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MTWC Takes on Highway Maintenance Engineering Career Pathways

The Midwest Transportation Workforce Center has embarked on a two-year endeavor to create pathways for the skilled careers needed in the Highway Maintenance Engineering discipline over the next 10-15 years.

To do this, MTWC will form a working group, identify critical occupations, design career pathways, and implement methods to evaluate success. The center will also work to refine curricula that take into account emerging advances in technology like automated vehicles, sensors, robotics, artificial intelligence, geographic information systems (GIS), machine guidance systems, and others that may be on the horizon. The career pathway for highway maintenance occupations will start at the technical school level.

Currently, there is no clear pathway to occupations in highway maintenance. For starters, students cannot major in Highway Maintenance at a technical school or university. To explore needs in this career pathway, MTWC will seek to answer questions like: What kind of knowledge is needed for technicians or engineers in this field?

Occupations in highway maintenance are increasingly technical and specialized. For example, proper pavement treatment depends on climate, surface, and age of the pavement. Additionally, in places like the upper Midwest, winter maintenance, including snow removal, can be as much science as it is art, as many communities are moving away from salt to more environmentally friendly mediums such as beet juice and cheese brine.

Highway maintenance has a significant impact on everything from safety and costs over a road’s life cycle to wildlife and the environment. To be successful, roadside managers must be able to troubleshoot and leverage diverse skills and knowledge bases. For example, roadsides managed with pollinators in mind can achieve multiple goals at once, such as stabilizing roadsides, reducing storm water pollution, supporting wildlife, and building public exposure and appreciation for the local landscape.

MTWC’s work on Highway Maintenance Engineering career pathways is part of the National Transportation Career Pathways Initiative. Led by the National Network for the Transportation Workforce (NNTW), which is funded by the Federal Highway Administration, the national initiative will look at five disciplines: (1) Engineering, (2) Planning, (3) Safety, (4) Operations, and (5) Environment.

Each of the five NNTW regional centers is taking on one of these disciplines.

To keep abreast of the project, send an email to Maria Hart at maria.hart@wisc.edu. You can also visit the National Network for the Transportation Workforce website at NNTW.org, or click on the Initiative link on the MTWC website.

No Textbooks, Real-World Experiences Prepare Industry-Ready Graduates

A relatively new degree program at Kansas State Polytechnic is filling a significant talent gap and launching competitive applicants into the workforce. The Airport Management degree program was founded on the principal of teaching evidence-based and real-world practices so graduates will enter the workforce with experiences on par with what they would gain from years of on-the-job experience.

Clearinghouse Puts Transportation Resources at Your Fingertips

The Midwest Transportation Workforce Center (MTWC) recently launched its new, searchable database of transportation workforce resources. With over 1300 entries, the search feature is accessed by clicking on “Clearinghouse” in the top menu of the MTWC website. Here, you will find listings of a variety of resources including pre-apprenticeship programs, internships, educational opportunities, professional development opportunities, scholarships, summer programs, and workforce development initiatives across the nine-state MTWC region, and beyond.

While the website, with its varied content devoted to growing the transportation pipeline, is a first stop for people seeking transportation workforce information, the indexing of resources in this new database will help users find what they are looking for more readily.

The Clearinghouse is a resource for educators looking for transportation curricula or programs, industry or workforce professionals looking for successful practices, or parents who are looking for summer programs for their budding transportation professional. So, if you are looking for Supply Chain programs in the region, or K-12 programs that target girls, we can help.

“Our vision for a Clearinghouse is that it will help us capture and define the collective work we are doing in this region. These transportation resources span the continuum from K-12 career awareness through professional development across all transportation occupations. With this database, we can determine where the gaps are and where we need to improve career pathways.  As our communities prepare for the future of the transportation workforce, this kind of information will form a fundamental baseline for these planning discussions. We will be ready,” said Maria Hart, MTWC Program Manager.

The MTWC website is a one-stop for all things related to the transportation talent pipeline in the Midwest. With MTWC, you can connect with your peers, share best practices, read about others’ successes, and help define and develop the Midwest strategy for transportation talent development.

Please click here to explore the most comprehensive compilation of the region’s transportation workforce development initiatives, programs, and resources.

