American Public Transportation Association 2018 Workforce Summit: The changing mobility paradigm and its impact on tomorrow s workforce

Transcription

1 Mission at Work American Public Transportation Association 2018 Workforce Summit: The changing mobility paradigm and its impact on tomorrow s workforce Submitted by Joseph W. Niegoski, Senior Director -- Educational Services, Workforce Development & Educational Services, American Public Transportation Association Contributors: Pamela Boswell, Vice President, APTA Rose Sheridan, Vice President, APTA Bill Maroni, Senior Strategist - Executive Communications, APTA Brandon Roccio, Program Manager, APTA Abstract The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has a long-standing and impressive commitment to supporting, developing, and championing the needs and development of the transport industry s workforce. APTA s recent national Workforce Summit: The Changing Mobility Paradigm and its Impact on Tomorrow s Workforce is another example of the public transportation industry s continued resolve to move forward with the workforce agenda as the industry is at the crossroads of new mobility paradigms, new technologies, and new workforce needs. This inaugural Summit welcomed thought leaders from around the nation who addressed some of the most important industry questions, priorities, and workforce challenges faced in modern times. These workforce champions recognize their need to be at the forefront of leading, guiding, and supporting change for the transit industry. The Summit provided a forum for listening and engaging in important conversations, bringing new thoughts and ideas to the table, broadening networks, and developing some personal action items as well as recommending some key action items for APTA and for our industry. The American Public Transportation Association s (APTA) inaugural Workforce Summit: The Changing Mobility Paradigm and its Impact on Tomorrow s Workforce welcomed over fifty executive transit leaders, industry experts from outside transit, practitioners and learners to APTA s headquarters offices in Washington DC. The program provided a collection of morning plenary sessions led by recognized workforce and mobility experts and an afternoon workshop of small group discussions addressing a range of topics from career pathways to industry disruptors. These workforce champions recognize their need to be at the forefront of leading, guiding, and supporting change for the transit industry. Further, they understand the importance to be workforce development thought-leaders, risk-takers, and as enablers for the public transportation industry. Executive Leadership Perspectives During the past year, APTA has focused on the need to invest in America s infrastructure. This is an important priority for public transportation and for the country one that will make us safer, more competitive, and more efficient for decades to come. The Summit addressed another urgent

2 investment need that is just as important as safety: competitiveness and efficiency. Advancing the workforce skills that will be needed over the lifespan of new infrastructure improvements, and making investments in life-long learning are as important for the public transportation industry as making the right investments in capital projects. Per APTA President and Chief Executive Officer Paul P. Skoutelas, building public transportation s workforce for tomorrow is a goal that won t be achieved in a year. This is a continuous commitment to create the kind of skilled, flexible, knowledge-based workforce that will keep pace with emerging technologies and shape the new mobility paradigm. APTA s strategic plan includes the association s pledge to help our members strengthen the competencies of current employees and attract and retain a diverse, skilled, and knowledgeable workforce to meet tomorrow s needs. As proud as APTA may be of its many successful partnerships, industry professional development programs, regional organizational development summits, youth summits, programs for engineering faculty, front-line workers, and many others, these initiatives alone will not get us to where we need to be in the future. Today, more and more public transportation jobs require post-secondary technical education, advanced problem-solving skills, and college-level math and computer competencies. Per Mr. Skoutelas, these realities point to three action items for public transportation leaders: Rethink not only what our employees need to know and do, but also how they will acquire that knowledge and ability. Create more flexible, agile workplaces with cultures that rely less on proscriptive rules and instead emphasize communication, strategic thinking, and collaborative teamwork. Alter our ideas about training and education to adapt to today s shorter shelf-life of new skills and emerging technologies. We need to find ways to help employees learn more quickly and to continue wanting to learn as part of an unbroken, integrated, career path. Summit Keynote Emily DeRocco, non-resident fellow in the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, President of E3, Senior strategic advisor to the ACT Foundation, and Director of the National Network of Business and Industry Associations co-managed by the Business Roundtable and the Foundation, provided thought-provoking ideas and strategies as the Summit s guest keynote speaker. According to Ms. DeRocco, The economic impact of the transit industry cannot be ignored. This industry plays a critical role in the national conversation as it relates to infrastructure and jobs. All industries are facing recruitment and retention issues within the workforce thus, there are job openings and workers seeking employment in every industry. As industry leaders, Ms. DeRocco suggests that we have a responsibility to ensure there is not a major skills gap within the overall workforce. How we pass down knowledge and training to our future workforce is important. Ms DeRocco shared that each generation learns, works, and prioritizes differently. For example; baby boomers must adapt, while Gen Xers look to achieve work-life balance. Millennials find great reward in having a job that has meaning. Millennials want to make a difference, and, they have a Page 2 of 6

