Workforce Development Academy for Youth at CSULA

The College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology (ECST) at the California State University, Los Angeles proposes the Transportation Workforce Development Academy for Youth at CSULA. The goal of this program is to build a pipeline of diverse, well-qualified young people for the transportation industry. The program works with high school students and teachers to offer academic courses, basic skills, workforce readiness training, internship, mentoring, access to role models, student/parent workshops, extracurricular activities, and career placement to prepare and place students into a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) college track.  The academy emphasize on transportation as an industry sector and aims to increase the number of underrepresented minorities and women who directly enter the transportation workforce. It also aims at increasing the number of young people who enter college to study engineering or technology and subsequently pursue careers in transportation and infrastructure-related careers.  The academy will be a full-year program with 25 student participants from high schools.

Principal Investigator: 
Hassan Hashemian
PI Contact Information: 

hhashem@calstatela.edu

California State University, Los Angeles

Dates: 
June 2024 to May 2025
Implementation of Research Outcomes: 

This project will strengthen our effort in California to promote the full diversification of our workforce by implementing programs and developing curricula dedicated to providing a continuous pool of qualified women and minority individuals to occupy professional and management position in the transportation workforce. This project will provide opportunities for minorities, women, and disadvantaged persons to enhance their knowledge and skills in the field of transportation and highways.

Impacts/Benefits of Implementation: 

The development of a skilled, technical workforce is crucial to the long-term success of transportation industry. The industry is faced with the challenge of a retiring baby boomer workforce and the concurrent need to develop the workforce of the future. The development of a rich pipeline of young women and minority people into infrastructure careers requires career and technical education courses, field trips, internships, mentoring, role model, college preparation, guest speakers, and other activities.  This program was created to be an intermediary to work with high schools and higher education to develop this pipeline. Specifically, this program will benefit both the participants and the employer, as the students will receive valuable transportation-related training thus making them more productive employees. Employers will be especially assisted because they will have available a larger pool of trained personnel from diverse groups who are interested to enter into the transportation industry.

Project Number: 
2460

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CSUTC
MCEEST
MCTM
NTFC
NTSC

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