Critical Skills Identification

NCHRP SYNTHESIS 362: Training Programs, Policies and Practices

State	Most Important Occupations	How were these occupations identified	Are these your occupations with the largest number of employees?	Are competencies for these occupations defined?	Have you identified competency levels of those currently in positions	Have you identified development strategies for closing gaps?	How often are gaps assessed? Which processes are used?	How is critical skills identification tied to funding training and performance?
AR		-	Engineers, maintenance, administrators, planning	-	No	No	-	-
AZ	Construction engineers and techs, motor vehicle customer service reps, maintenance workers	Largest population in classification	Yes	x	Each position analyzed and competencies complied; some positions use Work Style Patterns method	x	Annually	-
CA	Entry, journey, senior level Transportation Planners. Under the California Community Colleges/ATTi (Advanced Transportation Technology initiative) we will be identifying the full spectrum of occupations that could be critical	Under the California Community Colleges/ATTi (Advanced Transportation Technology initiative) we will be identifying the full spectrum of occupations that could be critical		x	x	x	Annually	Annual training assessment process
ID	All positions responsible for DOT leadership, especially executive staff, district engineers, section managers	Current conclusions are anecdotal	No, technical occupations are largest.	x	No	No
LA	Engineers, engineering technicians, maintenance field personnel, other professionals	Structured Training Program and Leadership Development Program	Yes, competencies identified, competency levels not identified	Some	Some - Competency levels reflected in performance evaluations. Use focus groups of Subject Matter Experts to identify knowledge, skills, abilities needed. NHI Core Curriculum Matrix Development, Dec 2004	Some - Developing job-specific skills	Feedback from district training specialists, quarterly meetings, as contacted	Training developed for education necessary for job classification as identified by core skill level with input from district training coordinator
MD	Transportation engineer, facility maintenance technician	Based on the number of personnel identification numbers (PINS) granted to the administration	Yes	x	Measured by certification level testing	x	Annually
MI	-	-	Yes, competencies not identified	No	No	No	-	N/A
MO	Field operations	Focus groups and the strategic plan	No, field maintenance is largest. Competencies not identified.	x	x	x	-	-
MT		N/A	Yes, competency levels not identified	x	No	x
ND	All employee positions	Executive management routinely reviews workforce positions	N/A	No	No	N/A	N/A	-
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