News
TWC Webinars
Posted December 2023
Over the past few weeks, Transit Workforce Center (TWC) has hosted three webinars featuring staff members and guests from agencies and unions nationwide presenting on various topics in transit, sharing helpful resources, supporting transit industry-related programs, and engaging with industry stakeholders.
ITLC’s fall webinar series began with “Train-the-Trainer Lesson Planning Webinar: Basics to Best Practices,” a September webinar on effective lesson planning, with more than 85 registered attendees, featuring professor, instructional designer, author, and consulting learning engineer Dr. Chuck Hodell. The webinar provided strategies for lesson planning basics and best practices for beginner transit trainers, while also offering helpful methods for overcoming inherent challenges. The webinar was facilitated by ITLC Learning Strategist Grant Young. Check out a recap of the event, and the webinar slides shared during the presentation.
Then, in recognition of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) designated National Apprenticeship Week, TWC held a webinar on November 16 titled “Women in Frontline Transit Apprenticeships.” Over 100 attendees joined this event, which featured a presentation from the American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Working for America Institute Deputy Director Liz Weiss, followed by ITLC's Senior Policy Analyst Karitsa Holdzkom’s facilitation of a conversation with two mechanics in registered apprenticeship programs: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)/ATU Local 732's Bus Maintenance Apprentice Sabrina Glass-Ford and Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA)/TWU Local 208's Bus Maintenance Apprentice Judie Beasley. Both women shared their experiences, highlighting how apprenticeship programs not only represent an opportunity for women to enter the field, but they are also an opportunity for transit agencies to recruit women. During the webinar, attendees viewed maps illustrating the progress made by the industry, public transit agencies, and labor unions toward expanding registered apprenticeship programs. View a recording of the full webinar and the resources shared during the presentation.
Finally, on November 29, the ITLC/TWC team hosted “Approaches to Childcare Support in the Transit Industry” with more than 120 participants. The webinar featured an overview and discussion of key issues led by ITLC Research Associate Shayna Gleason, who introduced Prairie Hills Transit’s (Spearfish, SD) Executive Director Barb Cline and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 - New York City Transit Training & Upgrading Fund’s Director Charles Jenkins. Barb and Charles discussed their organization’s childcare programs representing two different models—in-house child care and a voucher system—and then engaged in a lively audience discussion facilitated by ITLC's Communications Manager David Stephen. TWC plans to continue exploring and featuring conversations about a range of childcare solutions utilized by partners throughout the industry. View the full webinar and webinar slides shared during the presentation.
