PREPARD BY THE DOT DEPARTMENTTAL OFFICES OF
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND CIVIL RIGHTS

SEPTEMBER 13, 2002

Table of Contents

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• HISPANIC EMPLOYMENT: NEW INITIATIVES
• MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
• COORDINATED and STRATEGIC OUTREACH
• SUPPORT FOR HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTIONS
• PARTNERSHIP BUILDING
• EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS
• NEXT STEPS

Executive Summary

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has made some progress to recruit Hispanics for transportation related jobs. In FY 2001, the number of DOT Hispanic employees was 3,202 or 5.0 percent of total DOT workforce (64,472). This is an increase of 5.5 percent over FY 2000 (3,025).

To build upon past efforts and ensure that DOT is responding to President Bush's charge to increase the representation of Hispanics within the federal workforce, DOT is coordinating recruitment and retention efforts by addressing the following issues:

• Management Commitment and Accountability
• Strategic and Coordinated Department-Wide Outreach and Recruitment
• Financial and Program Support for Hispanic Serving Institutions and the Students They Enroll
• Partnership Building with Hispanic Organizations

DOT, under the leadership of the Departmental Offices of Human Resources and Civil Rights, will assess past and current efforts for each issue and develop strategies that will create positive change for the inclusion of Hispanics within the Department's workforce.

Ongoing efforts to support the employment needs of Hispanics are an integral part of new Department-wide initiatives to embrace and acknowledge the benefits of diversity. DOT recognizes that diversity management is critical to developing a talented and diverse workforce that can meet the transportation needs of tomorrow. More importantly, implementing diversity management throughout DOT will enable the Department to effectively plan for the pending wave of retirements and ensure that new employees represent the demographic profile of the United States.

HISPANIC EMPLOYMENT AT DOT: NEW INITIATIVES

While some progress has been made to increase the representation of Hispanics within the DOT workforce, more work needs to occur to ensure to the Department is utilizing all resources and tools to tap the talent pool that exists in the Hispanic community. Coordination and collaboration throughout DOT is essential to this effort. Currently, the Departmental Offices of Human Resource Management and Civil Rights are working with all DOT operating administrations (OAs) to develop a coordinated, strategic approach to support the employment needs of Hispanics. New initiatives are designed to solicit an accurate account of Department-wide efforts and facilitate an open forum to develop strategies that will improve and expand the recruitment and retention of Hispanics.

Beginning in October 2002, DOT will launch the following Departmental initiatives. The initiatives are strategically linked to the Department's Strategic Plan and complement government-wide human capital management initiatives to develop a diverse and talented workforce through efficient recruitment and accountability of results.

• Host a half-day workshop to assess DOT past and current efforts to support the employment needs of Hispanics and formulate an action plan to create change for the inclusion of Hispanics within the Department's programs and services.
• Issue a Tool Kit on how DOT can effectively recruit and retain Hispanics within its workforce. The tool Kit will provide information on utilizing various hiring authorities; building partnerships with Hispanic organizations; providing effective outreach to the Hispanic community and Hispanic Serving Institutions, as well as an update on Hispanic representation at DOT.
• Collect quarterly progress reports on efforts to recruit and retain Hispanics from DOT OAs. Findings will help guide future efforts to improve employment policies and programs.
• Issue diversity management guidance to ensure that DOT's workforce represents the demographic profile of the United States. Included in this guidance will be accountability mechanisms to measure progress.
• Create new partnerships with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute, the League of United Latin American Citizens, ASPIRA Association, Inc., and the National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives (NAHFE) to identify opportunities to support the education and employment needs of Hispanics.

These initiatives, as well as those that will be developed and implemented in DOT OAs, will help lay a foundation for continued progress.

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY

Management accountability is a key element to creating a diverse and highly talented workforce. As part of its overall diversity management initiatives, DOT and all OAs will develop performance measures to evaluate progress in increasing the representation of Hispanics, women and persons with disabilities within the Department's workforce. Senior officials and program managers will be required to participate in diversity training, which will provide information on the various resources and tools that can help develop a diverse workforce. Utilization of resources and tools and subsequent changes resulting from use will be an evaluation element in performance appraisals.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

• The FAA Administrator appointed the Affirmative Employment Oversight Board (AEOB) to monitor the FAA's progress in addressing and ultimately correcting the under representation of women, minorities, and personswith disabilities that was presented in the FAA's Employee Forum's business case. The AEOB is comprised of executives from the lines of businesses (LOBs) and staff offices (SO). Several new initiatives were recommended by the AEOB to address the under representation issues and increase employment opportunities for women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. One initiative, in particular, was to publish a 5-year Recruitment Plan that would take into account: (1) the agency's five-year hiring forecast, (2) employment trends, and (3) specific strategies for addressing the under representation at FAA.

