European Practices in Transportation Workforce Development

FHWA-PL-03-007

Transportation agencies in the United States grapple with how to hire and retain sufficient numbers of technical and administrative workers, as well as how to train and retrain those workers to ensure they will be able to meet changing needs. These agencies realize that their workers - the organizations' human capital - are their most valuable investment, and they want to preserve and grow that investment.

The unemployment rate in the United States at the time of the scanning study was 3.9 percent, the lowest in 30 years. Coupled with the strong economy was a steadily growing demand for engineers and technicians, particularly in electronics and high-technology fields. Many transportation agencies expanded their stafs and expertise in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Interstate Highway System was designed and built. Today, many of those staffers are retiring, leaving a void that must be filled.

As transportation agencies in the United States shift from a new construction mode of operation to one of system preservation, much of the planning, design, and construction work is being outsourced, reducing the hands-on opportunities attractive to engineers and technicians. In addition, to many of today's younger engineers and technicians, civil engineering projects do not have the same allure as high-tech projects. That, coupled with the higher salaries typically ofered by private firms, means transportation agencies are having increasing difficulty filling jobs and retaining staff. As a result, many jobs at transportation agencies go unfilled, forcing agencies to contract for more services. In some cases, the services are provided by former transportation agency staff members now employed by the contractor.

The number of engineering students in the United States has not kept pace with the growing demand. Although there has been a slight upswing in the number of U.S. undergraduate engineering students, most of the increase is in computer engineering. And the number of science and engineering graduate students in the United States has fallen for the fifth consecutive year.

The career goals of today's younger workers are also a factor. Most Generation X'ers expect to move routinely from one employer to another as a means of taking on new challenges and responsibilities. Although they are eager to assume responsibility, they stand fast against allowing their work life to intrude on their personal life, and they expect a more flexible workplace (for example, in terms of hours and culture). As a result, transportation agencies must adapt to the shifting work culture.

The needs of transportation agencies are also changing. In the past, most agencies relied primarily on a cadre of highly trained civil engineers. Today, however, the civil engineering staff must be augmented by workers skilled in computer engineering, high-tech electronics, regional planning, environmental protection, federal regulations, accounting, management, communications, public outreach, marketing, and other areas.

The challenges facing a transportation agency are broader than ever. Meeting those challenges requires a competent, skilled, and experienced workforce that can create and sustain a knowledge base.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), acting through the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, sponsored a scanning tour to give State and Federal transportation agency representatives a firsthand look at how several European countries deal with these issues. The scan was conducted March 24 through April 7, 2001, in Sweden, Germany, France, and England.

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