Community College Journal - December 2010/January 2011

FEATURE

Rail passenger service is moving forward quickly as well. The United States has fallen behind other countries in high-speed rail technology and implementation. However, in October of last year, USDOT awarded $2.4 billion for planning and construction of intercity passenger-rail service, with 54 projects in 23 states. The United States is moving full-speed ahead toward a nationwide high-speed rail system.

The New Green Economy

“Green-collar” jobs and integrated environmental interest in more traditional transportation disciplines, such as engineering and project management, will be big growth areas throughout the 21st century. With the eventual depletion of the world’s oil reserves and growing evidence of climate change, the demand for clean energy and sustainable community solutions will continue to grow. The “greening” of our economy will necessitate significant changes to the American workforce. With this focus on “green” will come a greater emphasis on communities designed for enhanced quality of life.

The transportation sector offers some of the most exciting opportunities for workers to address critical issues of our time: climate change, resource conservation, and energy use. Transportation accounts for nearly 28 percent of the energy we use, whether it’s in delivering goods or services or simply helping us get to where we need to go.

Community Colleges and
Transportation

Community college students can
make a significant contribution to the
transportation workforce. Community
colleges can prepare students for trans-
portation careers that require technical
and two-year degrees and provide a
gateway for students to four-year and
postgraduate work. President Obama
has referred to community colleges as
the “21st-century job training center.”
Legislation to fund the nation’s
highway program, the Safe, Account-
able, Flexible, Efficient Transporta-
tion Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
(SAFETEA-LU), provides for a Trans-
portation Education Development
Pilot Program (TEDPP) to develop
transportation curriculum and edu-
cation programs at all levels. Funding
is limited to $300,000 per year for
each of the four years of SAFETEA-
LU funding, and the grants are
awarded to “institutions of higher
education.” The Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) specifically
requests proposals that focus on the
role of community colleges in trans-
portation workforce development.

ROBERT BERTINI is deputy administrator for research and innovative technology administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“The aviation industry, like other industries, is facing a future shortfall in skilled technicians as the workforce ages,” says Gibson Morris, liaison for special projects in the office of the president at Mid-South.

The college will use a $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to establish the program. Funding for the program comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or the Recovery Act.

The college partnered with FedEx, the shipping and logistics giant, which supplied a training aircraft, tooling, and test equipment. FedEx has developed a co-op program that will let students gain industry experience while they’re still in school, Morris says.

“The goal of all this is to reduce the time it takes to produce a technician who is capable of working on the flight line,” Morris says.

At South Seattle Community College in Seattle, an Aviation Maintenance Technology Program provides the training and skills students need to become aircraft maintenance technicians.

Students who complete the two-year program are certified to take the FAA Airframe and Power plant exams and then go on to work on any aircraft in the world, says Malcolm Grothe, executive dean, Professional & Technical Programs, at South Seattle.

There are usually about 100 students enrolled in the program at any given time, and it graduates about 40 people each year, says Morris.

Experts say transportation programs such as the one at South Seattle and other colleges fill an important and growing economic need.

“Across the workforce lifecycle— from attracting new entrants, to hiring and retaining the best qualified, to transferring knowledge to the next generation—the challenges facing the transportation industry require significant, sustained attention,” DOT’s Bertini says.