COORDINATED AND STRATEGIC OUTREACH

DOT is taking proactive steps to coordinate outreach efforts to the Hispanic community. Outreach activities include participating in Hispanic conferences and career fairs as well as disseminating employment information to Hispanic Serving Institutions and Hispanic organizations, radio and television stations and placing recruitment advertisements in various Hispanic newspapers and publications.

Departmental/Office of the Secretary

• The Departmental Hispanic Employment Program Manager (HEPM), along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the Transportation Security Administration, hosted an information/recruitment table at the National Council of La Raza Annual Conference and Career Expo from July 19-24, 2002, in Miami, Florida. The Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Research and Special Programs Administration's Volpe Center also supported DOT participation in the conference by providing information about their respective employment opportunities and programs.
• While in Miami, DOT program managers spoke to numerous individuals about DOT employment opportunities and the various programs and services offered by the Department. The Departmental HEPM also met with representatives from Dade County Schools and Florida International University, an Hispanic Serving Institution (Hispanics comprise 25 percent or more the student enrollment). As a result of the meeting, DOT job announcements, as well as other education and employment information on how DOT supports the Latino community, will be shared on a regular basis with each organization, which will in turn distribute to its networks in Miami and throughout Florida.
• The Departmental HEPM, the Transportation Administrative Service Center, and the Federal Aviation Administration hosted a career booth at a U.S. Department of Agriculture and Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Minority College Career Fair on July 16, 2002. DOT officials spoke to minority college students and college graduates about Department-wide job opportunities and the various education and employment programs and services offered by DOT.
• Several DOT HEPMs participated in various training opportunities including the Tenth Annual National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives (NAHFE)'s Executive Leadership Development and Diversity Training Conference in November 2001, and the NAHFE's Hispanic Federal Executives Summit IV in June 2002. Both training events provided an opportunity for DOT HEPMs to learn about government-wide Hispanic employment initiatives and share information about DOT employment opportunities.
• The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) placed recruitment advertisements for senior level OIG positions including SES positions in the Hispanic Weekly Publication and the Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

• The FAA National Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Program Manager hosted a career booth at the 2002 HACU Annual Conference. The FAA HSI program manager also met with HSI senior officials to establish and maintain partnerships and to raise awareness about FAA and its employment opportunities. At the conference, FAA received the Outstanding HACU Public Sector Partner Award in recognition of excellent support by a governmental agency.
• FAA supported an Aviation Transportation Career Exhibit at East Boston High School in April 2002. FAA officials shared career information to over 3,000 inner city students and educators, most of whom were Hispanics.
• FAA Civil Rights senior staff, including the FAA HEPM participated in the 24^th Annual National Hispanic Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NHCFAE) National Training Conference in Miami Beach, Florida from July 23-25, 2002. Approximately 150 FAA Hispanic employees attended the training conference.
• The FAA HEPM conducted an Hispanic Employment Program Managers Pre-Conference in conjunction with the NHCFAE Annual Training Conference. The Pre-Conference was held to develop strategies for the FAA Hispanic Employment Program and to establish an Hispanic employment implementation plan for FY 2003.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

• FHWA hosted a recruitment booth at the Hispanic Alliance Career Enhancement (HACE) 17^th Annual Conference in June 2002. FHWA officials distributed information about FHWA employment opportunities, the employment application process, and career benefits to approximately 150 Hispanics. As a result of its participation, the office of Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez asked FHWA to participate in a career fair sponsored by the Congressman. At the fair, recruiters from FHWA spoke with 450 attendees interested in employment opportunities.
• FHWA attended the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities 15^th Annual Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 27-30, 2001. FHWA distributed information about career opportunities and application information for the FHWA Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups (STIPDG).

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)

• FMCSA conducted an extensive outreach effort to hire Motor Carrier Safety Specialists. FMCSA distributed employment information to HSIs, Hispanic organizations, radio stations, newspapers, and television stations. As a result of the effort, Hispanic representation within FMCSA's workforce increased by 20 percent.

