News

APTA Launches Transit Workforce Readiness Guide

Posted March 2021

APTA has announced the release of its Transit Workforce Readiness Guide . The guide is an interactive and easy-to-use online resource to help organizations build a more diverse talent pipeline by attracting high school students - especially those from underserved communities - into entry-level public transit positions. Data published by the Center is used to build up the case for the necessity of engaging with youth. The guide also features the Center as a partner and describes its various programs and initiatives, including the Transit Core Competencies Curriculum, which helps prepare participants for entry into public transportation agencies’ training and apprenticeship programs, providing a foundation to enter frontline careers in the industry.

The complete guide showcases the full diversity of the public transit industry. It includes interview highlights and contributions from more than 50 industry leaders and experts representing 17 large, medium, and small agencies from across the US and Canada, eight private sector organizations, five institutes of higher education, and seven APTA partner organizations.

APTA’s transit workforce readiness guide offers details and examples of a five-step approach to help create an outreach program for high school students, including how to:

  Identify needs and opportunities
  Form outreach partnerships
  Develop and implement programs
  Close the loop with entry-level jobs
  Evaluate hiring, onboarding, and retention practices

Access APTA’s Transit Workforce Readiness Guide and executive summary:  https://bit.ly/3tkEist

Read the commentary from Adelee Le Grand in Passenger Transport:  https://bit.ly/3tn1JkY