SCOHTS STRATEGIC PLAN

Goal 5 – Workforce Development

Overview

Recent Workforce Development Activities SCOHTS Strategic Plan Goal 5 Alabama’s Challenges Discussion

Goal 5 – Workforce Development

TRB Joint Subcommittee for Highway Safety

WFD Study questions answered in 2006

Research Results Digest

To what extent core competencies for highway safety

professionals are incorporated into existing safety

curricula

What are the best strategies to expand their

application to broader audiences?

Goal 5 – Workforce Development

RRD Study-recommended core competencies

1: Multidisciplinary Nature of Safety 2: History and Institutional Setting for Safety

Management 3: Origins, Characteristics, and Use of Crash

Data 4: Contributing Crash Factors,

Countermeasures, and Evaluation 5: Develop, Implement, and Administer a

Highway Safety Management Program

Goal 5 – Workforce Development Findings of the TRB Special Report 289

Currently, no comprehensive education and training programs cover the core competencies.

For the most part, education and training opportunities are disconnected from one another and from the safety research community.

Whereas safety research is often undertaken in a multidisciplinary manner, education and training tend to be oriented toward a discipline.

Goal 5 – Workforce Development Findings of the TRB 2007 study – cont.

Most university civil engineering and public health programs do not present safety itself as a discipline, and consequently important safety principles and scientific methods are missing from course content.

Continuing education programs, short courses, and on-the-job training opportunities are designed to cover specific safety topics, program requirements, and skills.

Goal 5 – Workforce Development TRB SR 289 Recommendations

1. State Associations Should Forge a Broad-Based Alliance to Advance the Road Safety Profession

2. The Alliance Should Champion the Road Safety Profession on Multiple Fronts

3. Early Opportunities for Alliance Support and Action

a) Use federal workforce training fundsb) Advocate for road safety education and

trainingc) Explore the creation of one or more

specialized institutes to provide comprehensive instruction and training for road safety professionals

Goal 5 – Workforce Development SCOH WFD Resolution (needs AASHTO BOD

approval) Supports AASHTO Strategic Plan Objective 4C

addressing issues of workforce recruitment, retention, succession planning, core competencies, and professional development in emerging areas;

Supports WFD goals in many other AASHTO committees

Recognizes rising staff turnover Identifies efficiency in effectively transferring

knowledge through partnering and training Establishes Special Committee on Workforce

Planning and Development

Goal 5 – Workforce DevelopmentImplementation Discussion

G5-Strategy 1 – Promote the highway safety profession in public and private sectors. G5-S1-Action 1 – Coordinate with safety

partners, including the TRB workforce development task force and GHSA

G5-S1-Action 2 – Investigate the concept of a highway safety professional certification led by an AASHTO/GHSA Center of Excellence.

G5-S1-Action 3 – Investigate developing a multi-disciplinary professional society for highway safety with individual members.

Goal 5 – Workforce DevelopmentImplementation Discussion

G5-Strategy 1 – cont. G5-S1-Action 4 – Educate CEOs to

build support for safety in order to develop traffic safety champions.

G5-S1-Action 5 – Encourage states to designate safety professionals at state and regional levels.

G5-S1-Action 6 – Encourage planning organizations to designate safety professionals for planning.

Goal 5 – Workforce DevelopmentImplementation Discussion

Strategy 2 – Recruit qualified safety professionals to public and private sectors. G5-S2-Action 1 – Develop a consolidated

highway safety job board. G5-S2-Action 2 – Develop safety core

competencies for inclusion into agency organizational structure.

G5-S2-Action 3 – Provide information on the highway safety profession to attract people to the field, e.g., science-based aspect; public health aspect; multidisciplinary, multiple organizations.

Goal 5 – Workforce DevelopmentImplementation Discussion

Strategy 3 – Retain, develop, and sustain qualified safety professionals. G5-S3-Action 1 – Promote professional

development in the science of safety. G5-S3-Action 2 – Perform and publish

salary surveys for highway safety professionals (public and private sector).

Goal 5 – Workforce DevelopmentImplementation Discussion

G5-S3-Action 3 – Create leadership development programs designed to educate safety professionals for organizational leadership positions, e.g., progress beyond safety departments.

G5-S3-Action 4 – Promote effective succession planning as a core element of employee retention and development.

Workforce DevelopmentAlabama Challenges

(Tim develops)

Discussion

TRB Special Report Recommendations for AASHTO?

Additions to the SCOHTS Implementation Plan?

Critical Activities and Timelines?