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Map – Apprenticeship and Mentorship Programs
Visualizing the Growing Trend of Registered Apprenticeship in U.S. Transit Agencies
Over the past 10 years, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and other federal agencies have invested heavily in promoting and supporting registered apprenticeship, resulting in a significant expansion of registered apprentice programs across the country. Likewise, the use of registered apprenticeship for frontline public transit occupations has increased significantly, with many transit agencies and their corresponding unions jointly adopting labor-management standards that create a framework for apprenticeship. Only five transit agencies had a registered apprenticeship program in 2013, compared with 30 transit agencies in 2023.
This map displays transit locations with registered apprenticeship or mentorship programs. Users can reveal information about the active apprenticeship/mentorship programs at each agency, the agency’s workforce-related statistics (such as wage, employee count, labor hours, and ridership), and links to Standards of Apprenticeship, which include details about qualifications, wages, hours, and training schedules.
Transit Workforce Center
September 2024
Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) Technical Assistance Center (TAC)
Federal Transit Administration
August 2024
TOPICS: Policy and Planning , Safety and Health
The Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) Technical Assistance Center (TAC) provides comprehensive technical assistance to help the transit industry meet PTASP regulation requirements, as outlined in 49 CFR part 673.
The TAC:
- Provides one-on-one technical assistance
- Facilitates training and peer-sharing via live webinars and roundtables
- Conducts voluntary technical reviews of draft Agency Safety Plans
- Maintains a resource library with technical assistance tools.
Fatigue Resources for Transit Operations
To support the transit industry, FTA has compiled resources that can be used to better understand fatigue and fatigue-related issues in the workplace. The site includes resources about understanding sleep, causes of fatigue, symptoms and warning signs, effects, relevance to transit workers and agencies, and fatigue risk management systems.
Federal Transit Administration
TOPICS: Policy and Planning , Safety and Health , Training
Joint Office of Energy and Transportation Workforce Development Resources
The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office) supports the deployment of zero-emission, convenient, accessible, and equitable transportation infrastructure. In addition to providing direct funding support for workforce development, the Joint Office has collated example resources to support workforce development activities for an electrified transportation system.
Joint Office of Energy and Transportation
De-Escalation Training Resource Directory
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has gathered these resources to support the transit industry in developing, implementing, and updating their training programs. The resources illustrate ways agencies throughout the transit industry are implementing de-escalation training.
Federal Transit Administration
February 2024
TOPICS: Policy and Planning , Safety and Health , Training
Mentoring: A Tool for Employee Engagement & Retention
APTA’s podcast, The Transit Authority, presents a two-part series on mentoring. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) will discuss their partnerships with ATU to build and manage successful mentoring programs and how mentoring is a critical tool for knowledge transfer, positive work culture, and diverse perspectives.
American Public Transportation Association
January 2024
TOPICS: Career Pathways , Labor-Management Partnerships , Mentorship , Retention
Tribal Nations Funding Opportunities
This page provides an updated and filterable list of funding opportunities for electric vehicle development in tribal nations.
Joint Office of Energy and Transportation
TOPICS: Funding Opportunities , Zero Emission Buses
Mental Health Resources for Transit Workers
The Federal Transit Administration has aggregated the mental health resources to support transit industry workers during challenging times. Topics include suicide prevention, active shooter preparedness, mental health first aid, and more.
U.S. Department of Tranportation, Federal Transit Administration
December 2023
TOPICS: Safety and Health
US Department of Labor Blog: Data Spotlight
This page on the US Department of Labor Blog features data spotlight articles by David Rosenblum which provide visualizations of Census Bureau data about different demographics in skilled trade professions.
US Department of Labor
September 2023
Apprentice Trailblazer Initiative
The Apprentice Trailblazer Initiative is designed to create a national network of diverse apprentices and apprenticeship graduates of all ages and backgrounds to feature their stories and hear their perspectives, show how Registered Apprenticeships increase opportunities for underserved populations, and bring awareness to other career seekers who may be interested in becoming apprentices.
Department of Labor; ApprenticeshipUSA
TOPICS: Apprenticeship , Career Pathways , Mentorship
Resources for New Immigrants and Refugees
This WorkforceGPS page provides a variety of employment resources for new immigrants and refugees, including factsheets in different languages, information about funding and training programs, and other special services.