Make Sure Your Resources Are Listed

The MTWC Clearinghouse is always growing and improving. This launch is only the beginning. Help us build this network. To get your resource listed, please complete the MTWC Clearinghouse submission form. Or, send information along with a website link by email to Maria Hart at maria.hart@wisc.edu.

Getting the Most from the MTWC Clearinghouse

The Midwest Transportation Workforce Center Clearinghouse has over 1,300 resources in its searchable database including internships, educational opportunities, summer programs, and workforce organizations.

Based on the keywords or phrases that you enter, the search engine is designed to locate the widest range of results from the database. These can then be narrowed down by clicking within the navigation menu that is generated on the left-hand side of the window.

Search Tips & Tricks

Using the Faceted Navigation Menu

search_navigation

After you type a search word or phrase into the search field, boxes are displayed on the left side of the screen to help locate more specific results.

After you type a search word or phrase into the search field, a series of boxes on the left side of the screen is displayed. Each box shows a category of results that contain resources related to your search word or words. For each, the number of resources in the results related to that category with the search terms is shown in parentheses after the category label.

For example, if you search for “degree,” several results are generated. On the left side of the screen, boxes are displayed for various categories such as the states in which degrees are available and organizations that offer degrees. Clicking on one of these, such as “Missouri (25)” will then display just those results that are available in the state of Missouri.

Use Multiple Words to Find the Most Results

Searching for multiple words will give you more results. Results will include entries with ANY of the words you type.

Use Longer or Specific Words to Narrow the Results

Short words result in more results than longer words. For example, to find all of the resources related to transportation by rail, type “rail” into the search field. This will return all of the resources related to rail as well as railroads. You might have more results to scroll through than you want. To narrow your results, you can type a space after “rail” or use the full word “railroad.”

Make Sure Your Resources Are Listed

The Clearinghouse is always growing and improving. To get your resource listed, please complete the MTWC Clearinghouse Submission Form or send your resource information by email to maria.hart@wisc.edu.

Illinois Workforce Innovation Board Developing Trucking Industry Best Practices

The Illinois Workforce Innovation Board reconvened its Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (TDL) Task Force in the interest of addressing the widespread truck driver shortage and retention problem. The Task Force, which began meetings in October 2016, is developing and will recommend data-driven strategies derived from best practices in training and industry to address root causes of the shortage.

The Illinois TDL Task Force welcomes any ideas or practices that you wish to share from your state. Please email Maria Hart, MTWC Program Manager and TDL Task Force Member, at maria.hart@wisc.edu by February 15, 2017.

Seven Things You Didn’t Know About Transportation Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship offers an “earn-while-you-learn” pathway to career development for people new to the workforce. Industries, such as heavy construction, have been successfully utilizing apprenticeship to develop talent and maintain a robust workforce for many decades.

More recently, a variety of new approaches and innovations have changed what apprenticeship programs look like and have expanded the number and variety of job roles for which apprenticeship can be applied. This is especially true for the Transportation industry.

Meeting the needs of a rapidly evolving industry has been challenging for today’s employers in the Transportation industry. Business leaders are helping to identify talent gaps and build resources, like apprenticeship programs, to grow the pipeline of talent entering the Transportation workforce.

“Transportation Industry apprenticeships are increasing in demand, thanks to the competent training and mentoring fostered by employer partnerships, with community colleges and technical institutions leading the way,” said Jay O’Connor, Public Service Administrator at the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

(1) This is not your grandfather’s apprenticeship.

Dr. Thomas Ritchie, Program Manager with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), notes that the apprenticeship paradigm has changed drastically in recent years. “It is not your grandfather’s apprenticeship,” he said. But, as Ritchie also noted at the October 2016 Workforce Development Summit of the Federal Transit Administration, work needs to be done to change the perception of what apprentices are. Today, apprenticeship programs cover a wide range of non-traditional industries, with Transportation being one of the newcomers to the field.

“Apprenticeships are experiencing a modern renaissance in America because the earn-while-learn model is a win-win proposition for workers looking to punch their ticket to the middle-class and for employers looking to grow and thrive in our modern global economy.” — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez

(2) Companies that sponsor apprentices receive measurable improvements to their bottom line.

Apprenticeship is a proven talent development strategy that answers the skills gap, builds loyalty, reduces turn-over rates, and helps increase productivity, according to Dr. Rebecca Lake, Dean of Workforce and Economic Development at Harper College. Employers that utilize apprentices report higher productivity, higher retention rates and a substantial return on investment.

