Strategic Plan

Triennial Strategic Plan

Committee Name and Number: ABG20: Transportation Education and Training

Committee Co-Chairpersons: Victoria Beale and Diana Long

TSP Three-Year Period: March 1, 2015 to April 30, 2018

Date Prepared: August 4, 2014 – March 1, 2015

1. COMMITTEE FUTURE OUTLOOK STATEMENT

A. Scope.

The scope of work for ABG20 is to promote the research needed by and requested by developers, deliverers and end users of education and training in the transportation industry, with particular focus on the transportation workforce emerging industry needs for the 21st century. This scope includes supporting the strategic plan of TRB and the Policy and Organizational group by engaging committee members and friends in related subcommittee activities and assignments.. The committee will address the education and training issues identified by stakeholders across all transportation sectors and all employee levels.

B. Primary factors influencing the transportation community within 3 years.

a. Changes in laws, regulations, rulings

1. Budget reductions, new business priorities and pressures for public sector transportation providers have resulted in loss of institutional capability and capacity, change in roles of staff functions from policy and technical analysis and development to contract management and administration.

2. The industry is shifting from an emphasis on new infrastructure and service development to infrastructure capacity management and maintenance, which requires a shift in the capability from planning, design and construction to operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation, including Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and asset management systems.

3. The potential impacts that the federal funding legislation reauthorization will have on transportation workforce education and training and the ability to provide the education and training needed to address the two trends above.

b. New technologies

1. The need to focus on cataloguing the new technologies that transportation professionals need to know.

2. The need to focus on educational technology for teaching and learning and give guidance on how to use technology to improve transportation education.

3. How to incorporate industry driven technology advancements such as autonomous vehicles and unmanned aircraft into training and development programs

c. Changing operations and procedures

1. Future recruitment and retention of employees within transportation agencies will be an issue due to the impact of the retirement wave of baby boomers; low, noncompetitive wages offered by state agencies; the rate of applicants unable to pass drug screens; and immigration policies. There is a diminishing supply of money available for the education and training programs necessary to produce skilled workforce.

2. There is a widening and mismatched skills gap of tenured and emerging workers.

3. The availability of transportation courses in college curricula impacts interest in the transportation field. In addition to traditional courses in transportation engineering and transportation planning, course in new and emerging technologies, sustainable systems, and others will be important in preparing the professional workforce. These courses could be housed in a variety of disciplines and degree programs.

4. Many workforce development initiatives have gaps in their training and developmental programs. These gaps impact people with disabilities, those with a lower literacy rate or language barrier and some older Americans, including retirees. Special training programs may need to be developed and carried out so that these individuals can effectively engage in today’s workforce activities.

5. Organizations should foster a culture of continuous learning that develops talent and empowers workers while capturing and retaining vital knowledge.

C. Primary factors influencing the transportation community within 7 years.

The TRB Strategic Plan 2014 and the TRB Critical Issues in Transportation 2013 have identified factors influencing the transportation community, and it could be argued that each of the critical factors carries a workforce and education component within the recommended solutions. Goal #6 in the 2014 Strategic plan states: “Contribute to the professional development of individuals currently working in transportation and to the education and enhanced diversity of the pool of individuals who will work in the field in the future.”

The committee has lifted specific issues from the 2014 TRB Strategic Plan related to education and training and note them as influencing factors:

• Research, solutions to address impact of fatigue from shift work.

• The lack of investment in R&D reduces the innovation in the public sector and results in less education and training for the future workforce.

• Technology is rapidly evolving, with the younger generation growing up in quite different learning and socializing mode than the earlier generations. An important issue is to examine the nature of changing technology for both in-person and long distance education and strategizing on how to harness the potential of technology to effectively build the next generation transportation workforce

• Technology skill development will continue to lag and the industry will need to provide ample training on essential technology and will need to provide access to the latest technology in all areas of the industry. This can be accomplished by adapting new learning models to effectively engage, build talent and enable technology and innovation.

