Joint National Transit Rail Vehicle Training Standards Committee Decides that Mentoring is Needed to Grow Expert Technicians

On September 22-23, 2011 the Center's Joint National Transit Rail Vehicle Training Standards Committee met in Salt Lake City, UT to continue their efforts in creating a national system for training and qualification of transit rail vehicle technicians. Among the topics covered was how to train the master level technician which will be responsible for diagnostics and troubleshooting of rail vehicle systems. It was unanimously agreed by the group – which represents transit authorities and their unions from all over the United States including Sacramento, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New York and Chicago among others – that the best way to train technicians at this advanced level is through a strong system of mentorship.

Many of the locations represented have no formalized mentoring program and those that do still see room for improvement. The Center will help to fill this void by creating standardized resources such as:
• Guidelines for identifying and recruiting strong mentors
• Train-the-Mentor Best Practices
• Standardized OJT Task Lists which follow the nationally recognized training standards

The benefits of mentoring in the transit industry are not new ideas to the Center. Read the Center's Publication Passing on the Legacy: The Benefits of Mentoring in Transit Training