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APPENDIX A
Questionnaire for State Transportation Agencies
SUMMARY OF RESPONSES
As of March 19, 2006
Strategic Plan or Similar Document
1. Does your agency have a strategic plan, business plan, program plan, or similar document that
identifies mission critical goals and desired outcomes?
State Yes No
Arizona X
Arkansas X
California X
Idaho X
Louisiana X
Maryland X
Michigan X
Missouri X
Montana X
North Dakota X
Ohio X
Pennsylvania X
South Carolina X
Texas X
Washington X
West Virginia X
2.What time period does it cover (e.g., one year, five years, other)?
State One Year Five Years Other N/A
Arizona X
Arkansas X
California X
Idaho X
Louisiana X
Maryland
Michigan X
Missouri X X
Montana
North Dakota
Ohio
Pennsylvania X
South Carolina 3 years
Texas X
Washington X
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available.
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3. How frequently is it updated--Annually? Every two years? Every five years? It is not updated?
Other?
Every Two Every Five Other/Not
State Annually Years Years Updated
Arizona X
Arkansas N/A
California X
Idaho X
Louisiana X
Maryland X
Michigan Other
Missouri X
Montana Other
North Dakota X
Ohio X
Pennsylvania X
South Carolina X
Texas X
Washington Other
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available.
4. How many years has this document been in place?
State No. of Years in Place? Comments
Arizona 15
Arkansas N/A
California The department has been doing some form of
strategic planning since the late 1990s, when we came
up with the mission statement ("Caltrans Improves
Mobility Across California"). Our goals have been
tweaked periodically during the last few years and in
particular last year. The use of a simplified mission
statement exemplifies the multi-modality of the
mission, and is easier for staff to internalize,
remember, and apply to day-to-day operations and
tasks.
Idaho 10 plus
Louisiana 6
Maryland 8
Michigan 5
Missouri 3
Montana 5
North Dakota 4
Ohio 6
Pennsylvania 2.5
South Carolina Not sure
Texas 20 plus With periodic updates
Washington N/A
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available.
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5. Does that document include a component specific to workforce development and training or other
reference to employees as valued resources? If yes, would you please provide a copy attached to the
questionnaire response.
State Yes No
Arizona X
Arkansas N/A
California X
Idaho X
Louisiana X
Maryland X--SHA Business Plan 20042007 in Values and in
Efficiency of Government goal
Michigan X
Missouri X
Montana X
North Dakota X
Ohio X--
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/BusinessPlan0607/BusinessPlan
06-07Final.pdf
Pennsylvania X
South Carolina X
Texas http://www.dot.state.tx.us/insdtdot/geninfo.htm? X
pg=stratplan
Washington X
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available; SHA = State Highway Administration.
6. Who is involved in the preparation and update of the document?
State Who Involved?
Arizona Top management
Arkansas N/A
California Typically, the document is prepared annually, and updated quarterly by a journey-
to senior-level transportation planner under the direction of senior management.
The preparer acts as liaison to guide and coordinate the preparation of the Strategic
Plan by delegated preparers in each of the 10 offices within the Division of
Transportation Planning. The preparer collects these reports on a quarterly basis;
compiles them into one unified and cohesive report; ensures consistency of format,
language, and content; obtains Division Chief approval; and forwards a single
Strategic Plan for the division to the Planning Deputy's office, where it is recorded
and tracked quarterly. The Planning Deputy incorporates the Strategic Plan into
his annual report to the Director.
Idaho Executive staff
Louisiana Each division
Maryland All levels of management and employee teams
Michigan A cross-functional team
Missouri The Organizational Results Unit
Montana The Director and top-level executives, and a consultant who became an employee
charged with ensuring its use
North Dakota The process starts with the executive level--the NDDO T Director and three deputy
directors. The process extends down the organization through district engineers and
division directors. There is also input from supervisors, who are invited to meet
with the top executives and provide general input.
Ohio Ohio DOT executive leadership (agency director and assistant directors)
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Pennsylvania Executive staff and support team
South Carolina Senior management
Texas Department administration, public information office, statistics are provided by the
appropriate business unit.
Washington Lead is Strategic Planning Division with input from major organizations within the
agency.
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available.
7. Do you have a succession planning process? If yes, does it include the identification of training needs
related to succession planning?
