This brief discusses the experiences of early career Black, Latina, and Afro Latina women in the trades. The COVID crisis has put a spotlight on the concentration of Black, Latina, and Afro-Latina women in low-wage jobs, including in many essential healthcare and retail jobs. The skilled construction trades have given many women an alternative to the poorly paid jobs in the service sector that many had to turn to before finding the trades. Skilled construction trades provide opportunities to build careers that are both challenging and fulfilling, pay a family sustaining wage with benefits, and can be accessed through ‘learn as you earn’ apprenticeships.
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.

Bus Operators in Crisis
TransitCenter’s report, entitled Bus Operators in Crisis: The Steady Deterioration of One of Transit’s Most Essential Jobs, and How Agencies Can Turn Things Around, analyzes the nationwide phenomenon of bus operator shortages and advocates for enhanced job quality in the occupation.
TransitCenter
July 2022
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This resource also includes a link to a webinar hosted in July, 2022 presenting information from the report and slides from the webinar.

National Transit Frontline Worker Recruitment Campaign
Across the United States, whether large, small, urban, rural, or tribal, transit agencies are facing the challenge of recruiting and retaining drivers, mechanics, and technicians who can operate and maintain the buses of our public transit systems. To help support local transit efforts, TWC is developing the #ConnectingMyCommunity national frontline worker recruitment campaign, coordinated with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and industry, labor, and community partners from around the country.
Transit Workforce Center
July 2022
TOPICS: Apprenticeship, Career Pathways, Community Engagement, Hiring and Recruitment, Labor-Management Partnerships, Low-No, Retention, Safety and Health, Trainer and Mentor Development, Training

A Guide to Starting or Joining a Registered Apprenticeship Program
This publication provides an overview of registered apprenticeship, the benefits of registered apprenticeships to the employer, and the basic steps to get started.
Intelligent Partnerships
April 2022
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Rural Apprenticeships for Young People: Challenges and Strategies for Success
This report evaluates four rural registered apprenticeship programs in Maine, Arizona, Missouri, and Mississippi and identifies the key strategies in their approaches. It begins with defining rural apprenticeship programs and exploring their obstacles and benefits, and then discusses each of the four cases and concludes with recommendations for decisionmakers seeking to expand apprenticeship access in rural communities.
Urban Institute
August 2021
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Here to Stay: Black, Latina, and Afro-Latina Women in Construction Trades Apprenticeships and Employment
Chicago Women in the Trades; Institute for Women's Policy Research
March 2021
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Advancing Opportunities for Women through Apprenticeship: A Case-Based Resource Guide
The Advancing Opportunities for Women through Apprenticeship case-based resource guide provides a framework for meaningful expansion of apprenticeship programs for women. The guide includes case studies on four high-quality pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs in a range of industry sectors.
Department of Labor
TOPICS: Apprenticeship, Career Pathways, Community Engagement, Mentorship, Policy and Planning, Retention
The case studies were developed through on-site visits to the program locations; interviews with program staff, partners, and current and former participants; and a review of program materials and data. They provide information and insights related to partnership development, program design, and outcomes that outline how pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs can help women access family-sustaining jobs and quality career pathways. The guide identifies common strategies across the four programs to help others learn how to create programs that successfully open pathways to in-demand jobs for women through apprenticeships.

Transit Apprenticeship at Pierce Transit: From the Ground Up
This article in APTA’s Passenger Transport issue discusses the apprenticeship program at Pierce Transit, which is part of a transit apprenticeship initiative and has received technical assistance in structuring their apprenticeship program as well as financial assistance to reimburse some training costs.
American Public Transportation Association; International Transportation Learning Center
October 2020
TOPICS: Apprenticeship, Training

Elevator/Escalator Training Consortium
The International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC) organizes multiple national training consortia to develop standards-based national training courseware for frontline occupations in public transportation organizations. The Transit Elevator-Escalator Training Consortium is one such consortium, focused on training materials for elevator and escalator technicians.
International Transportation Learning Center
TOPICS: Apprenticeship, Career Pathways, Labor-Management Partnerships, Trainer and Mentor Development, Training
The International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC) organizes multiple national training consortia to develop standards-based national training courseware for frontline occupations in public transportation organizations.
The Transit Elevator-Escalator Training Consortium (the Consortium) was the first in an ongoing series of industry-wide collaborative programs to develop integrated systems of training for key frontline occupations in public transportation. Building on national training standards developed by industry Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from 2006 to 2010 and then adopted by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the Consortium developed a full set of standardized national courseware to support training and apprenticeship programs for transit elevator/escalator (El-Es) technicians. The curriculum and courseware development team was composed of subject matter experts (SMEs) from five member agencies and unions from across the country. Membership of the Consortium consists of transit systems that maintain their vertical transportation equipment in-house, rather than relying on outside contractors. Equipment manufacturers contributed access to their technical drawings and manuals to enrich the courseware.
The list of courseware as of Summer 2020 is contained in the attached catalog.