DOVER – Transforming Delaware into a hub for people interested in the transportation industry training is the goal of new partnership between the state and Delaware State University.
“I want Delaware to be the premier resource for transportation training,” said Keesha Wilson, assistant to the Delaware secretary of transportation and program manager for the Transportation Education Development Program.
Wilson envisions a day when people from all over the United States come to Delaware’s universities for training in the transportation industry. Three years of work toward that end delivered a step in that direction Friday when Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Carolann Wicks and Delaware State University President Dr. Harry Williams and Associate Secretary of Education Dr. Amelia Hodges formalized the Transportation Education Development Program (TED).
- DSU president Dr. Harry Williams and DelDOT Secretary formalize Transportation Education Development Program partnership.
This partnership establishes education and training courses at DSU that give students the skills they need to enter the surface transportation industry. The partnership also works with the DOE to expose 11th and 12th graders to job opportunities within DelDOT.
Governor Jack Markell said the collaboration will benefit students and create more jobs for Delaware graduates.
“This partnership benefits students and the state by preparing some of our future transportation workers, whether they will become engineers, appraisers, surveyors or land planning specialists,” Markell said. “It’s in our interest and theirs to make sure they enter the workforce educated, trained and prepared to succeed with a clear path forward.
Wicks believes the program also addresses a real need in Delaware. The transportation industry has changed greatly over the years, becoming more and more dependent on technology. Workers have to be trained to meet the changing technological demand, she said. There is also about to be a large shortage in the workforce, as DelDOT anticipates one-third of its employees becoming eligible for retirement in the next five years.
“Changes in the economy and technology have necessitated changes in our work force,” she said. “I believe this program will have a long-term positive impact on the department on the state as a whole. Target for the future is the home grown talent. We want to keep talent here in the great state of Delaware.”
The program is federally funded through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, which was enacted in 2005. The program is also in alignment with President Obama’s Executive Order # 13532 that encourages partnerships between agencies that receive federal funding (like DelDOT) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
“Today’s agreement with Delaware State University will help the Department of Transportation tap into a previously under-utilized resource, to help us prepare current and future potential employees with the education and skills necessary to move into the future,” Wicks said.
The partnerships builds on existing partnerships between the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical and Community College.
Outreach in high schools will begin almost immediately, said Carla Elliot, civil rights administrator for DelDOT and TED program coordinator. On the job training and internships will come next, and then DSU will begin adding transportation related coursework, said Elliot.
“In the long-term they may be creating a new major,” said Elliot.