State Yes No
Arizona X/NA
Arkansas X
California X/X
Idaho X
Louisiana X
Maryland X/X
Michigan X
Missouri X/X
Montana X
North Dakota X/X
Ohio X--Succession planning is formally reviewed with Executive Leadership as
a critical part of the ODOT Human Resources Plan (HR Plan). Each District
and Division Deputy Director annually submits a formal plan, reviewed by
the assistant directors and Director for approval. This HR Plan consists of
the following: (1) a detailed staffing level analysis, (2) temporary employee
usage analysis, (3) retirement composite summary, (4) major projects and
work plan projections, (5) summary planning sheet, and (6) tables of
organization for each district and division. Overall, ODOT uses current
trends to project future staffing level need. Although our succession planning
methodology does not identify training needs related to succession planning,
it is highly systematic and deliberate. It ensures continuity in critical
positions, encourages growth and development of our existing workforce,
and provides strategies for acquiring new talent to meet both current and
future business needs.
Pennsylvania X
South Carolina X
Texas X
Washington X
West Virginia X
N/A = not available.
8. How do you link the results of your strategic planning or similar process to funding requests, funding
allocations, and organization and individual performance assessment?
State Process for Linking
Arizona N/A
Arkansas N/A
California Strategic planning is linked to the department's fiscal operations through the annual
budget and legislative approval processes. The fiscal year is from July 1 to June 30.
Agencies typically forward their budget requests to the legislature in March, the
legislature sends it to the Governor's office in April, and the Governor's office review
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and recommendations are completed and sent to the legislature in May. By law, the
legislature is required to finalize the budget by June 15. The final budget is effective
July 1, and the agencies obtain their approved and final budgets within the first few
weeks of the new fiscal year.
Professional Development for Transportation Planning is funded from federal state
planning and research (SPR) funds. While the budget process is going on, the
Office of Professional Development is identifying training needs (see Questions 913
below), compiling training statistics for the current fiscal year, and planning its
budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Ultimately, dollars approved through the budget
approval process become matching state funds for SPR funded projects.
In addition, and concurrent with the budget process, transportation planning managers
in the districts and headquarters each meet with the Planning Deputy individually
to discuss performance in the context of their respective strategic plans, to compare
the year's accomplishments with goals established at the beginning of the fiscal year.
Idaho No formal process
Louisiana Agency goals are being developed for the July 2005June 2006 fiscal year. Individual
performance assessments are being directly tied to agency/section goals.
Maryland No response
Michigan N/A
Missouri Tracker Measurement Program
Montana The plan used the balance scorecard methods and the goals in the plan were the basis
for employees' performance appraisals at all levels of the department. There is no
connection with the allocation of funds.
North Dakota The strategic plan is a living document used by all levels of the NDDOT for planning
and implementation of projects and activities.
Ohio All division, office, and individual employee annual work plans are derived from the
goals of the agency business plan. All budget requests must be justified and all
justifications are based on business plan and work plan goals. Likewise, all
performance evaluations rate employees on completion of work plan items. The
agency also continuously monitors and rates itself according to Organizational
Performance Indices (OPI). OPIs are a quantitative measure of agency performance
and are tied directly to the agency business plan.
Pennsylvania Through the strategic and business planning process
South Carolina Not sure
Texas N/A
Washington Plan will include an implementation component that links funding and allocation.
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available; SPR = state planning and research.
Training Needs Assessment
9. Do you conduct a training needs assessment?
State Yes No
Arizona X
Arkansas X
California X
Idaho X
Louisiana X
Maryland X
Michigan X
Missouri X
Montana X
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North Dakota X
Ohio X
Pennsylvania X
South Carolina X
Texas X
Washington X
West Virginia X
10. If yes, please describe your methodology.
State Methodology
Arizona One-on-one interviews, focus groups, written instrument
Arkansas A team is used to develop the training needs assessment.
California The Office of Professional Development (OPD) distributes a survey around the
middle of May of each year to the transportation planning functions within each
of the 12 district offices and the "modal" planning divisions located in
headquarters; e.g., Rail, Mass Transit, Aeronautics, Local Assistance, and
Transportation Planning. The survey captures the training needs perceived by the
districts; i.e., dictated by transportation system requirements or mandated by
federal or state law. The results of the Needs Assessment Survey--courses,
seminars, and forums--are incorporated into OPD's annual Strategic Plan.
Idaho Questionnaire, focus groups
Louisiana The construction and maintenance training units, responsible for course
development, meet in the 1st quarter of each year with their respective Work Plan
Committee members to discuss current course development status and prioritize
the list of remaining training needs as well as new requests that have been
received. The committee consists of the appropriate division director, district
administrative personnel, district trainers, and other selected field personnel.