3 high respect for diversity. If organizations do not adapt, the future workforce will leave to become self-employed or entrepreneurs. Advancing technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics along with improved data analytics methodologies and information are major drivers impacting changes in the workplace. These advances further emphasize the workforce challenges. Ms. DeRocco indicated that the current educational programming being offered to develop a market-ready workforce are not keeping pace with these technological changes and their effect on the work setting. Consequently, industry should take the lead in addressing such challenges to workforce development.in demand occupations. Per Ms. DeRocco, industry must address the needs and values of all generations within the workforce in developing job descriptions and career pathways. As individuals entering the workforce continue to acquire skills from non-traditional methods, industry must examine how it describes job roles and functions; recognizing the added value of internships and apprenticeship programming to expand opportunities to a larger workforce pool. Industry must drive these successful apprenticeship opportunities and partnerships across industry sectors. Several keynote takeaways are: 1) An organization should place a major emphasis on talent acquisition and workforce development, 2) An organization must also align talent development activities with technological advances, 3) An organization s strategic roadmap must align with its vision and be supported by accurate data, and 4) Organizational leadership must be ready to engage and establish partnerships. Mobility Management and the Workforce A primary goal of the Summit was to address the new mobility paradigm emerging in the transit industry and what these implications mean for the leaders, stakeholders, and workers of today and tomorrow - for those who lead, for those who recruit, hire, develop and support today s and tomorrow s workforce. APTA s executive and industry leaders recognize the breadth of high-impact changes in our industry including new technologies, new competition, new challenges, and new disruptions. Fresh ideas and discovering new insights as workforce leaders advanced the goals for the Summit and provided a rich set of material for the broader national workforce agenda. APTA welcomed a panel of highly-respected Mobility and Workforce experts to bring to light the implications and impact of what Mobility Management/Mobility as a Service means to the transit industry as we plan and strategize for the future. Panel experts included Chad Ballentine, Vice President, Demand Response and Innovation Mobility, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Austin, TX; Kimberly Slaughter, Vice President, National Transit/Rail Market Sector Leader, HNTB Corporation, Chicago, Il; Michael Grigsby, Vice President, Marketing and Technology, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Kansas City, MO; Dr. Beverly Scott, Beverly Scott Associates, Albany, CA; and Jack Clark, Executive Director, Transportation Learning Center, Silver Spring Maryland. This session was moderated by Paul Larrousse, Chair, APTA s Workforce Development Committee, Director, National Transit Institute. Page 3 of 6

4 The following are highlights shared by these industry experts: Mobility is an evolving concept with many different types and moving parts. The transit industry must remain nimble, examining and leveraging pilot programs and find ways to work within the new mobility world. The transit industry is one that has the ability to align with all generations that make up today s workforce. The industry needs to create an environment where individuals can serve as mentors to one another, while at the same time tapping into new technology, using sustainability practices, and ensuring they consider and model what is important to the future workforce. Individuals joining the workforce cannot be expected to stay in the same organization for their entire career. As a result, transit organizations are looking into cross training which will help retain the younger workforce in the industry, but not in a single organization. Jobs and competencies are changing and will continue to shift. The workforce becomes the largest expense for any organization, and we must focus on Human Resources and asset management to gain an understanding of the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed for roles across the industry. The discussion also needs to recognize those who maintain industry services. Thirty percent of the transit workforce has less than a college degree. Workforce development in the transit industry needs to be a partnership between labor organizations and management. We need to leverage apprenticeship programs and to ensure we address the relevant competencies to build their skills. The industry must begin seeding the notion of change culture - embrace change. Today s demands will not be the same in the future, and it is imperative to prepare for these changes. We must start training; trying new things, and piloting projects, as well as building these practices into our culture will allow us to stay ahead of the curve. Focus Group Conversations In addition to presentations, the Summit provided an afternoon session of small group conversations, allowing Summit attendees to take a deeper dive into a broad set of topics including: career pathways and filling jobs; partnerships; big data; mobility, disruptors and transformers; and advanced technology. The afternoon program was led by Ferdinand Risco, Vice Chair, APTA s Workforce Development Committee, Assistant Executive Director, Transit Authority of River City. The following reflects some of the issues shared by Summit attendees: Career pathways provide a roadmap for employees to know how they can advance. Advancement may not be linear, but rather latticed, including a blend of formal and informal programs. Using agreed upon competency-based programs and approaches, providing structured internal training and cross-training opportunities, offering tuition assistance programs, advocating and providing apprenticeships, outreach, and partnerships with high schools, community colleges, and technical schools collectively may provide a means to Page 4 of 6

