Transportation engineering careers: Strategies for attracting Students to transportation Professions

Abstract

Critical to building an American workforce with 21st century skills is the recruitment and graduation of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. However, a nationwide lack of student interest and preparation in these fields results in a shortage of workforce talent. The transportation field is not immune to this shortage and faces significant issues related to attracting and retaining transportation professionals. Thus, it is crucial to raise awareness of opportunities available through the transportation profession with precollege students. The Transportation Engineering Careers (TREC) program at the University of Memphis is designed to engage students in active challenge-based learning, to showcase the variety of transportation engineering career opportunities through visits from industry professionals, and to provide interaction with peer role models through a structured mentoring component. This paper presents a brief review of relevant literature, a description of the University of Memphis TREC program and its evolution since 2010, the evaluation results from four years of participants, and preliminary results from a longitudinal survey. Lessons learned from the program assessment in attracting students to transportation professions are also discussed.