Maryland Training coordinator, manager, and employee meet to conduct a Personnel
Development Plan.
Michigan Not done
Missouri Focus groups statewide
Montana We do not have a statewide survey, but rather identify gaps in knowledge,
required training, and acquisition of new technology or procedures. We offer
management development training to prepare employees to be supervisors. This
is a prerequisite to becoming a supervisor unless the employee has one year of
supervisory experience.
North Dakota This year we used a survey provided by Upper Great Plains Transportation
Institute for the Transportation Learning Network (TLN). The survey was
distributed department wide to all divisions and districts. The results were used
to provide feedback for TLN programming. Survey results are also being used to
provide training through other avenues. We also collect individual professional
development needs and career development needs annually through our
Employee Professional Development Plan and Performance Appraisal process.
Also, we are notified by divisions and districts of specific training needs for their
employees.
Ohio The Office of Training develops an annual work plan that includes ongoing
analysis of the training needs of the existing workforce to meet the goals of the
agency business plan.
Pennsylvania In the past, functional area training needs assessments were conducted by each of
eight colleges within the Transportation University corporate university structure.
Additional organizational training needs assessments were conducted by training
coordinators in the 11 engineering districts around the state.
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South Carolina Each employee completes a document that includes a minimum of three topics or
areas that they believe they need training in to maintain or improve in their
job--this is completed annually.
Texas Two assessment are conducted annually--one a formal process and the second a
mid-year assessment to identify and schedule for immediate critical needs.
Formal process: A cover memo with supporting files is sent to each major
business unit in the department (14,000+ employees); 25 districts, 21 divisions,
and 8 offices plus administration. An Access database with active hyperlinks to
the course descriptions along with how to build the response survey is included.
Business units are allotted 60 days to gather, combine, and submit to the Training,
Quality, and Development (TQD) Division. More than 250 courses (instructor-led)
are listed in the training catalog. TQD takes responses andcombines data into one
useable report to identify what training needs are to be scheduled in what locations
statewide in preferred dates. The survey tool was recently shared with about 10
other state DOTs that were looking for a model. Informal survey: A simple e-mail
to each business unit's training coordinator asking for a response by a certain date
(usually within 14 days) for what criticalpolicy needs courses are required for the
remainder of the fiscal year. This allowsfor shorter-term scheduling as needed.
Washington WSDOT has a mainframe training management system that functions on a series
of curriculum matrices that contain the recommended training determined by a
panel of experts in each of our 13 curriculum areas. The system keeps track of
how many employees have completed training, according to priority. The
training staff reviews reports of the number of employees who have completed
training. In general, our needs assessment procedures are automated. Training
staff coordinates with the principal discipline leaders throughout the department
to anticipate and document new and continuing needs.
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available.
11. How frequently do you update the assessment?
State Update Frequency
Arizona When work changes, or there is low performance, or a new process is implemented
Arkansas We are just starting to develop our plan and have not yet set a timeframe for
updating the document.
California Annually
Idaho Every 2 to 3 years
Louisiana Annually
Maryland Annually
Michigan N/A
Missouri Every 5 years
Montana On an as-needed basis
North Dakota Annually
Ohio Annually
Pennsylvania Annually
South Carolina Annually
Texas Annually
Washington Monthly via the automated system described in Question 10
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available.
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12. Which internal (e.g., executive, managers, or employees) and external (e.g., customers or universities)
are consulted when assessing or updating the organization's training needs?
State Internal External
Arizona Executives, managers, employees Consultants
Arkansas Upper and mid-level managers and employees
California Typically, the transportation planning
functions within each of the 12 district offices,
and the "modal" planning divisions located in
headquarters; e.g., Rail, Mass Transit,
Aeronautics, Local Assistance, and
Transportation Planning.
Idaho Internal: all levels of department. This year, Do not conduct external needs
focus groups with executive staff, section assessments. We are not yet
managers, mid-level supervisors, and functioning at this strategic level.
employees owing to increasing workforce
challenges and an ambitious DOT vision.
Louisiana Division and section heads, managers, district To be developed by February 2006
administrators, district training coordinators,
and specialists
Maryland All customers are considered.
