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twc@transportcenter.orgResource Center
The Transit Workforce Center is pleased to host a curated collection of publications and other materials to assist stakeholders engaged in transit workforce development. The Resource Center includes case studies, training materials, research reports, and other materials of interest, including publications produced by federal government agencies, transit organizations, and independent research entities. Resources may be filtered by topic, resource type, and transit mode. This TWC blog post explains how to use the Resource Center.
We are continuing to update the Resource Center regularly. Please contact us via the Request Help menu option if you would like assistance using the Resource Center or are looking for resources on a particular topic. We also welcome suggestions of topics or specific resources to add.
CLEAR
YouthBuild Funding Opportunity
Administering Agency: Employment and Training Administration
Closing Date for Applications: Sep 16, 2024 Applications must be submitted electronically no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Estimated Total Program Funding: $99,000,000
Geographic Scope: National
TOPICS: Apprenticeship, Career Pathways, Funding Opportunities, Hiring and Recruitment, Mentorship, Trainer and Mentor Development, Training, Workforce Shortage
Administering Agency: Employment and Training Administration
Closing Date for Applications: Sep 16, 2024 Applications must be submitted electronically no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Estimated Total Program Funding: $99,000,000
Geographic Scope: National
Description: Under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), DOL will award grants through a competitive process to organizations providing pre-apprenticeship services that support education, occupational skills training, and employment services to opportunity youth, ages 16 to 24, who are performing meaningful work and service to their communities. The YouthBuild program model prepares participants for quality jobs in a variety of careers, in diverse industry sectors, particularly in infrastructure sectors, and includes wrap-around services such as mentoring, trauma-informed care, personal counseling, transportation supports, and employment preparation – all key strategies for addressing violence in communities. YouthBuild applicants must include construction skills training and may include occupational skills training in other in-demand industries. This expansion into additional in-demand industries is the Construction Plus component. Eligible applicants for these grants are public or private non-profit agencies or organizations, including consortia of such agencies or organizations. These organizations include rural, urban, or Native American/Tribal entities that have previously served opportunity youth in a YouthBuild or other similar program. DOL will fund approximately 75 projects across the country. Individual grants will range from $700,000 to $1.5 million and require a 25 percent match from applicants, using sources other than federal funding. This FOA features a matching waiver for Tribal entities and U.S. insular areas which allows these entities to not include a match commitment in their applications. The grant period of performance for this FOA is 40 months, including a four-month planning period and a twelve-month follow-up period.
Recruiting and Retaining Older Workers is a Must for U.S. Businesses. Here are Tools Employers Can Use.
Shifting demographics in the U.S. workforce indicate that businesses are probably going to need to recruit, train, and retain older workers to ensure their companies remain competitive. However, workplace surveys indicate that most firms are currently not prepared to find and welcome workers who are 50 years of age or older. Fortunately, this report offers several promising new directions to build knowledge and advance policies and practices that support older workers’ mobility in the labor market.
AARP
July 2024
TOPICS: Career Pathways, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access, Hiring and Recruitment, Retention, Workforce Shortage
Shifting demographics in the U.S. workforce indicate that businesses are probably going to need to recruit, train, and retain older workers to ensure their companies remain competitive. However, workplace surveys indicate that most firms are currently not prepared to find and welcome workers who are 50 years of age or older.
Fortunately, a broad array of evidence-based hiring and talent development strategies are at the ready for U.S. employers. These strategies draw from a recent and comprehensive review of employer practices and their influence on economic security and mobility for U.S. workers who experience structural disadvantages and exclusion from opportunity in the labor market.
Three key connected takeaways for employers to consider as they plan for ways to leverage this segment of the workforce are as follows:
• Engage directly with older employees in developing their digital skills.
• Seek out the social networks in which older workers operate to find the best recruiting matches.
• Lean into current or former employees and their online connections to identify these social networks.
Employer Guide to Hiring Veterans
Veterans can bring valued skills and characteristics to your workplace, and this guide provides resources and identifies best practices to help transit agencies attract, train, and retain veterans and service members.
United States Department of Labor
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College-to-Jobs Initiative: Policy and Practice Series
With these webinars and stakeholder briefs, the Project on Workforce aims to increase attention and investment in college-to-career transitions and show how colleges can better deliver on economic prosperity.
The Project on Workforce
TOPICS: Apprenticeship, Career Pathways, Hiring and Recruitment, Mentorship, Trainer and Mentor Development, Training
The Project on Workforce released new recommendations for educators, employers, and policymakers on how to improve college-to-jobs connections. With these webinars and stakeholder briefs, they aim to increase attention and investment in college-to-career transitions and show how colleges can better deliver on economic prosperity.
Stakeholder Brief #1 | Strengthening College-Employer Partnerships
Stakeholder Brief #2 | Expanding Equitable Work-based Learning Opportunities
Stakeholder Brief #3 | Redesigning Postsecondary Accountability Measures to Promote Student Success
Stakeholder Brief #4 | Driving Regional Economic Development Through Higher Education
Stakeholder Brief #5 | Modernizing and Leveraging Education-Workforce Data Systems
Stakeholder Brief #6 | Preparing Students with the Skills to Navigate the Future of Work
APTA’s Workforce Clearinghouse
APTA’s Workforce Clearinghouse connects users with convenient access to industry materials, stories, and recommended practices to help advance awareness of transit careers and further educate the workforce.
American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
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Developing Transit Talent Pipelines
TransitCenter’s report explores the workforce challenges of transit bus mechanics and maintenance workers, which are essential for transitioning to zero-emissions buses and restoring pre-pandemic service. Agencies are struggling to maintain a steady pipeline for these positions due to retirements, attrition, and a changing labor market. The report determines that agencies should engage more actively with potential workers and encourage them to join the transit workforce, as well as finding new ways to prepare new workers and retrain current workers to meet current and future needs, particularly as technology for zero-emission buses continues to change and grow more widespread. The report recommends greater investment from transit agencies, state and federal government, and philanthropy to support transit jobs.
TransitCenter
May 2024
TOPICS: Hiring and Recruitment, Policy and Planning, Retention, Workforce Shortage, Zero Emission Buses
ATTAIN Bus Operator Apprenticeship Meeting
TWC’s American Transit Training and Apprenticeship Innovators Network (ATTAIN) met on May 17, 2024 to discuss bus operator apprenticeship. Check out the recording for short presentations from transit peers across the country and an engaging and interactive discussion about the development of bus operator mentorship and apprenticeship programs, how they work, and the benefits they offer.
Transit Workforce Center
May 2024
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Latino Workforce and Recruitment Webinar
In this webinar, panelists explore crucial strategies for not only attracting but also retaining Latino demographics within your organization. The session delves into the latest industry trends, innovative development approaches, recruitment incentives, and cultural insights for engaging with all demographics effectively. Hear directly from the experts at Latinos In Transit as they discuss the opportunities available for employers seeking to tap into this rapidly growing demographic.
South West Transit Association
May 2024
TOPICS: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access, Hiring and Recruitment, Retention, Workforce Shortage