In-Service Training Needs for State DOT’s

State departments of transportation (DOTs) are facing many challenging issues today. Customer expectations have never been higher. The pressure to deliver transportation services and mobility to our nation’s population is intense. The passage of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation, Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA: LU), brought historic federal funding levels to the states and yet state DOTs have probably never felt more constrained from a budgetary standpoint. Adding to these pressures felt at the state transportation agencies is the issue of their workforce—with its many faceted challenges. Among the most critical is how to equip state employees with the skills necessary to operate in this post-interstate era of transportation delivery. Thus the genesis of the subject for this research--“In-Service Training Needs for State DOTs.” This project considered the subject of “in-service” training from two perspectives. First, what skills would be necessary for professional employees and second, those required of technicians. In addition, finding the optimal means for delivering this training was also the subject of this study. In order to assess these critical elements of “in-service” training, three groups of individuals from state DOTs were queried in unique formats as follows: State Human Resources Directors-Facilitated session at the Subcommittee on Human Resources and Training; State Training Managers-phone survey to 26 states; and State CEOs-Discussions held at the summer 2005 regional meetings. All told, the information gathered through this research netted very interesting information on the topic of “in-service” training. This report will serve as a guide for state DOTs in their efforts to provide professional development training for their employees in all classifications and positions. It reflects important trends in core and complimentary skills as well as areas relating to training management, and delivery. The degree with which “in-service” training efforts conform to these patterns will determine how well state DOTs are prepared to face their transportation mission into the future.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/archive/NotesDocs/20-24(50)_FR.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=556
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This research was sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, and was conducted in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, which is administered by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies.
• Corporate Authors:

  Tom Warne and Associates, LLC

  South Jordan, UT  United States 
• Publication Date: 2005-10-17

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Draft Report
• Features: Appendices; Bibliography; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 88p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Employees; Personnel development; Professional personnel; State departments of transportation; Technicians; Training; Workforce
• Identifier Terms: Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
• Uncontrolled Terms: In-service training
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Education and Training; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01673773
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: NCHRP Project 20-24, Task 50
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 26 2018 5:02PM