Michigan N/A
Missouri District and division directors None identified
Montana Managers, supervisors. and employees This is done on an individual basis,
not department wide. External: If
our public involvement staff were
to get less than stellar reviews from
the public owing to poor skills, that
would be identified as a training
need. Once needs are identified if
an external source can satisfy the
need, we use their services.
North Dakota Employees at all levels Upper Great Plains
Transportation Institute, Bismarck
State College
Ohio Internal customers at all levels--executive,
managers, and employees--are consulted when
assessing and updating the agency's training
needs. External customers with which we
consult include the Ohio Department of
Administrative Services and municipalities and
counties ("locals").
Pennsylvania In the past, training needs assessments were
developed in consultation with both internal
and external customers. At present,
assessments are more the result of internal
evaluations and consultations with
management and training professionals.
South Carolina Some portion of executives, managers, and
employees are consulted.
Texas Internal: All District Engineers, Division Partnerships in research projects
Directors, and Office Directors with oversight through the Texas Transportation
and input from the department's Institute and the Center for
Administration. Training coordinators from Transportation Research often
all business units are asked to compile and yield deliverables in the form
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submit information on the annual needs of training.
assessment for new training needs.
TQD uses an on-going process on all courses
delivered to conduct approximately 50 Subject
Matter Expert (SME) course evaluations and
reviews during any given fiscal yea r. This
feedback from the SMEs is condensed into
one comprehensive report and is distributed to
the Standing Committee on Training for
review and actions.
Washington Executives, discipline leaders, curriculum Providers of training
committees, employees
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available.
13. Are these needs directly related to the mission critical competencies identified in the organization's
strategic plan or similar document?
State Yes No
Arizona X
Arkansas N/A
California X
Idaho X
Louisiana X
Maryland X
Michigan N/A
Missouri No response
Montana Sometimes
North Dakota X
Ohio X
Pennsylvania X--The agency's strategic plan does not
address mission critical competencies.
South Carolina No response
Texas X
Washington Yes and no
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available.
14. How do you link the results of your training needs assessment to funding requests, funding allocations,
and organization and individual performance assessment?
State Linkage
Arizona Pay raises are determined from assessments.
Arkansas Training is being funded through our HR Division. Certain monies are allocated for
certain internal training.
California Office of Professional Development (OPD) funds the operational costs of training
courses; e.g., instructor, consultant, and facility costs. Planning districts and
headquarters units are usually responsible for travel costs; i.e., the cost of
transporting an employee/participant to the course. In an effort to minimize the
impact of travel expenses on the districts/headquarter units, OPD attempts to
schedule sessions throughout the three or four major regions of the state: north--
Redding, central--Fresno, and southern--Los Angeles; for example, in a manner
that accommodates the greatest number of attendees reflected on the Needs
Assessment Survey.
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Idaho At this time there is no formal linkage. This will be the first time our unit will try to
link the training needs assessment to the strategic plan goals. We are attempting to
operate at a strategic level to better support the DOT's identified vision.
Louisiana Continuing and new needs are cited in the budget request document and work
program documentation.
Maryland Funding requests/allocations are based on previous budget vs. actual spent by
division.
Michigan No response
Missouri No response
Montana We use the current one-half of 1% of the SPR funds for training. Each area of the
department identifies its needs and to the extent possible the funds pay for the
training identified. The funds support training identified both for individuals on
individual appraisals and other means and groups of employees needing to learn
new technologies or procedures.
North Dakota We program professional development based on identified needs based as
determined in Question 10.
Ohio The results of the assessment are reviewed by management. If it is determined that
there is a link between newly identified training needs and the agency's business
plan, the new courses are built into the Office of Training annual work plan and
necessary funding is requested to support the development and deployment of the
training.
Pennsylvania Organization leaders and managers are responsible for employee training and
professional development within their organizations. Training needs assessments
are provided to these leaders by training coordinators. Ultimately, it is a
management decision how much of the operational budget will be allocated to
address training needs.
South Carolina Not sure
Texas Links are made by means of the most critical areas: safety related, operational skills,
management skills, other mandatory training requirements, etc. An attempt is
made to address needs in all program areas to provide at least a minimal coverage.
Washington All of these factors are considered when allocating funds to programs within
training.
West Virginia N/A
N/A = not available; HR = Human Resources; SPR = state planning and research.
Critical Skills Identification
15. What are your most important occupations?
State Most Important
Arizona Construction engineers and techs., motor vehicle customer service reps.,
maintenance workers
Arkansas No response
California We presume the entry, journey, and senior levels of the Transportation Planner
series. However, under a recently signed contract with California Community
Colleges/ATTi (Advanced Transportation Technology initiative), we will soon
identify and examine the full spectrum of occupations that could be considered
critical or important.