“The Registered Apprenticeship program we have developed ensures that the transition into new careers n trucking is smooth. It has enabled us to attract and retain safe and productive drivers.” ~ Duane Boswell, Vice president of driver recruiting, TMC Transportation.

(3) There is training and support available in every state to develop and grow apprenticeship programs.

apprenticeshipusa

The U.S. Department of Labor awarded the American Apprenticeship Grants totaling $175 million in 2015 to expand apprenticeship programs. Then, in October 2016, an additional $50.5 million in grants were awarded to help 37 states expand apprenticeship programs.

An example of state-level support can be seen at the Illinois Department of Employment Security, which supports ALL bona fide apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. There are over 120 partnerships listed on their Apprenticeship web sites at for job seekers, and for employers and trades.

There are also opportunities to offset the costs of running an apprenticeship program. Grants are available through the U.S. Department of Education and the GI Bill Program. President Obama set a goal of 700,000 Registered Apprenticeships in the U.S. by 2020, and currently there are about 500,000.

For information on resources available read, “The Federal Resources Playbook for Registered Apprenticeship.”

(4) Membership has its benefits for sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship programs.

Any employer with a Registered Apprenticeship program can be part of their local workforce investment board, which sets policy and determines where funding goes.

(5) Apprenticeship programs can be sponsored by Community Colleges.

Select community colleges have become sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship programs in the U.S. and more are following suit. This emerging model reduces the administrative burden and streamlines the process for all of the participating companies.

“It’s win-win-win,” said Melissa MacGregor, Manager of Workforce Grants at Harper College in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, IL. “The students get training and certification and have no debt when they graduate. The companies get young employees with the skills the company is specifically seeking. And, the community colleges create partnerships with industry and attract more students that they wouldn’t otherwise have enrolled; very desirable students, who stay for the duration and complete what they’ve started.”

For more information about options available to community colleges, visit the Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium website.

(6) Mentoring an apprentice raises employee morale.

Not only does apprenticeship facilitate the transfer of knowledge from experienced employees to the apprentices, it also has been shown to boost workplace morale.
According to Lake, apprenticeship works particularly well when an employee who is nearing retirement is assigned as a mentor to an apprentice. The two-to-three-year timeframe of an apprenticeship allows that important knowledge transfer to take place before the older employee is lost to retirement.

But, beyond being an investment in maintaining organizational knowledge, employers also find that it fosters employee engagement by demonstrating to the mentor that his or her experience is valued. Further, mentoring is an effective way to instill the company mission among the employees, since mentors transmit values as well as expertise.

(7) Transportation apprenticeships span a wide range of careers.

Transportation apprenticeships can be found in:

Maritime

Careers in this area include such occupations as Marine Electrical, Maritime Welding, Marine Mechanical, and Marine Engineering.
“The registered apprenticeship pathway is the gold standard for the shipbuilding, repair, maintenance and modernization sector of the maritime and transportation industry,” according to Barbara Murray, Director and Principal Investigator for the National Science Foundation Southeast Maritime and Transportation (SMART) Center. “Apprentices leave college with a certificate or degree debt-free, with valuable industry credentials, on-the-job experience, and years of earning full-time pay and benefits. It’s an incomparable route for students to start on a great career path and for employers to grow their own workforce.”
One example includes the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, which, since 2003, has used a Registered Apprenticeship program to prepare over 3,000 U.S. Mariners. This is the largest program of its kind for entry-level seafarers in the U.S. Participants who complete the training and graduate in good standing from the program are guaranteed jobs as Merchant Marines. Students may also receive college credit recommendations for successfully completing certain sanctioned courses. In addition to licenses and post-secondary credit, the program also offers a complete high school equivalency program (GED), adult basic education and study skills, and English as a second language (ESOL).

