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Research Project Description |
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Paving the Way: Recruiting Students into the Transportation ProfessionsProject Number: 2408Principal
Investigator: Principal
Investigator: Dr. Asha Weinstein, Mineta RA, Assistant Professor, Dept. of
Urban and Regional Planning, SJSU Institution: Telephone Number: Email Address: mti@mti.sjsu.edu Project Objective: Public agencies and private firms face increasing challenges finding transportation engineers and planners to fill their job openings. The problem is particularly acute for public agencies. One study found that 42% of state and local government employees in 1999 were between 45 and 64 years old. In addition, many state DOTs may have even higher percentages of staff nearing retirement because so many of their engineers were hired during the years of the significant growth of the Interstate Highway System (Gilliland, 2001, p. 1). In addition to the relatively low numbers of young engineers and planners, many public agencies are finding it difficult to retain their existing employees. In 2001, for example, state DOTs experienced turnover rates for engineers as high as 10-12% (NCHRP, 2003, p. 12). As a result, the NCHRP report authors stated that “there are probably very few industries where workforce concerns are more acute than in the transportation industry” (p. 3). Employee recruitment and retention problems are not new, however—the Transportation Research Board published research on this topic starting in 1985. Existing research on the issue had focused on examining why current transportation employees chose the field. For example, recent research on the topic by the NCHRP (2003) identified several effective recruitment incentives used by state DOTs, such as schedule flexibility and engineer-in-training programs. The report also surveyed DOT employees to find out what attracted them to their DOT and why they were staying. Similarly Glagola and Nichols (2001) identified methods used by DOTs to recruit engineers, including coop/intern programs and contact with university faculty. While these research results are useful to DOTs in terms of developing recruitment efforts, they focus on efforts that assume an ample pool of qualified applicants. However, a comprehensive approach to attracting engineers and planners to the transportation profession must also look further back in the “pipeline.” The pipeline refers to a system that moves students through the educational system so that there are plenty of graduates qualified for and interested in a transportation career. The NCHRP (2003) study noted that engineering students today are more attracted to newer fields such as computer engineering rather than civil engineering. “Hence,” warned the authors, “the competition for qualified personnel begins long before a potential applicant even considers future employers” (p. 4). In a 2001 presentation to the Council of University Transportation Centers, a FHWA representative identified a need to “create a means for attracting more students to civil engineering and ensure that anyone who wants to be a civil engineer has an opportunity to do so” (Toole, 2001).
While there is some research on what transportation engineering and planning curricula should cover (e.g., Handy, Weston, and Song, 2002; Sussman, 1995; and Khisty and Kikuchi, 2002), there is a lack of research that specifically examines the process of attracting students to transportation disciplines. This study will differ in its focus on a step before the traditional recruitment process begins – the decision to complete a degree in a field relevant to transportation agencies and firms. A student’s decision to pursue an engineering or planning degree related to transportation is influenced by a number of factors. Some of these factors can be influenced through various programs and actions. For example, some students may lack knowledge about the transportation profession and its employment opportunities. Partnerships between universities, employers, and organizations like the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) could educate students about transportation career options. Other students may be able to find more financial support during college if they pursue another focus, in which case scholarships or internships may be a valuable strategy to attract transportation students. However, without knowing more about students’ decision processes, transportation educators and employers have no way of knowing which of these programs is likely to be the most effective.
Abstract: The approach taken
will be to survey university transportation programs and current students to
determine practical short and long-term strategies that state departments of
transportation (DOTs), universities, and others in the transportation field
can use to attract a larger pool of students focusing on transportation
during their academic careers.
Increasing the number of university graduates trained and interested
in transportation is an important long-term element in meeting the field’s staffing
needs. The sample of universities will be selected to include a range of programs in terms of geography and size. It will also include programs with distance-learning components and joint engineering-planning degrees. The primary purpose of the student survey is to gain a clearer understanding of why students in engineering and planning do—or do not—choose to focus on transportation. The team will survey undergraduate and graduate students in engineering and planning departments, and the sample will include both students that are pursing transportation disciplines and those who are not. Through the survey of students currently specializing in transportation, the team will identify the factors that have drawn them to the field. Surveying students studying fields related to transportation will be very important as well, since this will reveal why these individuals with the skills and general professional interests that could lead them to a transportation career have chosen to pursue other fields instead. Learning why someone with the technical aptitude to become a good transportation engineer chooses structural engineering instead, for example, could lead to very effective recruiting strategies designed to interest such students in transportation. The survey will include questions to ascertain students’ knowledge and awareness of transportation professions, the factors influencing their decision to pursue their current degree programs, and the process they used to choose their program and focus. Questions will also assess students’ likelihood of considering transportation as a profession and the factors that may influence their job choices. For example, the team will design the questionnaire to learn if transportation agencies may be able to compete with other fields of engineering and/or private sector firms by showing students how the transportation field offers them an opportunity to serve the public welfare, employment opportunities in almost any geographic location, or financial advantages such as excellent retirement benefits and relatively high job security. The survey will assess how important these types of factors are to students in choosing careers and potential employers. Separate questionnaires will be developed for students who are or are not pursuing a transportation option within their planning or engineer departments. For those not in a transportation track, the team can identify whether or not they considered transportation at all, and if so, why they did not pursue it. Finally, the survey will collect demographic information (age, sex, race/ethnicity, etc.) so that the team can assess diversity issues and strategies to increase the numbers of transportation employees from groups underrepresented in the field. Description and Project dates:
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