Idaho At this point, our anecdotal observation is that the most important occupations
would be all positions that are responsible for providing leadership to DOT
employees, especially executive staff, district engineers, and section managers.
Louisiana Engineers, engineering technicians, maintenance field personnel, and other
professionals.
Maryland Transportation engineer and facility maintenance technician
Michigan No response
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Missouri Field operations
Montana Not yet identified
North Dakota All employee positions contribute to our vision and missions. Our executive
managers support this statement.
Ohio All classifications within the Highway Technician series; all classifications within the
Engineering series.
Pennsylvania Engineers and equipment operators
South Carolina Trades specialists and engineers
Texas Engineering disciplines (structures, design, environmental, planning, and
programming, etc.) and maintenance forces
Washington Planning, engineering, and maintenance are the primary mission occupations. HR,
Finance, Information Technology, Administration, and other support skills are also
required to perform all department functions.
West Virginia Civil engineers and engineering technicians
HR = Human Resources.
16. Please describe the methodology you used to identify these occupations.
State How Identified
Arizona Largest population in classification
Arkansas No response
California A contract with the California Community Colleges Advanced Transportation
Initiative has only recently been finalized to identify most important occupations,
and has been only recently implemented. No data are yet available.
Idaho Currently, our conclusions are anecdotal rather than based on scientific analysis.
Louisiana Structured Training Program and Leadership Development Program
Maryland Based on the number of personnel identification numbers (PINS) granted to the
administration.
Michigan No response
Missouri Focus groups and the strategic plan
Montana N/A
North Dakota Our executive management routinely reviews workforce positions.
Ohio These occupations perform ODOT's core business functions. Highway
construction and maintenance duties are performed by highway technicians (HT).
Approximately 2,500 employees (42% of the agency workforce) are classified
within the HT series. Engineers perform duties ranging from the preliminary
development of projects through the design, construction, and maintenance of
Ohio's roadways and bridges. Approximately 600 employees are classified in
the engineering series. The remainder of ODOT's workforce executes and supports
the core business functions while maintaining the highest possible levels of quality
and productivity.
Pennsylvania High density and core business
South Carolina No response
Texas Maintenance due to the large number of employees (6,500 out of 14,000+ or 46% of
workforce) engineering disciplines, because that work sets the stage for all
projects--actual construction, contract administration, project administration,
inspection services, staff services support, etc.
Washington Derived from the agency mission.
West Virginia We can't get our mission done without them.
N/A = not available.
17. Have you identified the competencies needed for these occupations?
State Yes No
Arizona X
Arkansas No response
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Washington X--Contact David Acree
West Virginia No response
N/A = not available.
44. How do you use evaluation results to revise training and development offerings?
State How Use
Arizona Yearly, training is revised using the feedback from Level 2, and two evaluations and a
summative evaluation from the instructor.
Arkansas N/A
California N/A
Idaho All trainings are revised given direct trainee input regarding design effectiveness. This
year will be the first that we actually have quantitative data regarding return on investment
resulting from questionnaires to supervisors and employees at time intervals. . . .
Louisiana By revising as necessary
Maryland All evaluations are used to determine whether to keep, revise, or terminate courses and/or
vendors.
Michigan It is informal and based on our ability to respond; e.g., changing instructors, lengthening or
shortening sessions.
Missouri No response
Montana The trainers consider participant reactions in class and adjust within a class. We also look
at the post-training evaluation and adjust accordingly. If the trainer is in doubt, he/she
talks to the people who attended to get more specific feedback.
North Dakota We consider comments from participants when revising courses.
Ohio See answer to Question 39.
Pennsylvania Information is passed to decision makers and training developers/managers for tweaking or
making major revisions.
South Carolina No response
Texas All training data results are collected into Scantron forms, which are then processed to
consolidate data on each course for general training information and then by each specific
objective of the course. An administrative assistant in the section is responsible for the
input of all data collected by course (for both student and supervisor evaluations). That
data are available to each program administrator (PA) on a common shared drive, who
may view the results of evaluations on a continually updated basis. The PA is charged to
identify problems that occur in the scoring ratios of any objective to determine if the
objective is unclear, the material is unclear, or other instructional problem. Corrective
action is then taken by the PA in either the objective, the content, or with the instructors of
the course.
