Champions of Change roundtable ushers in National Transportation Week

To kick off National Transportation Week yesterday, Deputy Secretary of Transportation John Porcari joined a White House "Champions of Change" conversation about the pressing need to develop tomorrow's transportation professionals.

Deputy Secretary John Porcari

Transportation is a great place to start when creating jobs.  Across all modes of transportation—from roads, bridges, and buses to airports, trains, and maritime—America will always need workers to maintain our transportation networks and build new ways to connect goods and people.

But it’s not enough to just create new jobs. With 50 percent of the current transportation workforce eligible for retirement in 2013, and significant technological changes affecting all modes of transportation, we must educate the next generation of workers.

As President Obama said in his National Transportation Week proclamation, "America has long depended on a robust and reliable transportation network to support our drive towards lasting security and prosperity."

Transportation Champions of Change

To tackle the workforce challenge to a safe and efficient transportation network, yesterday's roundtable brought together representatives from across the industry. The Champions of Change discussed how to educate and prepare the next generation of transportation workers to live up to the standards of excellence that current and past generations put in place.  They also explored ways to recruit the next world class transportation workforce.

The increasing demand for transportation options isn’t going away; we need to ensure that a ready corps of transportation professionals is available to meet that demand and has the tools to grow with changing technologies. That's why experts as diverse as Kathy Caldwell, President of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and Ralph Graeser, a veteran pipeline inspector joined yesterday's discussion to jump-start this important conversation.

Recruiting and developing talented young men and women to work in transportation--that’s what will equip us to out-build and out-innovate the rest of the world.  And that is how America wins the future.

Comments

[injury lawyer]

We applaud the thought that the DOT should enact legislation to enable parental controls that disable cell phone keys when the phone is moving faster than 3 MPH...

[George Dadula]

I agree. The best way to make this country move forward is to hire honest and capable men to lead the future generation. Good luck and God Bless America!

[Marc Neilson]

I really appreciate the proactive approach Secretary LaHood and the Department of Transporation are taking toward increasing the awareness of America's dependence on world class transport infrastructure.

I personally feel we are on the right track and plan to be more involved at the community level in any way I can.

The variations in infrastructue vary wildly from state to state so I also appreciate the systematic approach that seems to be adopted.

[true protein]

Did you see where there may be a federal tax on mileage to cover highway repairs. I can't recall whether it was a federal tax or a state tax. But in the future it may happen. Seems hard to track though.