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

• The FTA Director of the Office of Human Resources served as panel moderator and guest speaker at the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Youth Symposium in San Antonio, Texas, July 8-12, 2002. The forum provided an opportunity for FTA to raise awareness about its mission and employment opportunities. Approximately 50 percent of the conference participants were Hispanics.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

• NHTSA entered into a contract with DiversityCareers.com to advertise a vacant Senior Executive Service (SES) Associate Administrator position in the October/November Transportation Technology issue of their magazine, as well as on their website. DiversityCareers.com has an active membership of over 100,000 IT and technical (primarily engineers) persons from various diversity groups. Advertising the position will give NHTSA access to the DiversityCareers.com database for one year.
• NHTSA will also advertise three new SES positions with DiversityCareers.com. The contract for these positions will allow NHTSA to distribute information about its employment opportunities at important minority technical association job fairs, including those of the Hispanic Engineer National Achievements Awards Conference (HENAAC), and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).
• NHTSA continues to send copies of vacancy announcements to Hispanic organizations, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Foundation for the Advancement of Hispanic Americans, Hispanic Elected Local Officials Caucus, HACU, and the Hispanic Coalition on Higher Education.

Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA)

• RSPA's Volpe Center continues to participate in the SHPE Annual Eastern Technical Job Fair. The Volpe Center recruits Hispanic engineering students who attend the fair for student employment and entry- level employment positions.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

• TSA participated in the Hispanic American Policy Command Officers Association Career Fair and a career fair hosted by Congressman Luis Gutierrez, 4^th Congressional District of Illinois to distribute information about TSA job opportunities and to raise awareness about its mission.
• TSA placed recruitment advertisements in the following publications that reach a large number of Hispanics:
• Tiempo (Hartford, CT); El Noticiero (Ft. Lauderdale, FL); El Heraldo Community News, (Ft. Lauderdale, FL); La Raza (Chicago, IL); La Prensa Latina (Boston, MA); La Semana (Boston, MA); El Horizonte (Boston, MA); El Mundo (Las Vegas, NV); El Nuevo Cocqui (Newark, NJ); El Diario (New York, NY); La Prensa (New York, NY); El Hispano (Philadelphia, PA); El Paso Times (El Paso, TX); El Sol de Texas (Dallas, TX); McAllen Monitor (McAllen, TX); El Extra (McAllen and Harrington, TX); Harlingen Star (Harrington, TX); La Subasta Weekly (Houston, TX); Washington Hispanic (Washington, DC).

U.S. Coast Guard

• The U.S Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Reserves placed a full-page advertisement in the Hispanic Yearbook, a reference book of Hispanic institutions, organizations and businesses.
• The U.S. Coast Guard placed a civilian career opportunity ad in the NACE "Job Choices - Diversity Edition" magazine. Each year, more than one million students receive the Job Choices magazine, which is a premier recruitment publication and job-search guide that contains articles and ads directed at the issues and concerns of diverse populations.

SUPPORT FOR HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTIONS

As the number of Hispanics entering higher education continues to grow, DOT recognizes that it must expand financial and program support to Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and other institutions of higher education that enroll a large number of Hispanics. Support provides Hispanic students the opportunity to learn about DOT employment opportunities, particularly internship, fellowship, and research opportunities.

Departmental/Office of the Secretary

• The Departmental HEPM addressed representatives from ten HSIs on July 11, 2002. HSI representatives participated in a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that supports HSIs and the Hispanic students enrolled at these institutions. The DOT HEPM provided information about DOT and its efforts to support HSIs through grants and contracts and internship programs.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

• FAA continues to expand its partnership with the HACU National Internship Program. The FAA sponsored 47 Hispanic interns nationwide and hired two HACU interns for permanent entry-level positions.
• FAA established a web-based database that provides a listing of HSIs. The database serves as a recruitment tool; a mechanism to promote research and development opportunities; an applicant pool; and a search engine that provides a wide range of information (e.g., state, discipline, college majors, research capabilities and types of degrees granted) to assist FAA in its outreach to HSIs. The database is located on FAA's website at www.faa.gov. It is widely used by FAA, other government agencies, and public and private sector organizations.
• FAA participated in an entry-level recruitment effort in Puerto Rico. The effort included visiting ten colleges and universities, including four HSIs (University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez, University of Puerto Rico –Ponce, Turabo University, and the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico). As a result of the recruitment effort, a total of five students, of which one of them was Hispanic, were hired by the William Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic Center, New Jersey.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

