pacific nw transportation consortium region 10 Pactrans

PacTrans WDI staff attended the TRB National Summit on the Future of the Transportation Workforce in the first week of June in Westminster, Colorado. Melissa Amrhein, Assistant Director of the PacTrans Workforce Development Institute, presented an update on the annual Washington Transportation Camp, sponsored by WSDOT and PacTrans, and hosted by the University of Washington and Washington State University each summer. The camp aims to inspire students to consider career paths in STEM fields related to transportation. Students engage in problem-solving activities that enhance their critical thinking, teamwork, and communication abilities. After participating in the camp, high school students indicated a heightened interest in pursuing degrees in engineering, environmental science, and urban planning.

The other informative sessions at the TRB Workforce conference covered topics such as transportation workforce retention strategies, evaluation of workforce programs, and using AI in the transportation workforce. The conference offered a variety of guest speakers, poster sessions, and breakout sessions where participants shared workforce opportunities and challenges with each other. Our staff walked away with many new insights and workshop ideas. One new workforce development tool shared at the conference is the Agency Capability Building Web Portal. The ABC Portal is a one-stop shop that provides transportation workforce practitioners with easy access to the tools and work products developed through NCHRP Project 20-24(95): Ensuring Essential Capability for the Future Transportation Agency. We look forward to integrating these new resources and insights into our future initiatives to further improve the transportation workforce.