WorkforceGPS
August 2023
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
This landing page provides information about WIOA as well as resources to help employers take advantage of WIOA funding to support apprenticeship.
Department of Labor
TOPICS: Apprenticeship , Funding Opportunities
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was signed into law on July 22, 2014. WIOA is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy.
Registered Apprenticeship Academy
This page, created by the ETA’s Office of Apprenticeship, offers a wide range of courses, webinars, and other resources for program sponsors, apprentices, state apprenticeship agency partners, and other stakeholders to provide training, enhance skills, and stay up to date on best practices for registered apprenticeships.
Employment and Training Administration
TOPICS: Apprenticeship
Interactive Apprenticeship Data
This dashboard provides key statistics on apprentices by fiscal year (FY) (October through September), including state and national program data entered or uploaded into the Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Database System (RAPIDS).
Apprenticeship USA
June 2023
TOPICS: Apprenticeship
Expanding Apprenticeship for Individuals with Disabilities
This landing page features a variety of resources aimed at providing information, ideas, tools, and practices for supporting individuals with disabilities in apprenticeship programs. The resources include specific programs, toolkits and guides, outreach and background materials, and research.
WorkforceGPS
June 2023
Apprenticeship Equal Employment Opportunity Toolkit
This toolkit provides advice on how to reach the Department of Labor utilization goal for sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship Programs to have individuals with disabilities make up at least 7% of people enrolled. It includes information about outreach and recruitment; preventing harassment, intimidation, and retaliation; providing reasonable accommodations; developing and implementing an affirmative action program, and encouraging self-identification.
Partnership on Inclusive Apprenticeship
Five Charts To Understand Black Registered Apprentices in the United States
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
March 2023
The Joint Center’s issue brief, Five Charts To Understand Black Registered Apprentices in the United States, analyzes data reported in the Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Database System (RAPIDS) from the U.S. Department of Labor to highlight structural barriers that Black apprentices face. To achieve racially equitable outcomes in apprenticeship programs, policymakers and apprenticeship coordinators must understand these challenges.
TWC’s Transit Workforce Data Dashboard
Launched in March, 2023, the Transit Workforce Data Dashboard presents quantitative, descriptive data about the composition of the transit workforce and trends in transit employment using a series of charts and graphics. This information is relevant for industry discussions in a range of contexts, including: strategic workforce planning in recruitment, retention, and other areas; examining and addressing opportunities and challenges related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access; and identifying training and funding needs.
Transit Workforce Center
March 2023
Apprenticeship Training Courses
This series of free online training courses will help transit providers and others plan for, create, and sustain registered apprenticeship programs. Several courses have already been released and others are forthcoming.
Jobs for the Future
March 2023
TOPICS: Apprenticeship , Career Pathways , Mentorship , Trainer and Mentor Development , Training
Grant Application Checklist for a Strong Transportation Workforce and Labor Plan
This checklist provides information on the components of an ideal labor plan when applying to DOT discretionary grants in order to best meet the criteria for a strong workforce. The checklist prompts grant applicants to consider their labor-management partnerships, workforce training and education, and hiring and retaining underrepresented workers.
US Department of Transportation
February 2023
TOPICS: Funding Opportunities , Policy and Planning
Community Transportation Map and Database
The National Center for Mobility Management developed a national transit database depicting the approximate location of transit agencies and organizations across the United States. The database combines existing datasets with new research to create an exhaustive list of organizations that provide transportation services to communities across the country. It contains public transit providers, community action agencies, senior centers, and others that provide transportation.
National Center for Mobility Management
January 2023
TOPICS: Policy and Planning
Labor-Management Partnerships
This page from the US Department of Labor explains the benefits of labor-management partnerships, successful examples of partnerships, how successful labor-management partnerships help workers and employers, and provides additional resources for support.
Department of Labor
January 2023
Expanding Apprenticeship: Return on Investment (ROI)
This is the landing page for Apprenticeship ROI resources on the WorkforceGPS website (sponsored by the Employment and Training Administration of the US Department of Labor). It is updated periodically and includes recent publications released as part of the evaluation of the American Apprenticeship Initiative. These resources attest to the value of apprenticeship programs for organizations and for workers.