Logistics

Harper College in Illinois is launching a Registered Apprenticeship program in Supply Chain Management in January 2017. Apprentices will work three days a week and attend classes two days a week. After two-and-a-half years, the apprentice earns an A.A.S. degree in Manufacturing Technology with a Specialization in Supply Chain Management-Logistics with up to six industry recognized credentials from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

Trucking

Hiring military Veterans is a focus of J.B. Hunt, a company that has committed to employing 10,000 Veterans by 2020. As a Registered Apprenticeship Program provider, the company offers the CDL-A Hiring Program and the Military Finisher Program. The first caters to Veterans who are interested in pursuing professional driving as their civilian career, while the latter is a fast track program for those who have experience driving heavy equipment during their service time.
Through the CDL-A and Military Finisher programs, Veterans are paid a stable income while they complete orientation, driving school, and behind-the-wheel training. They assume their responsibilities at either a local or regional Dedicated Contract Services or Intermodal fleet. As a participant in the 12-month J. B. Hunt National Apprenticeship Program, one may also be eligible to receive a GI Bill Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) payment from the VA in addition to his or her paycheck.

Heavy Construction- Operating Engineers

Apprenticeship for construction careers building transportation infrastructure have been around for decades. Instruction leading to a journeyman credential can be offered at a community college or a union or non-union training facility.

Transit

Occupations in this area include Transit Coach Operator, Bus Maintenance, Rail Vehicle Maintenance, Elevator-Escalator Maintenance, and Signals Maintenance.

More apprentice opportunities are planned in this sector. Under the Transit Apprenticeship Initiative organized by the Transportation Learning Center, participating agencies will build or expand apprenticeship programs.

 

Apprenticeship provides industry leaders with a unique opportunity to directly influence and shape the future of their workforce. In a time when many industries are struggling with a diminishing talent pool due to attrition from retirement and a lack of visibility among new employees entering the workforce, new models of apprenticeship offer an ideal solution for transferring knowledge, growing career awareness, and attracting talent.

Community College Sponsored Apprenticeships Fill the Talent Pipeline without all the Paperwork

In January, students will be sitting down for their first class of Supply Chain Management 101, part of the curriculum of the newly launched Logistics/Supply Chain Management Registered Apprenticeship program at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. The next day, the students will go to work where they will start applying their classroom-acquired knowledge to the real-world applications provided by the companies that employ them.

In the spring of 2019, these students will graduate with an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Manufacturing Technology with a specialization in Supply Chain Management – Logistics. Additionally, they will have acquired up to seven industry recognized credentials earned through the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and a Department of Labor (DoL) certification that they are fully qualified for their occupation. At the same time, the companies, having paid the students’ wages and tuition throughout this process, will gain highly qualified employees ready to hit the ground running with a specialized understanding of how the principals are applied at their organization. Read more

Taking the Lead in Supply Chain Talent, Tri-State Region Creates Partnerships to Build Capability

Painting the picture of what supply chain management encompasses and then creating a vision of a career in this field in the minds of young people is part of what is making the career pathway initiative, Supply Chain OKI, successful. Another key contributor to the initiative’s success comes from the numerous collaborative partnerships created across the region. Supply Chain OKI is building programs that develop skilled supply chain professionals and help retain that talent within the industry. Led by Partners for a Competitive Workforce, the initiative represents adjacent areas of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, a tri-state region from which the initiative gets the “OKI” in its name. Read more

TRB Partners in Research Symposium: Transformational Technologies

Register

October 31 – November 1, 2016
Detroit, MI

Sponsored by: National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and Michigan Department of Transportation.

New technologies have the potential to transform transportation as we know it. Public agencies are being challenged to facilitate the deployment of these technologies in a manner and timeframe that will lead to improved safety, reduced congestion, enhanced sustainability, and economic development. This TRB symposium will bring leaders from the public and private sectors and academia together to help generate research and innovations to enable agencies to meet this challenge. The symposium will lay the foundation for research roadmaps and partnerships. Technologies that are expected to be addressed include connected and automated vehicles, shared-use mobility services, smart cities and the internet-of-things, unmanned aircraft systems, NextGen, big data and cybersecurity, and alternate fueled vehicles.

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is Opportunity to Reflect on this Occupation that is Key to Midwest Economy

September 11-17 is National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. Here in the Midwest, Truck Drivers are a key part of the supply chain and crucial to the economy. The role of truck drivers will continue to be indispensable to the success and growth of commerce in this region.

Last year, the Midwest Transportation Workforce Center (MTWC) released its report on the workforce needs within the transportation industry. The MTWC’s Job Needs and Priorities Report: Phase I drew on state 2012 labor data from the Midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The MTWC found that the demand for Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers will exceed that of any other occupation in the Midwest between 2012-2022.  Read more