May 16, 2024
Innovation of the Month: Strategic Workforce Development
Initiatives like Strategic Workforce Development and its focus on Local and Tribal workforce development are pivotal in fostering career opportunities and community enhancement. The success stories emerging from programs like the Pre-Apprenticeship & Supportive Services (PASS) Grant Program paint a compelling picture of transformation and empowerment for inclusion of Tribal Nations in the highway construction landscape.
The PASS program, spearheaded by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), has been instrumental in facilitating the entry of individuals, particularly from Tribal communities, into the highway construction workforce. Through strategic partnerships with training providers and targeted outreach efforts, PASS successfully enrolled over 230 individuals from Federally recognized Tribes since 2015, representing a diverse range of backgrounds including Tlingit, Yakama Nation, and Colville Confederated Tribes, just to name a few, with 126 participants specifically from the Tulalip Tribe.
The program’s comprehensive support system is a standout feature that extends beyond traditional training to address various barriers participants face. From offering supportive services such as transportation, housing, and meal provisions to facilitating access to educational resources like GED programs and driver's license acquisition, PASS prioritizes the holistic well-being of its candidates.
PASS’s impact goes beyond statistical figures; it's about real stories of transformation and empowerment. Participants, like those from the Tulalip Tribe, who may have faced systemic barriers to employment, now find themselves equipped with the skills and resources to pursue and attain meaningful careers in highway construction.
The success of programs like PASS highlights the importance and necessity of collaboration and ongoing evaluation. By continually assessing and refining their approaches, organizations like WSDOT and its partners ensure they effectively address and improve the evolving needs of their communities.
In addition to the success stories, tracking and maintaining contact with graduates post-program is crucial for evaluating long-term outcomes. WSDOT’s partners keep in touch with graduates for employment placement tracking, allowing insights into their continued success in highway construction or related fields.
Some graduates have progressed into apprenticeship programs or further education, demonstrating the lasting impact of initiatives like PASS. With American Indian/Alaska Native individuals comprising 2% of the student population, these efforts indicate a significant step toward greater diversity and inclusion within the workforce.
Moving forward, the focus remains on data-driven strategies and collaborative efforts to further enhance the reach and impact of workforce development programs. With the power of partnerships and innovation, the journey towards a more equitable and thriving workforce continues.
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.Navigating Transportation Choices: The PEL Approach
Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL), promoted in EDC round 1, is a collaborative and integrated approach to transportation decision-making that considers environmental, community, and economic goals early in the transportation planning process, and uses the information, analysis, and products developed during planning to inform the environmental review process. Using PEL approaches, agencies are better equipped to determine project priorities and make more informed transportation choices that meet mobility, environmental, and community needs, and can ultimately accelerate project delivery.
In January 2024, FHWA published the new Planning and Environment Linkages (PEL) Handbook and PEL Flowcharts. The PEL Handbook and PEL Flowcharts provide practitioners with guidance that support implementing PEL approaches. The PEL in Practice: Examples from Discussions with States is a compendium of interviews with certain state departments of transportation (DOTs) regarding their PEL implementation, providing valuable insights and lessons learned.
Contact Marisel.lopez-cruz@dot.gov or Mack.Frost@dot.gov to learn about training opportunities and other resources to implement PEL and strengthen links between environmental considerations and planning.New Innovator Now Available!
The May/June issue of Innovator is now available, accessible from your computer, tablet, or mobile phone to optimize your reading experience!
In this issue:
- New Opportunities for Building Bridges Better: The Evolution of UHPC
- Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods
- Brighter is Not Better: Emergency Vehicle Lighting Gets “Smart”
- Unlocking UAS Data: Strategies for Effective Management and Collaboration
- And more...
Comments? Questions? We'd love your feedback! Drop us a line and let us know what you think.
Read past issues and sign up to receive Innovator by email here, or text "FHWA Innovation" to 468311 to get Innovator on your smartphone.
Build a Better Mousetrap Nomination Deadline Approaching
FHWA's Local Aid Support team is currently 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 Missouri Department of Transportation's Signals and Lighting Training Facilities, which can train lighting and signal workers in a safe environment.
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:
Innovation in Project Delivery 5/1/2024
Local Aid Support 5/6/2024
Sustainable Pavements 5/7/2024
Strategic Workforce Development 5/13/2024
Upcoming Events
Equitable Safety Data Analysis
May 22, 2024, 1:00-3:00 ET Register
Roadway Safety for People Experiencing Homelessness
July 24, 2024, 1:00-3:00 ET
Register
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; April 18, 2024
Washington, DC