• The geographic shift in oil and gas supply is often in areas not served well by pipelines, which will lead to greatly expanded transport of oil by truck and rail. What are the education and workforce development issues and solutions?

Other factors influencing the transportation community within 7 years:

Changing operations and procedures.

• How is the education and training of transportation professionals evolving as work in the sector becomes more interdisciplinary?

• The declining performance of US K-12 students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and K-12 outreach efforts to reverse that trend.

2. COMMITTEE PLANS

A. Identification of emerging, critical, and cross-cutting issues within the committee scope. ABG 20 will designate at least one member of the committee to serve as point of contact for TRB Strategic Plan 2014 Action and Strategy items:

• Item 1. A Participate in new roundtables where applicable

• Item 2. D Activity seek involvement of nontraditional stakeholders

• Item 3. F Participate in the development and implementation of a TRB program to enhance the knowledge skills and abilities of Transportation Research Managers.

B. Identification of emerging, critical, and cross-cutting issues outside but related to the committee scope that provides opportunities for liaison and collaborative efforts; We will establish intentional collaboration liaisons with other relevant committees.

• ABG05T Ahead of the Curve Task Force

• ABG30 Technology Transfer

• AHD25 Maintenance and Operations Personnel

• ANB23 Highway Safety Workforce Development

C. Projects, activities and products that the committee will undertake during the next three years to address the emerging, critical, and cross-cutting issues identified above:

1. The Subcommittee for Research supports the development of a robust research agenda for the committee. Research proposed by the committee will facilitate a diverse, inclusive, multidisciplinary transportation workforce that has the necessary training and/or education to address the transportation needs of the future. Accordingly, the Subcommittee will accomplish the following goals:

• Goal 1 - Identify research priorities for transportation education and training stakeholders. Topics will focus upon:

o How effective are pre-college programs in recruiting transportation professionals?

o What factors contribute to someone's selection of a transportation career?

o How do we gauge the needs locally and nationally for the current and future workforce?

o How is mobile technology impacting the workforce? How are people using devices on their jobs? Is this reliance affecting their basic skills? Are transportation agencies using them? Are there any barriers for implementation?

o What is the impact of changing demographics on curriculum and teaching methods?

• Goal 2 - Populate and keep updated the TRB Research Needs Statements (RNS) Database with research needs statements developed and championed by our committee.

• Goal 3 - Identify 1-2 research needs statements per year for submittal to TRB or other sources for funding.

2. Subcommittee for Webinar Development has put forth this goal:

• Suggest, develop, and host 1-2 webinars a year.

3. Subcommittee for the website has been broadened to name the Committee Communication Chair as the Subcommittee chair.

4. Establish new subcommittee to address University based education issues.

5. Establish a new Annual Program Subcommittee which would include at a minimum the chairs of Research and Call for Papers Subcommittees and at least one of the ABG20 Co-chairs. Goals:

• Publish vetted research topics as our priority for presentations/publications for the next 3 years.

• Include priorities in the Call for Papers descriptions.

D. Strategies for attaining/maintaining balanced diverse membership and how this composition will reflect issues identified above.

In 2014, the Co-Chairs contacted all standing members to gage their level of interest in continuing to serve, recognizing the new emphasis on participation and engagement. New members were invited to attend based on strategic, targeted representative groups. Any new vacancies 2015-2018 will be filled strategically to ensure all the modes and stakeholders are represented. Priorities include representatives from private industry, all the different modes of transportation, young members and state DOT members.

E. Committee’s communication activities will be coordinated by a designated member on the committee as the Committee Communication Coordinator.

F. Any proposed changes in the committee’s name and/or scope, based on the committee’s future outlook statement and plan.

The committee will continue to address education and workforce development across all modes and job sectors within the transportation spectrum. The number and purpose of the subcommittees may be changed each year based on the committee’s scope of work.

3. COMMITTEE HISTORY

Membership Characteristics