University of Vermont Announcement
John Renne
Under a grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) researchers at the University of Vermont’s Transportation Research Center (UVMTRC) and the Northeast Transportation Workforce Center (NETWC) are exploring the career paths of young professionals into transportation’s environmental fields to build a tool for students to better understand these occupations and the opportunities in pursuing them. Profiling allows for the ability to pinpoint relatable narratives that could ultimately function in attracting, retaining, and representing workers in the transportation sector. These profiles also function to highlight people who might otherwise be generally underrepresented in the environmental transportation workforce.
We are still seeking participants for some key fields, including those related to land-use planning, farmland and wetland protection, and land stewardship. We are focusing on professionals early in their careers (8-15 years working in transportation).
The goal is to create profiles of individuals with environmental careers in transportation, speaking to what their work is, the challenges and excitements, the paths that led them to, and prepared them to be successful in the field, and advise and/or encouragement for others who might wish to explore this as a career. High school and college students, with a desire to work in environmental fields are unlikely to understand the opportunities and type of work conducted in the Transportation field. They will benefit hearing from people who are already working successfully in the field of environmental transportation. An evidence-based method for disseminating this type of information to young students is by profiling identified professionals in the field.
Our goal is to build a tool box with stories and guides that would be available to career centers and environmental programs at community colleges, universities and high schools, that can provide an engaging picture of the work and the opportunities available as the fields expand and the need for new workers grows.
If you would like to find out more about participating and would be willing to share your story please contact Marissa McFadden <Marissa....@uvm.edu> at the UVM TRC. We have a deadline of March 15th to complete the draft profiles. Thanks for your interest.