• FHWA, through the Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program, awarded 22 fellowships totaling $144,268 to students attending the following HSIs. Fellowships support post-graduate education and research.
  • California State University, Los Angeles
  • Texas A&M University, Kingsville
  • University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
  • University of Texas, El Paso
  • University of Texas, San Antonio
• In addition, a combined total of $5,000 was awarded to the California State University at Los Angeles and the University of Texas at El Paso through the Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program, Faculty Fellowship Program.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)

• In an effort to provide grant opportunities for colleges and universities serving Hispanics as well as other Minority Institutions of Higher Education, FMCSA is currently developing a competitive grants program. It is anticipated that the program will be operational in 2003.

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

From FY 1995 to FY 2002, FTA has appropriated over $600 Million for the Tren Urbano Project located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A portion of the funding is for a Professional Development Program that targets young Puerto Rican professionals. It is an interdisciplinary, bilingual, multi-cultural, multi-campus program sponsored by the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works, in conjunction with the University of Puerto Rico and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The program provides students with a one to two year professional development experience that includes two courses on public transportation, an academic research project, a site visit to an operating system, a work internship, and the possibility of employment after graduation. Students are from a variety of academic disciplines including engineering, architecture, urban planning, and transportation

PARTNERSHIP BUILDING WITH HISPANIC ORGANIZATIONS

DOT and several OAs are developing new partnerships with organizations like the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and ASPIRA Association, Inc. DOT will work closely with these organizations to develop substantive programs/activities that will raise awareness about Department-wide job opportunities and ensure that Hispanics participate in DOT programs and services. DOT is also identifying new strategies to improve and expand existing partnerships with organizations that serve the employment needs of all Americans, including Hispanics.

Partnership Building activities undertaken in FY2002 include:

Departmental/Office of the Secretary

• DOT entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute (HSFI) on February 4, 2002. To further the general purpose of the MOU, DOT and HSFI are interested in developing a pilot scholarship and cooperative education program designed to attract Hispanic students at community colleges and four-year colleges to careers in the field of transportation, emphasizing skills in math, science, engineering, and technology.
• Called the Next Generation of Public Service Scholarship and Cooperative Education Program, the program will offer a scholarship to provide academic tuition assistance and opportunities for scholarship recipients to participate in a cooperative education program facilitated by DOT.
• The Federal Highway Administration provided $25,000 in FY2002 to support the program with intent to expand program and financial support for partnership.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

• FAA and HACU partnered to develop an informational film on best practices and work force strategies for recruiting Hispanic students for possible internships and future employment at the FAA. The film is entitled, "HACU National Internship Program," and is shown during HACU recruitment trips to HSIs.
• FAA continues to strengthen its partnership with the National Hispanic Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NHCFAE) to promote FAA Hispanic employment efforts. Partnership activities include placing information about FAA efforts in La Palabra, a quarterly publication of the NHCFAE and tapping NHCFAE networks to identify candidates in FAA regions/centers to serve as HEPMs.
• FAA and HireDiversity.Com established the first National FAA Multicultural Recruitment website. The website will assist FAA lines of business/staff offices to undertake aggressive internal and external recruitment outreach to the Hispanic community for FAA career opportunities. Since becoming operational in February 2002, FAA has posted 5,046 job announcements on the website and the website has had over 70,000 hits.
• Through its Aviation Education Program, FAA partnered with the City of Lowell (MA) school district to offer an aviation after school program. Hispanics represent 80 percent of the Lowell School District enrollment.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

• FHWA partners with the Mexican American Engineers and Scientist Association (MAES), and several of MAES regional chapters to expose Hispanic students to science and engineering fields and encourage students to stay in school.
  
  Partnership activities include:
  • FHWA hosted a workshop for ten groups of 20 elementary and middle school students at the Austin Professional Chapter of the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES) Annual Science Extravaganza in the spring 2002. Students were tasked with building a roller coaster and encouraged to work in teams. Tasks were designed to facilitate creativity in the design, building, testing, and presentation of the roller coaster prototype.
  • FHWA employees participated in the 4^th annual MAES Science Extravaganza at the University of San Antonio, with the Agency sponsoring $500 to support this event. A video on transportation careers was presented to two groups of 200 high students. The event drew Hispanic students from high schools from around San Antonio, Laredo, McAllen-Brownsville, and Lubbock, Texas.
• FHWA partnered with the Georgia State Employment Services to place Hispanics in vacant worker trainee positions in the Southern Resource Center.
• FHWA and the Florida Department of Transportation participated in an annual construction career fair held in Davie, Florida to encourage Hispanic youth to pursue Federal and State careers and higher education. A career booth was displayed and FHWA officials shared their perspectives on new directions in the transportation industry and the future of engineering education to local school districts for each county.
• FHWA developed a mentoring/outreach program at the Lively Technical Center in Tallahassee, Florida. Program activities are designed to motivate Hispanics to pursue higher education and careers in the Department of Transportation and FHWA.

