Publications and Reports

The purpose of this report is to serve as a guidebook, offering information that transit agencies can use to establish mentoring as a training method with guidance, suggestions, and examples to implement or expand upon existing mentoring programs. It is based on a generic mentoring guidebook developed by the USDOT, modified and enhanced to reflect transit maintenance applications.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) have featured the Transportation Learning Center on its Competency Model Clearinghouse website as a “Competency Model in Action”. The case study of Center work, featured in ETA’s September posting, was titled “Transportation Learning Center Launches New Competency-Based Curriculum for Transit Occupations.”

Labeling the Center an “industry champion” in developing ETA’s Transportation, Distribution and Logistics Competency Model to help meet the transportation industry’s frontline employment needs” challenge, the case study features two key aspects of the Center’s work. The Center’s work creates bridges between the competencies developed in high schools, community and vocational colleges and workforce development programs with the competencies needed as incoming and apprentice workers in frontline transit positions. The Center’s education and training program, the Transit Core Competencies Curriculum (TC3) is currently being developed and piloted in selected locations.

ETA also highlights the Center’s work with industry subject matter experts across the country to put together a multiple-module training curriculum with instructor-ready courseware for incumbent frontline workers.

Finally, the case study notes the Center’s work with a range of national industry, education and workforce development organizations, as well as with ETA’s Office of Apprenticeship and the Urban Institute, to establish Registered Apprenticeships in five frontline transit occupations — Elevator-Escalator Technician, Signals Technician, Rail Car Technician, Bus Maintenance Technician and Transit Coach Operator.

In collaboration with the Bus Operator National Joint Training Standards Committee, the Center is please to present Bus Operator Restroom Use, a case study and compendium of practitioner resources on restroom use, including a history of restroom use policy at Minneapolis Metro Transit. The resources in this report also include a model community restroom licensing agreement, route-specific restroom locations chart, and example collective bargaining language.