Making Connections – The National Transit Workforce Conference

Every two years, the Transit Workforce Center hosts Making Connections – The National Transit Workforce Conference, dedicated to workforce development in the public transportation industry.  Making Connections provides attendees the opportunity to gain fresh insights, skills, and perspectives on critical transit workforce development topics, while connecting various industry stakeholders.

Making Connections 2022

Following its launch in 2021, TWC hosted its first major national transit workforce conference, Making Connections 2022 (MC22), built around supporting a strong, skilled workforce. On December 13-14, over 350 attendees converged in Washington, D.C., including transit stakeholders representing labor, management, government, nonprofit, workforce development, and educational organizations. FTA’s Deputy Administrator delivered the keynote address, opening the conference with encouraging words to attendees emphasizing the significance of FTA’s creation and impact of TWC. MC22 featured interactive workshops and plenaries that produced lively exchanges and dialogue on critical issues such as recruitment and retention, training and career advancement, and mentoring and apprenticeships.   

Making Connections 2024

Building on the success of Making Connections 2022, Making Connections 2024 (MC24) took place in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on November 11-13. The expanded conference drew in over 450 attendees, ranging from transit CEOs to frontline workers, gathered together to explore collaborative and creative workforce development initiatives across the industry.  Along with its plenaries and workshop sessions, MC24 offered unique opportunities, including five highly requested pre-conference intensive sessions on TWC’s most in-demand topic areas, an MDOT-MTA guided tour featuring its facility’s cutting edge transit technology, and an evening reception at Baltimore’s historic B&O Railroad Museum.