The Transportation Workforce Development group provides national leadership and coordination on initiatives that develop and expand the nation’s current and future transportation workforce. The team works with federal, State, and local agencies, as well as industry organizations and academic institutions, on programs that seek to build awareness and interest in transportation career options and help professionals build skills to take the next steps in their careers. Many programs place a particular emphasis on reaching women, minorities, and other disadvantaged groups.
Workforce Development
According to industry surveys, 80 percent of highway contractors have trouble finding qualified workers. A compromised workforce limits the industry’s ability to deliver a safe and efficient highway system.
To address the workforce problem, FHWA worked with the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration to establish the Highway Construction Workforce Partnership (HCWP). A focus for HCWP is to encourage State and local highway and Workforce Development Board representatives to establish working groups to identify, train, and place individuals into highway construction jobs. This past year, several significant initiatives supported the HCWP:
An HCWP Focus in Every Day Counts
HCWP was selected to be part of the FHWA Every Day Counts (EDC) Program. For EDC-6, the HCWP is titled the Strategic Workforce Development initiative. Approximately 32 States have chosen to implement the Strategic Workforce Development initiative in 2021 and 2022. To assist those States with HCWP implementation, a Toolkit was developed providing several resources to support HCWP implementation including the HCWP Playbook, case studies, and HCWP location profiles.
HCWP Grant Support
In January 2021 FHWA announced a $4 million grant opportunity to support expansion of the HCWP. Eligible applicants were the State departments of transportation. An important requirement of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was to include highway contractor industry representatives and other key transportation and workforce organizations including State and local Workforce Development Boards in a State or local HCWP.
FHWA received 21 applications. Eleven were approved for funding. As a result of the HCWP, several new programs have been developed to get skilled workers jobs in the highway industry. Two examples of the many HCWP success stories are programs developed by the Idaho and Texas HCWP Working Groups.
Idaho Heavy Equipment Operator Academy–New Skills, Rewarding Careers
The Idaho Highway Construction Workforce Partnership (HCWP) established a Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO) Training Academy that includes certifications in Heavy Equipment Operation, Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, and CDL certification. Students also received forklift training, CPR, and OSHA-10 certification.
In September 2021 the Academy held a “Field Day” on the last day of the course to showcase the students’ skills to potential employers on eight different pieces of heavy construction equipment (grader, loader, dozer, large and small excavator, skid steer, forklift, and water truck). Many contractors attended the event, interviewed trainees, and encouraged students to apply with their company.
At the conclusion of the program, Idaho Governor Brad Little met with partner organizations and presented the Academy graduates with their program completion certificates. Twenty men and women completed the four-week program and received their certification to operate select heavy equipment on Idaho construction projects.
The Texas Department of Transportation – Changing Lives Through Community Partnerships
The Dallas HCWP, along with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) as a key HCWP participant, has established the ConnectU2Jobs Program. Participating organizations include TxDOT, FHWA, the Texas Workforce Commission, Dallas College, Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, the Regional Black Contractors Association, the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association, Lone Star Justice Alliance, and the Associated General Contractors of Texas.
ConnectU2Jobs will prepare and train justice involved young adults, typically ages 18-24 for careers in the heavy highway construction industry. The program is based on an earn-while-you learn concept that allows participants to earn income while receiving classroom-based training and on-the-job training.
The first 10-week training cohort was held in September 2021. Upon graduation, participants received credentials in:
For Texas, the continued development of a skilled construction industry is crucial to meet employers' needs. ConnectU2Jobs will help meet those needs and will expose opportunities within the highway construction industry to individuals who might otherwise not know about or have access to these career options.
The Future is Now
These Idaho and Texas HCWP programs, like others established through the HCWP and EDC-6, can be replicated throughout the U.S. The work of the HCWP to date, HCWP as an EDC program, and the FHWA $4 million HCWP grant program will go a long way in helping to institutionalize successful workforce practices throughout the US.
For additional information about HCWP, please contact Clark Martin at clark.martin@dot.gov.
The Transportation Workforce Development (TWD) team was excited to partner with other entities within HIT and FHWA in 2021. TWD joined with the Resource Center Civil Rights team to present workshops to the Alabama, Nebraska and Wyoming FHWA Divisions and State DOTs about the On-the-Job Training (OJT) and On-the-Job Training/Supportive Services (OJT/SS) programs. The OJT/SS presentations focused on the types of training and supportive services that a State DOT can fund with OJT/SS funds. TWD also provided an overview of the Highway Construction Workforce Partnership program.
For fiscal year 2021, TWD updated its website to post information on workforce development prepared by other FHWA offices. The Office of Infrastructure prepared a flyer about “Engaging the Next Gen Workforce” sustainability program. TWD placed the information on its website, along with the Youth Service and Conservation Corps material, supported by the Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty, as well as the information on new “Other Workforce Initiatives.”
TWD partnered with two Every Day Counts initiatives involving workforce development and posted the Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) lesson plan on the TWD website. It also partnered with the eTicketing and Digital-As-Builts initiative to prepare a social media infographic to communicate how improvements in technology benefit the workforce.
The Transportation Workforce Development team successfully marketed the Highway Construction Workforce Partnership (HCWP) and the EDC-6 Strategic Workforce Development (SWD) initiative by producing four quarterly newsletters in 2021. The original subscriber list for the Winter Newsletters included 232 subscribers. It grew to 1,679 subscribers over the year. The Spring 2021 newsletter reached a 31 percent unique open rate and a 7 percent unique click rate. Both numbers are well above the industry standard of 14-24 percent and 2-3 percent, respectively. The subscriber list continues to grow each passing week!
The newsletters included articles on training resources, on-the-job training, forthcoming workforce development events, and case studies. The Summer newsletter highlighted the Strategic Workforce Development Toolkit, and the article helped to lead many subscribers to visit the TWD website. The Toolkit is a one-stop shop for resources related to HCWP, and the newsletter inspires the construction industry, government entities, and other stakeholder organizations to use the free resources to spread the word about how to establish an HCWP.
The newsletter is a great outreach tool for people looking for information about an HCWP and to learn about best practices. TWD plans to continue producing the quarterly newsletter and growing the subscriber base to educate more people on the benefits of an HCWP.
