News and Updates

The Center Joins 44 Workforce Development Leaders in Declaring Commitment to Career Pathways

Posted July 2014

The Transportation Learning Center joined with 44 other leading labor-management and union programs in declaring a commitment “to participate in the national engagement campaign organized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Administration to expand opportunities for adults to assess and strengthen their foundation skills.”  That commitment, set out in a letter to Assistant Secretary of Education Johan Uvin, responded to what the signers called “troubling findings” in the OECD’s Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies Fall 2013 Survey of Adult Skills.  According to the survey, approximately 36 million adults ages 16 to 65 in the United States have low skills in basic numeracy, reading and problem-solving; over a third of this population is looking for work, and many who already have work are in low-wage jobs that provide neither job security nor other benefits that make a job a “good job.”

Center Invited to White House Summit on American Apprenticeships

Posted July 2014

Center Deputy Director Jack Clark participated in the July 14 White House Summit on American Apprenticeships. The Summit was organized by the Executive Office of the President and the Department of Labor in response to the “President’s ambitious goal to double the number of apprenticeships in the next five years and expand apprenticeships into new fields and high-growth industries.”, as stated in the invitation.

Weekly Update for July 1, 2014

Posted July 2014

This week’s update includes stories on UTA is being the 2014 Outstanding Public Transportation System, The Bay Area’s third largest bus system will end the sale of paper transfers and The Federal Transit Administration this week announced $100 million in funding for buses and bus facilities through the Ladders of Opportunity Initiative.

Strong Leadership Developed Training Materials Increase Elevator/Escalator Reliability at NYCT

Posted June 2014

In 2007, New York City Transit had one in six elevators or escalators out of service for a month or more.  More recently, New York City Transit riders have seen escalator and elevator availability above 95 percent for the most recent quarter and above very high target rates of availability for ten straight quarters.

Strong Leadership & Consortium Training Materials Increase Elevator/Escalator Reliability at NYCT

Posted June 2014

In 2007, New York City Transit had one in six elevators or escalators out of service for a month or more.  More recently, New York City Transit riders have seen escalator and elevator availability above 95 percent for the most recent quarter and above very high target rates of availability for ten straight quarters.

Sally Librera, Vice President for Subway Operations Support at NYC Transit/MTA, presented these findings in a June 16 presentation at the APTA Rail Conference.  A number of factors, she made clear,  contributed to the dramatic improvement in elevator and escalator service in New York City, including some major changes in operations. Improved training was a significant contributor to improved performance, and Librera’s presentation focused mainly on improvements in training for elevator-escalator technicians and on the role of the Transit Elevator/Escalator Training Consortium in helping to effect those improvements.