May 30, 2024
Innovation of the Month: Strategic Workforce Development
Strategic Workforce Development highlights programs from across the country that help to identify, train, place, and retain individuals in the highway construction workforce.
As more people relocate to Florida, the demand for trained and qualified construction workers increases. This increase in population requires additional housing, business expansion, and improved roadways.
Florida Transportation industry officials began an educational outreach program for high school students in 1999 that has blossomed into the Construction Career Days (CCD) program. The program is designed to introduce school-age students to the broad range of career opportunities available to them in the construction industry within a hands-on environment. For many, it is their very first exposure to the opportunities available within the local construction industry. By engaging young minds early, CCD helps cultivate interest and talent within the transportation industry, fostering a pipeline of skilled workers and future leaders. This proactive approach not only addresses potential skill shortages but also promotes innovation and diversity within the industry, ultimately contributing to its growth and sustainability.
At these events, students have the chance to see and do everything from riding in bucket trucks and driving construction equipment to learning how to use construction machinery. Students go through different learning labs and spend time with professionals from different industries. During these events, students over the age of 18 can fill out applications for companies looking to hire. High school seniors that attend the events, whether in-person or virtually, are eligible to apply to receive part of a scholarship fund. This scholarship can help graduates enrolling in college, trade/vocational education programs, and those entering directly into the workforce.
In Florida they have also teamed up with the local universities and engineering societies to provide engineering students as volunteers for the event. This provided internship opportunities for the students and participating firms that has led to permanent employment for at least one of the engineering students.
During Florida Construction Career Days, FDOT’s OB4J (On Board for Jobs) program asks high school students if they are interested in internships with contractors at the event. OB4J team members then work with the contractors and students to provide FDOT funded summer intern positions.
Nearly all 50 States hold at least one CCD event with coordination being done by transportation industry partners from the public and private sectors. Currently Florida holds five CCD events in the Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Tampa, Northwest Florida (Milton), and Orlando areas. Information on each of these events can be found on the Florida Construction Career Days website.
In addition to the in-person events, there is also a virtual component that includes immersive videos, introductions to industry experts, interactive experiences, 360 degree visuals, activities, and contests.
Partner agencies and organizations responsible for the event include the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Transportation Builders’ Association, American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida, the Suncoast Utility Contractors Association, the National Association of Women in Construction, and the Federal Highway Administration.
To learn more about Strategic Workforce Development, contact Chrisy Currier, FHWA Office of Infrastructure, Tina Hooper, FHWA Massachusetts Division, or Rhonda Motley, FHWA Nevada Division.
TxDOT Leverages Community Partnerships
The Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT's) Transportation Planning and Programming Public Involvement (PI) Section recently released a new statewide guidance document, Strategic Public Engagement Guidance. This initiative honors TxDOT's commitment to involving all of Texas' diverse communities in the planning and implementation of transportation projects and programs. This document also supports the agency's public involvement policy, which commits to purposefully involving the public in planning and project implementation.
The Strategic Public Engagement Guidance features easy to apply best practices and tools
TxDOT gathered research for this document through a peer survey, which received 19 responses representing 16 states, and a community survey, which received nearly 12,000 responses. TxDOT understood the importance of community partners in connecting its messages to harder-to-reach audiences, thus TxDOT's PI Section developed a plan to connect personally with organizations across the state to ask for support in sharing the Agency's community survey with their contacts.
The TxDOT team set the initial survey response goal at 1,000 responses with specific targets for key demographic sub-groups in the state. With the help of partner organizations statewide, TxDOT far exceeded this goal. TxDOT received responses from 224 of 254 Texas counties and exceeded all demographic sub-group goals.
As a result, TxDOT gained a wealth of information sourced directly from the communities it serves. This helped inform the Agency’s new public engagement guidance on topics including:
- How Texans prefer to participate in information sharing with TxDOT
- What may prevent or discourage Texans from participating in TxDOT’s feedback opportunities
- What TxDOT could do to encourage participation at in-person and online meetings
- Preferences on dates and times for in-person participation
- Preferred sources of information on TxDOT projects
Learn more online about TxDOT’s new statewide Strategic Public Engagement Guidance. For additional information, please contact Susan Howard, TxDOT’s Director of Public Involvement.
Build a Better Mousetrap Nomination Deadline Approaching
FHWA's Local Aid Support team is still taking nominations for the Build a Better Mousetrap (BABM) recognition program and competition through Friday, June 7.
BABM recognizes State, local government, and Tribal agencies who use homegrown innovations to improve safety in their transportation programs. Many of these ideas come from the front-line workers who are looking for better ways to get the job done while saving money, time and improving efficiency.
Last year's Build a Better Mousetrap highlighted 53 innovations that can be found in the 2023 booklet. The top winning innovations included a road diet to preserve an old bridge, a mobile sensing unit to improve rural road safety, software to improve maintenance of traffic signals, and solar-powered remote cameras for monitoring road conditions during winter storms.
Agencies can contact their state's Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Center or regional Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) Center for more information and assistance on the application.
Discover Home-Grown Innovations from Around the Country
Are you interested in homegrown innovations being used by your peers in other parts of the country? The National STIC Network Showcase provides a summary of STIC Showcase entries from the EDC-7 Virtual Summit.
Learn about the Municipality of Autonomous Toa Baja's Public Survey Tool for Emergency Events, which allows residents of this area in Puerto Rico to report damages after emergencies. This tool was developed in response to a major rain event that caused flooding, landslides, sinkholes, and other damage. The tool provides real-time, accurate data to emergency workers, enabling quicker emergency response.
Celebrate the ingenuity of your peers and read about these innovations – developed and deployed in-house at transportation agencies nationwide.
Stay Up to Date on the EDC Innovations That Interest You Most
EDC teams are always on the move! If you blink, you could miss out on important webinars, case studies, tools, videos, and more. To never miss information for the EDC innovations that interest you most, visit the subscription page and select the topics you'd like to receive updates on directly from the teams that coordinate them.
Recent bulletins:
Next-Gen TIM 5/20/24
Build a Better Mousetrap 5/28/24
Road Weather Management 5/28/24
Strategic Workforce Development 5/28/24
Upcoming Events
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About EDC
Every Day Counts, a State-based initiative of the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Innovation and Workforce Solutions, works with State, local, and privatesector partners to encourage the adoption of proven and underutilized technologies to deliver transportation projects more efficiently, enhance safety forall users, support a sustainable and resilient infrastructure, and incorporate equity inproject planning and delivery.
EDC News is a weekly publication highlighting successful EDC innovation deployments across the country.
EDC News is published weekly by the FHWA Center for Accelerating Innovation.
Disclaimer:The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this document only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document. They are included for informational purposes only and are not intended to reflect a preference, approval, or endorsement of any one product or entity.
Except for the statutes and regulations cited, the contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the States or the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide information regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.
Recommended Citation:
U.S Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
EDC News; March 7, 2024
Washington, DC
