Talent Pipeline Blueprints: Building University-Industry Talent Pipelines in Colleges of Continuing and Professional Education

This report identifies the steps required to build talent pipelines that target in-demand trade and transportation occupations requiring specific degrees, certificates, and non-credit professional development and provides a literature review and labor market data analysis. It also includes documentation of methodology in planning a pilot program for Colleges of Professional and Continuing Education housed within each of the 23 California State University campuses.

Mineta Transportation Institute

February 2023

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Making Connections 2022 – Conference Overview and Videos

The Transit Workforce Center hosted Making Connections 2022: The National Transit Workforce Conference in Washington, D.C. on December 13-14, 2022. This conference brought together participants from urban, suburban, rural, and tribal public transportation and industry stakeholders in plenaries, workshops, networking, and ongoing dialogue. Discussions and sessions featured topics including recruitment and retention, training, mentoring and apprenticeships, new technologies, and preparing today’s and tomorrow’s workforce.

Transit Workforce Center

December 2022

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Session materials from Making Connections 2022 are hosted on the TWC Resource Center. Please click here to view all related materials. A PDF copy of the conference schedule is linked below.

Opening Video: 

Recap Video: 

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Making Connections 2022 – Driving Bus Operator Recruitment and Retention: Challenges, Opportunities and Innovation

This session about bus operator recruitment and retention was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2022 transit workforce conference in December, 2022.

Transit Workforce Center

December 2022

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Session Summary: A headline issue confronting all transit systems today – how to attract and retain bus operators in a tight labor market. This lively session began with presentations from the TCRP F-28 research team and TransitCenter on their recently published national research findings on recruiting, developing and retaining transit bus operators.  Labor and management industry practitioners from multiple locations then shared their recruitment approaches and strategies that have been most effective on the ground, and TWC staff summarized the National Transit Frontline Worker Recruitment Campaign.

Moderator
  • Rob Puentes: President and CEO – The Eno Center for Transportation
Speakers
  • Julia Castillo: Executive Director – Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency
  • James Duff: Assistant Vice President, Human Resources – Dallas Area Rapid Transit
  • Jeff Hazen: Executive Director – Sunset Empire Transportation District
  • Steve Jovel: Transportation Superintendent – Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
  • Robin Phillips: Executive Director – National Rural Transit Assistance Program
  • Harpreet Singh: JWI Director – Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265
  • David Stephen: Senior Communications Specialist – International Transportation Learning Center/Transit Workforce Center
  • Chris Van Eyken: Program Manager – TransitCenter

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Employers can support workers’ economic mobility and their own bottom lines

This article provides a concise description of several strategies employers can use to create clear advancement pathways in their workplaces, which will help attract and retain quality candidates. It discusses research around what modern-day employees are looking for in a workplace and a position. It also links to a related article, which provides an overview of the framework created by Jobs for the Future (JFF) to describe the components of a good job.

WorkRise

November 2022

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Building Pathways to Infrastructure Careers: Framework for Preparing an Infrastructure Workforce

This resource provides a framework for all workforce stakeholders, including infrastructure project leads, to engage the public workforce system in implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with strong workforce commitments and proven strategies that produce high-quality education, training, and employment opportunities for all workers.

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

October 2022

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How to Maintain a Frontline Workforce in 2022

This blog post considers steps taken by transit agencies in New York City and San Diego in order to bolster and maintain their frontline workforces in the aftermath of the pandemic and years of labor shortages in the transit industry.

TransitCenter

October 2022

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This blog post considers steps taken by transit agencies in New York City and San Diego in order to bolster and maintain their frontline workforces in the aftermath of the pandemic and years of labor shortages in the transit industry. The post describes actions like increasing wages, easing CDL requirements, and increasing recruitment efforts.

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Transit Workforce Shortage: Root Causes, Potential Solutions, and the Road Ahead

This Interim Findings Report from APTA synthesizes findings about the transit industry workforce shortage from a survey of transit agencies and background research into the macro causes of the shortage.

American Public Transportation Association

October 2022

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Public transit providers across North America face a shortage of operators and mechanics during a period of economic instability and reshuffling exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, agencies’ ability to respond to the worker shortage has been hampered by inadequate information about its causes and effects. The Transit Workforce Shortage Study builds a framework for APTA, its members, and its partner organizations to better understand the workforce shortage’s causes and provides best practices for recruiting, hiring, and retaining transit operations workers. The study is comprised of two phases. This document, the Interim Findings Report, synthesizes the findings from Phase 1, which included a survey of transit agencies and background research into the macro causes of the shortage.

This report was followed by a full synthesis report and toolkit.

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ATTAIN Rail/Signals/Traction Power and Facilities/Elevator-Escalator Committees Meeting

This recorded meeting of the ATTAIN committees for Rail/Signals/Traction Power and Facilities/Elevator-Escalator serves as a resource for transit industry stakeholders and includes presentations on apprenticeship and case studies of successful programs across the country.

Transit Workforce Center

September 2022

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The American Transit Training and Apprenticeship Innovators Network (ATTAIN), run by the Transit Workforce Center (TWC), is a peer network created for transit agencies and labor unions to explore new apprenticeship programs or enhance existing programs for their frontline workforce.

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