PREPARING TOMORROW’S TRANSPORTATION WORKFORCE PROFESSIONAL

The success and value of transportation, whether rail, air, highway, maritime or any other mode, is ultimately dependent on people. However, there are a number of factors that are currently affecting this mix that should be cause for concern. First, we are facing the retirement of a large number of “baby boomers” that have been the foundation of many transportation organizations. At the same time, low birth rates in the 1970-1980’s have resulted in a general shortage of new entrants in the American workforce. In addition to the smaller general workforce, a lower proportion of these young people are pursuing technical disciplines such as engineering that are critical to transportation. This gap in the transportation workforce comes at a time in which the skills needed to work in the transportation field are changing and expanding. Given this backdrop, the transportation industry needs to be looking at how it can attract and retain the workforce it needs in the future. In particular, there is a need to look further back into the “pipeline” to reach students, and provide them with the early education and personal experiences that can attract them to this field