Inventory and Assessment of Public Transportation Workforce Needs

January 1, 2009

Project designed to understand the workforce needs of the nation's transit agencies.

In 2009, the Heldrich Center began working to understand the emerging workforce needs of transit agencies in the United States and to map the structure of the public transportation workforce. Staff interviewed transit officials from numerous federal, state, and local agencies and interest groups and identified a strong need for materials that aid transit officials in developing a common language to discuss transportation work and careers, as well as materials transit officials can use to recruit new workers and to educate existing workers about other careers in the industry. The Heldrich Center developed a number of print and online career awareness tools that education and workforce providers can use to educate students about careers in the public transportation industry. These tools include a visual map of job groups and key occupations in the industry, which is available in a professional print format and in an accessible, online format. In addition, the Heldrich Center created a 275-page comprehensive guide to public transportation occupations to promote a common framework for discussing industry work in research and workforce development contexts. These tools were vetted with industry officials, students, teachers, and other target audiences. The center worked with transit officials and the American Public Transportation Association to create a coordinated dissemination plan to reach industry officials, educational institutions, and other key stakeholders.

Work Category
Funded By
Federal Transit Administration
Status