CITT’s Southwest Transportation Workforce Center (SWTWC) team recently announced its year-four initiatives. These initiatives were developed as a result of an analysis of the transportation labor market in the SWTWC’s eight-state region. SWTWC is a FHWA-designated center of excellence in transportation workforce development and one of five centers constituting the NNTW.
Visualizing the Transportation Workforce Initiative: an effort that uses Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) technology and partnerships with major transportation agencies, state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to forecast transportation workforce impacts associated with major transportation projects with committed funding. Data gathered through strategic partnerships will be visually presented using Esri story maps. To move this project forward, SWTWC is working with leaders at Esri, MPOs, and transportation agencies to develop this project . (Click here to view a story map example of the Gerald Desmond Bridge.)
Transportation Career Pathway Web Interface: a new feature built into swtwc.org that enables students, displaced workers, incumbent workers and other targeted populations access to the competencies, experience, and education required to qualify for critical occupations within the transportation workforce. This Web interface, when completed, will also include ways for employers and educators to display credentials, certificates, degree programs, and workplace learning opportunities to enhance career pathways featured on the website.
Data and best practice partnerships with State Career and Technical Education (CTE) Directors: through peer exchanges and strategic outreach, the SWTWC team will forge partnerships with State CTE Directors to share data about successful education and training programs as well as career pathway models that can be incorporated in the Center’s new Career Pathway Web Interface.
The State of the Transportation and Mobility Workforce Report: all of the activities carried out by members of the SWTWC team will help establish a new definitive State of the Transportation and Mobility Workforce Report. The report will build on volumes one and two of SWTWC’s Jobs Needs and Priorities reports (available at https://www.swtwc.org/labor-market-analysis/). The new workforce report will follow up on three of the four SWTWC action plans:
- Action Plan 1: Promoting apprenticeship programs for the 21st century;
- Action Plan 2: GIS tribal training initiative
- Action Plan 3: Promoting awareness of trucking occupation; and
- Action Plan 4: Attracting non-traditional candidates to the supply chain industry.