5 attract, retain and advance a new workforce. Leaders agreed that the industry needs to find better ways to advertise our brand and stressed the need to grow more partnerships with representatives from higher education and organized labor. Working with partners is becoming an essential business practice. Developing curriculum and programming that are relevant; and reaching out to high schools, technical schools, organized labor, community colleges and educational partners, and others is part of the new business paradigm. Internships, co-op programs, apprentice programs, among other models introduce the future by inviting students in and letting them learn that the public transit industry does in fact have a place for them. Big Data what is it? Do we understand it? Big data is clearly more than pulling together lots of data sets and doing something with it, whether that means analysis, pattern recognition, or other. Have we stepped back to look at our own internal workforce data? Different generations of the workforce have different sets of data. For example, retirements when does staff retire? Are there patterns we can spot and use? Do we investigate predictive monitoring systems to better manage and monitor our workforce trends and needs? Can we predict and spot trends in workforce disruptions and be proactive to anticipate the future? How do new technologies, artificial intelligence, and advanced automation factor in as disruptors in the transportation workforce conversation? How might automation affect human equity and assets? Will more automation increase services and reduce cost? Even with advanced automation, there are still roles for human involvement, though they may be different ones. Do not lose sight of the future. Prepare your workforce, help them transition, build the new skills they need, and focus on how the human component can be prepared for the automation component. Looking Ahead The American Public Transportation Association is ready to take on the challenge to future-proof our industry. We as workforce champions need to be at the forefront of leading, guiding, and supporting change for our industry. We need to be continually recognized for the exceptional work we do as workforce development thought-leaders, risk-takers, and as enablers for our industry. This Summit provided an opportunity to discuss, share, and leave with great ideas, best practices, and new thoughts as to how one might address both local and national challenges. For the industry, we have some tall orders to fill; we have some very innovative ideas and recommendations to work on. And we have some very committed leaders. Passion is at the heart of learning. Public transit leaders have a responsibility to support the aspirations of our workers and to nurture their passion for what they do. Leadership and learning have always been indispensable to each other. This Summit is proof of that. - Paul Skoutelas, President and CEO, APTA Acknowledgements APTA s Summit recognized the following leaders for their vision and commitment to developing a vibrant, skilled, and progressive workforce: Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr, APTA Chair, Page 5 of 6

6 Chief Executive Officer, Jacksonville Transportation Authority; David M. Stackrow, Sr., CPA, APTA Vice Chair, Immediate Past Chair, Capital District Transportation Authority; Doran J. Barnes, APTA Immediate Past Chair, Executive Director, Foothill Transit; Bacarra Sanderson Mauldin, APTA Executive Committee Member, Board Member, Birmingham Regional Paratransit Consortium dba Clas Tran; Paul Larrousse, Chair, APTA s Workforce Development Committee, Director, National Transit Institute; Anna Barry, Deputy Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation; and Kimberly Slaughter, Vice President for the Transit /Rail Market Sector, HNTB Corporation. Additional Information The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of 1,500 public and private sector organization which represent a $68 billion industry that directly employs 420,000 people and supports millions of private sector jobs. APTA members are engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed passenger rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. APTA is the only association in North America that represents all modes of public transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products. Suggested Citation Niegoski, J. Contributors: Boswell, P.; Sheridan, R.; Maroni, B.; and Roccio, B. American Public Transportation Association 2018 Workforce Summit: The changing mobility paradigm and its impact on tomorrow s workforce. Journal of Interprofessional Workforce Research and Development. Volume 1:Issue 2, Page 6 of 6