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

• FTA partners with the Cesar Chavez Charter School and the Cardoza Trans Tech Academy to encourage Hispanics students to pursue careers in the transportation industry. FTA provides computer equipment to Cesar Chavez and provides summer employment opportunities for Hispanic students attending Cardoza Trans Tech Academy. The schools are located in Washington, DC and enroll a large number of Hispanics.
• FTA partners with the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials to disseminate information about FTA employment opportunities, internship programs, and mentor/protégé programs.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

TSA has a contract with NCS Pearson to recruit for TSA airport screener positions. As part of its efforts, TSA and NCS Pearson have developed partnerships with community organizations to provide job counselors with the resources and training needed for the job application process. Currently, TSA has partnership with 84 Hispanic community organizations.

• The TSA Chief of Staff and members of the TSA executive staff meet quarterly with the Alliance of Minority Law Enforcement Association (ANMLEA), which includes the Hispanic American Policy Command Officers' Association and the National Latino Peace Officers' Association. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss the challenges associated with recruiting a diverse workforce.

U.S. Coast Guard

• The U.S. Coast Guard developed and filled a new employment position to serve as a liaison with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). The new employee will partner with HACU to market the U.S. Coast Guard as an "employer of choice" that offers a wide-range of career opportunities and benefits.

EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS

DOT supports the use of internship programs and when appropriate government-wide student employment programs and special hiring authorities, including the Student Temporary Employment Program, the Student Career Experience Program, and the Bilingual/Bi-Cultural Authority to recruit qualified and talented Hispanics.

Departmental/Office of the Secretary

• The Departmental Minority Serving Institutions Educational Partnerships Office coordinates and administers DOT's Student Post-Secondary Intern Program. In FY 2002, 68 students participated in the program, nine of whom attend HSIs. The following DOT Operating Administrations sponsored students: Federal Motor Career Safety Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Maritime Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Office of the Secretary.
• The Office of the Inspector General developed a pilot Career Intern Program for auditor, analyst, and information technology positions. Through this program, OIG hired individuals, including minorities and women, in a much shorter time period than the traditional recruitment approach.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

• FAA promotes the use of special "on-the-spot" hiring authorities and other special hiring authorities (i.e., outstanding scholars program, temporary appointments, FAA Student Intern Program {FASIP}, etc.). The FAA compiled a database of over 200 Hispanics that meet specific qualification requirements under the outstanding scholar provision. In FY 2002, FAA selected two outstanding scholars into permanent entry-level positions.
• FAA established an FAA-wide "on-the-spot" hiring authority for entry-level engineering positions. This authority is being used for "hard-to-fill" positions and was also put in place to address the concerns being expressed by several lines of businesses that were experiencing problems in hiring and retaining engineers. A list was compiled that consists of over 50 Hispanic engineers that qualify under the special hiring authority. This list will be maintained in human resources and shared with the lines of (LOB) and staff offices (SO) for future employment consideration for entry-level engineering positions.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

• FHWA entered into a new Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) agreement on May 15, 2002 with the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. Participation in this program enables FHWA to maintain long-term benefits in developing its recruitment program with the ultimate goal that graduating students are hired into entry-level positions in the Professional Development Program, a career-training program with promotional opportunities to the GS-12 level. Supervisors mentor the students, evaluate the work, and participate in their education and development by providing on-the-job experience to supplement classroom instruction. As a result of this agreement, two female Hispanic civil engineering students were selected for SCEP appointments. A similar agreement has been initiated between FHWA and the Inter-American University.
• FHWA has lead-agency responsibility for the Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups, an inter-modal internship program. In FY 2002, seven of the ten Hispanics hired for internships were recruited from the following HSIs:
  • University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Santa Monica College
  • Cuny –City College of New York
  • University of Puerto Rico –Bayamon
  • University of Puerto Rico –Mayaguez
  • Florida International University
  • St. Thomas University
  • Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
  • California State University at Chico

