The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced Monday that it had awarded $5 million to the International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC) to support the first-ever Transit Workforce Center (TWC).
Based in Silver Springs, Md., the ITLC will serve as the nation’s technical assistance center to help transit agencies recruit, hire, train, and retain a diverse workforce.
“This first Transit Workforce Center will invest in our transit employees, connect our people to good-paying jobs, and help our country tackle the climate crisis,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The TWC was established to conduct workforce development technical assistance for transit agencies with a focus on frontline transit worker skill development. The ITLC will forge collaborative partnerships between transit agency management and labor organizations while creating new programs like apprenticeships, and addressing the national transit worker shortage.
“Transit workers play a vital role in President Biden’s vision for America,” said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez. “This award to the International Transportation Learning Center will help the nation address the transit worker shortage by providing resources to re-skill and up-skill our workforce and will facilitate the green technology initiatives many transit agencies are undertaking.”
The TWC will also help transit agencies develop their own workforce development programs as they transition to climate-friendly technologies like low- and no-emission vehicles, electrified fleets, automation, real-time smart systems, and new service models.