Description
The U.S. Department of Transportation has increasingly demonstrated interest in developing programs that will enhance the workforce capacity of future transportation systems. To that end, the Department sponsored the 2015 Innovative Public Transportation Workforce Development program, directed by the Federal Transit Administration. This program sought to enhance the availability of skilled workers from targeted groups, including the underserved, underemployed, and/or minority groups into possible transit-oriented career paths. One of the 19 programs selected for funding was the “DO IT!” project proposed and developed by the Valley Transit Authority (VTA). VTA proposed to create an innovative education and training program that focused on attracting and ultimately hiring underserved, underemployed, and/or minority groups in its service area of Santa Clara County. The program was created with two major goals in mind: (1) to enable VTA to work with local youth who may not otherwise have the opportunity to be exposed to a career in public transportation – specifically in the area of transportation planning; and (2) to provide a ladder of opportunity into the middle class which will help strengthen our workforce and our intercity communities by building the critical skillset needed to maintain a competitive and efficient public transportation service. This report provides an evaluation of the “Do It! Program and presents recommendations for program replication or improvement.
Publication Date
3-1-2018
Publication Type
Report
Topic
Workforce and Labor
MTI Project
1525
Mineta Transportation Institute URL
Keywords
Transit workforce, internships, job training, underserved populations, program evaluation
Disciplines
Transportation
Recommended Citation
Peter J. Haas and J. Fred Springer. "Evaluation of the Valley Transportation Authority’s DO IT! Program A “Ladders of Opportunity Initiative” Program Funded by the Federal Transit Administration" Mineta Transportation Institute Publications (2018).