Research and Special Program Administration (RSPA)

• RSPA's Volpe Center utilizes the Student Temporary Employment Program and the Student Career Experience Program to provide employment opportunities to Hispanics. In FY 2002, the Volpe Center hired 3 Hispanic students utilizing these student employment programs.
• RSPA participated in the FHWA Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups (STIPDG) program, which reaches out to colleges and universities to provide summer employment opportunities for diverse groups including Hispanics. The Volpe Center provided job placements for two students during the summer of 2002. The Volpe Center also hosted a one-day visit of 35 summer interns from Washington DC who had participated in the STIPDG program. The program included an address by the Center Director, presentations by Center staff of current projects, and a presentation by a member of the Human Resources Management Division's recruitment team.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) also utilized the Student Temporary Employment Program (two hires for SLSDC and one hire for FRA).

NEXT STEPS

Increasing the representation of Hispanics within DOT's workforce will require commitment from DOT's leadership and the financial and human resources to develop effective recruitment and retention strategies and programs. DOT will continue to give thoughtful and meaningful consideration to how it supports the employment needs of Hispanics.

The following activities/plans represents only a snapshot of activities that will be undertaken in FY 2003.

Departmental/Office of the Secretary

• The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will recruit for a Diversity Program Manager to ensure diversity within OIG workforce.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

• FAA Air Traffic Services Organization developed hiring plan for air traffic controllers. FAA expects to hire several hundred air traffic controllers within the next several years. As a result, FAA will increase its efforts to recruit Hispanics through the newly developed FAA Air Traffic Selection and Training (AT-SAT) Program. The FAA HEPM will work closely with the Air Traffic Services organization to ensure that recruitment efforts are targeted in the Hispanic community. Additionally, the FAA is pursuing implementing initiatives in the Southwest region to specifically increase the Hispanic representation for air traffic controllers.

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

FHWA is currently developing its recruitment plan for FY 2003-2004 with an objective for increased diversity of applicants. Within this plan, the following strategies have been identified to increase the representation of Hispanics for entry-level, mid-career level, senior executive and student positions:

• Nationwide recruiters will establish partnerships with schools affiliated with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutes: to solicit applications for entry-level and intern positions; visit Professors and Deans of Engineering schools; meet with faculty; attend career days and fairs to share employment and education information related to specific highway disciplines; sponsor events; and, participate in workshops and make presentations to students.
• Continue to attend Annual Hispanic Conferences and Career Expos for professionals, along with the agency Hispanic Program Manager or other Hispanic employees, to establish contact with individuals interested in employment opportunities.
• Continue to place ads in various publications with large Hispanic populations to recruit for technical and professional positions.
• Promote more efforts by Agency professionals to mentor students in all grades, attending Hispanic schools, colleges and universities; to offer exposure to transportation fields; encouragement to enroll in institutes of higher education in the fields of science, civil engineering and transportation; and to serve as hosts.
• Increased advertising in Hispanic magazines, such as the Latino Expo and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). Attendance at the 2003 SHPE National Technical and Career Conference. The conference is one of the largest technical and career conferences for Hispanics in the country attracting 3,000 engineering professionals, students and corporate representatives that will provide an opportunity to recruit top talent.
• Continue to support the Department's agreement with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute through work assignments and funding.

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)

• The FRA Offices of Civil Rights and Human Resources will work with its budget office to identify resources for attending conferences and career fairs, particularly those events that attract a larger number of Hispanics.
• FRA will strongly encourage managers to identify position vacancies at lower grade levels as a way to recruit Hispanics.
• FRA will provide Spanish language training courses to its employees.
• The FRA Office of Human Resources will analyze Exit Interview Forms completed by Hispanic employees to identify any retention problems.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

• NHTSA will create a database of minority and disabled organizations to disseminate employment information via broadcast fax, e-mail or regular mail. This database will produce an easy access directory for the human resource specialists to review or to share information to strategize with hiring managers and it will give us an idea as to when a contact will host a job fair that we can attend in the future.

Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA)

• RSPA is developing a formal internship program that will focus on intake for mission-critical jobs in engineering and transportation specialists at RSPA headquarters and selected field activities. The goals of the program are to increase diversity, address skill gaps in core mission occupations, and build sustained pipelines to meet the challenges of projected retirements. Accessing applicant pools from minority constituent groups will be critical to the success of the program.