WorkforceGPS
November 2022
TOPICS: Apprenticeship , Program Evaluation and ROI
Second Chance Transit Programs
Several transit agencies across the country have established Second Chance programs to support formerly-incarcerated individuals as they reenter the workforce; these programs set pathways into frontline transit positions, often focusing on driver recruitment. These initiatives involve active collaboration between transit agencies and departments of corrections. Agencies have also worked with other partners, including their local unions, state and local workforce development agencies, ex-offender support programs, and local community organizations.
August 2022
Basic descriptions of some current state and local programs can be found at the links below.
IndyGo’s Employment Opportunities Page
The IndyGo transit agency, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, offers high-quality career information on its website. This resource summarizes effective elements of the career page.
IndyGo
August 2022
TOPICS: Career Pathways , Hiring and Recruitment
IndyGo’s career page helps site visitors to understand what it’s like to work at the agency and how to apply. The page also highlights key job benefits and emphasizes the opportunity to serve the community. Overall, the employment section of IndyGo’s website demonstrates a number of key communication elements that support effective outreach to potential applicants. These elements include:
- An easily accessible and identifiable section on the website. “Employment” has its own clickable category, not a subcategory that may be harder to locate.
- Clear statements about IndyGo’s mission, emphasizing community service, connection, and working together to make a difference in people’s lives. These messages attract a range of potential target audiences, and they make clear the difference between a public service career, as opposed to other careers applicants may be considering.
- A detailed list of benefits, with additional specific benefits for drivers noted. Among those benefits, the list includes unique aspects of the driver position that distinguishes it from other potentially competing careers (e.g., long-haul trucking), noting benefits such as “all local work.”
- Highlighted aspects of the driver position that emphasize the connection with and support provided to riders.
- A thoughtful list of questions for potential applicants to consider about themselves and the type of work they might want before they decide to move ahead with the application.
- Detailed information on how and where to apply, basics of how to prepare for and what to bring to an interview, and important specifics about the steps of the hiring process and initial orientation and training programs.
- IndyGo’s Why I Drive segment on their website includes a video featured in the National Frontline Workforce Recruitment Campaign Toolkit video library elsewhere on this website. That link on IndyGo’s website also features brief worker profiles, another summary of benefits, and a note on IndyGo’s Second Chance Initiative.
- IndyGo’s website includes a prominent option to translate the site into Spanish.
National Transit Frontline Worker Recruitment Campaign
Across the United States, whether large, small, urban, rural, or tribal, transit agencies are facing the challenge of recruiting and retaining drivers, mechanics, and technicians who can operate and maintain the buses of our public transit systems. To help support local transit efforts, TWC is developing the #ConnectingMyCommunity national frontline worker recruitment campaign, coordinated with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and industry, labor, and community partners from around the country.
Transit Workforce Center
July 2022
Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) Resources
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) established Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) regulations that set baseline training requirements for entry-level drivers. This rule impacts any individual wishing to obtain for the first time (or to upgrade to) a Class A or Class B Commercial Driver’s License. These resources from the Minnesota Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP) provide information about the regulations, training materials, training providers, checklists, etc. to assist transit agencies in complying with regulations.
Minnesota Rural Transit Assistance Program
February 2022
TOPICS: Career Pathways , Hiring and Recruitment , Training
California Transit Training Consortium (CTTC)
The California Transit Training Consortium, founded as the Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium, is comprised of community colleges, universities, transit agencies, and public and private partners collaborating to design, develop, and deliver technical training for the improvement of the transit workforce in California.
California Transit Training Consortium
TOPICS: Training
West Coast Center of Excellence in Zero Emission Technology
SunLine Transit Agency’s West Coast Center of Excellence in Zero Emission Technology (WCCOE) is a workforce development program focused on deploying and operating zero emission buses in public fleets. Funded by the FTA, this center provide training, best practice information and access to technology and software geared towards the planning, procurement and deployment of zero emission buses.
SunLine Transit Agency
Course offerings include:
• Leadership and Employee Relations
• Zero Emission Bus Overview
• Zero Emission Bus Operations
• Zero Emission Bus Maintenance
• Financial Management
• Zero Emission Bus Procurement
• Zero Emission Bus Policies and Regulations
• Planning for ZEB Operation
Signal and Track Switch Repairers
This search page on Apprenticeship.gov provides results for approved occupation titles under Signal and Track Switch Repairers, as well as work activities, education, and related occupations.
US Department of Labor
TOPICS: Apprenticeship , Career Pathways