General goals
In a cooperating partnership with various industry organizations, SWTWC will host an ITS Peer Exchange to gather direct input from industry leaders on how advances in technology will impact intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and the transportation workforce.
Duration
Status: Completed
Anticipated Partnership Duration: March 2015 – April 2015
Timeline and Overview
In order to gain a better perspective on the impact of advancing technologies in ITS and the transportation workforce, SWTWC Director Thomas O’Brien and Associate Director Tyler Reeb invited a range of representatives from both public and private organizations, and held the peer exchange on April 13, 2016. Moderated by SWTWC Associate Director Tyler Reeb, the SWTWC’s ITS Peer Exchange final participants were as follows:
- Dan Pearsall, Colorado Chapter President, Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO);
- Jim Misener, Director of Technical Standards, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.;
- Carol Kuester, Director, Electronic Payments, Metropolitan Transportation Commission;
- Omeed Tabiei, Corporate Counsel, Hyperloop One;
- Alison Alexander, Senior Associate, ICF International; and
- Monique Stone, Director of Small Business Services, State & Federal.
Building on this cooperating partnership, Jim Misener, Director of Technical Standards for Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. went on to serve on a similar ITS panel for the 2016 Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) Summer Meeting.
Likewise, due to SWTWC’s continued partnership with Hyperloop One, Dapang Zhang who is a Transportation Economist with the company will be speaking on a panel titled: “Disruption or Innovation?” at the 2017 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting (listed cooperating partnership on page 15).
Key Deliverables
- ITS Peer Exchange among representatives from COMTO, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., Metropolitan Transportation Commission, ICF International, Director of Small Business Services, State & Federal, and Hyperloop One
- Gather industry input, and assess data relevancy in order to better forecast workforce training needs
- Reaffirm data and analyses for Job Needs and Priorities: Phase 1 Southwest Region Report
Anticipated Outcomes
The purpose of this Peer Exchange is to gather data directly from industry leaders in order to anticipate changes in the industry, and its impact on the transportation workforce. SWTWC hosted the Peer Exchange among leaders in ITS, and used the data gathered to accurately identify industry trends and forecast workforce needs.
Also, with the knowledge and understanding of each organizations’ workforce needs, SWTWC will be better positioned to form partnerships to support the Center’s unique workforce initiatives and empower the transportation workforce,
The Peer Exchange also increased SWTWC’s visibility with these organizations, and established an avenue for open communication among industry leaders and SWTWC in regards to workforce development.
Contribution Analysis
- SWTWC coordinated speakers for the ITS Peer Exchange.
- SWTWC hosted the event via GoToMeeting on April 13, 2016.
- SWTWC Associate Director Tyler Reeb was the moderator for the ITS discussion.
- SWTWC recorded meeting notes and reaffirmed the Center’s labor market analyses.
Documentation
SWTWC. (2016). “ITS peer exchange.” Retrieved from https://www.swtwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ITS-Peer-Exchange-hosted-by-SWTWC.pdf.