Aligning Skills to Needs
Read More in the GuidebookProject/contract management, systems engineering, data, federal rules and regulations, interpersonal, collaboration, communication, adaptability
DOTs need people with new and different skills than previously required. Currently there is a mismatch between the skills that are needed and those available in the current workforce. Both hard and soft skills are necessary to handle the changes in technology and the shift from capital intensive work to a more operations focus.
Potential hard skills that DOTs should look for in candidates include: project, contract, and vendor management; systems engineering; data analytics and data management skills; and an understanding of federal rules and regulations. Soft skills include: collaboration; communication, including cross-generational and cross-cultural communication; adaptability; and good interpersonal skills. General leadership and management skills are keys to combating “initiative fatigue” and managing the increasingly diverse workforce.
Related Roles
Related Situations
Related Resources
- NCHRP Research Report 1075: Becoming a Tech-Savvy DOT of Tomorrow
- Transportation Equity Curriculum: Guidance Document
- It´s All About People – Defining and Promoting Diversity and New Talent Management
- Diversity and Talent Management in Transport Administrations – The Road to Success?
- Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century
- Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations: Beyond Broadening Participation
- Minority Serving Institutions: America’s Underutilized Resource for Strengthening the STEM Workforce
- Connecting Efforts to Support Minorities in Engineering Education: Proceedings of a Workshop
- TCRP Research Report 240: Bus Operator Workforce Management: Practitioner’s Guide
- NCHRP 20-127 Business Case and Communications Strategies for State DOT Resilience Efforts