We also use a formal SME evaluation that is detailed to the objectives of the course. Each
course is evaluated by an SME every 2 years. Those SME evaluations are reported to the
Standing Committee on Training for action and/or guidance.
Washington Course evaluations are recorded on an optically scanned form and results entered into an
Access database. Instructor ratings are distributed to internal and external instructors.
West Virginia No response
N/A = not available; SME = Subject Matter Expert.
45. How do you link the results of your training, education, and development program evaluation process
to funding requests, funding allocations, and organization performance assessment?
State How Results Are Linked
Arizona No response
Arkansas N/A
California N/A
Idaho To date we have not been able to do this.
Louisiana N/A
Maryland Evaluations are tracked and measured by both the participant and the instructor.
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Michigan N/A
Missouri No response
Montana This is not done at a department-wide level.
North Dakota N/A
Ohio ODOT utilizes a 2-year Employee Development Plan (EDP). The EDP has temporarily been
suspended while an agency process-improvement team, utilizing Baldridge-based criteria
for performance excellence, works on updating it. As a result, the EDP will be better
aligned with ODOT's current course offerings, including the 35 new courses and
8 certifications created as a result of the new HT Academy. It will be a more efficient
paperless process and will tie into our statewide Training Record System. All employees, in
consultation with their supervisors, are required to complete an EDP. The following
criteria are used when completing the plan: (1) the employee will use the training in their
current position, (2) the training will help to increase the employee's productivity, (3) the
training is linked to the organization's and the employee's work goals, (4) training is
mandatory for the employee in their current position, (5) the training will increase
employee well-being and safety awareness on the job, and (6) the training will help the
employee to build confidence in overall work performance.
ODOT's current Business Plan includes Organizational Performance Expectations for a
number of areas. The expectation for Central Office and district quality and HR
operations is to achieve the Organizational Performance Indices goals and to sustain them
through the biennium. These measures ensure ODOT meets it goals of having a well-
trained, safe, and productive workforce. Included in the OPI goal is a measure for
completion of training programs. ODOT's current goal in this area is 90%, a five point
increase over the previous year's goal of 85%.
Pennsylvania Linkages are weak at this time.
South Carolina No response
Texas Results are reported. However, the funding level has not experienced a proportionate
increase to success and demand.
Washington Mainly anecdotally
West Virginia No response
N/A = not available; HR = Human Resources.
Professional Certification, Registration, Continuing Education and Certification Programs
46. Do you require professional certification, registration, continuing education, and certification for
occupations? Please show what is required by occupation.
State Yes Occupations
Arizona X Engineers, auditors, accounting, construction engineers, and techs
Arkansas X
California X We require professional certification for a number of classifications; for
example, engineers and surveyors. Professional Certification for Planners
is of prime concern, and we have been looking at a number of alternatives,
including American Institute of Certified Planners.
Idaho X Only for Western Alliance for Quality Transportation Construction
technical occupations.
Louisiana X
Maryland X Facilities Maintenance Technicians require equipment certification.
Michigan X
Missouri X
Montana X Engineers, engineering technicials--professional licenses or certification
through the in-house career ladder, first aid/CPR for positions in remote
areas--mostly engineering and maintenance positions; defensive driving
for all employees who drive department vehicles; civil rights training, new
employee orientation, safety orientation at time of hire or when a person
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takes a new job with new hazards; current Commercial Drivers License
(CDL) for employees who drive commercial motor vehicles. For positions
in which employees are required to be registered or licensed (e.g.,
engineers and CDLs), the employees are required to meet the
requirements, but may or may not get department support. State policy
prohibits paying for testing.
North Dakota X A PE certification is required for these engineering positions: District
Engineers, Engineering Division Directors, Office Directors, Deputy
Director for Engineering. A Senior Professional in Human Resources
certification is required for the HR Director position. The director of
Financial Management must be a CPA. The director of legal must be a
licensed attorney. Our drivers' license examiners must become certified
license examiners. Some supervisory equipment operator positions
require Automotive Service Excellence certification.
Ohio X ODOT has many job classifications for its 6,031 employees. One would
have to see the State of Ohio Classification Specifications provided by the
Ohio Department of Administrative Services to answer this question. Link
provided: http://das.ohio.gov/hrd//classindex.html
Pennsylvania X Currently this information is not readily available.
South Carolina X
Texas X Professional Engineers: PE Certification by Texas Board Of Engineering
Licensing
Right-of-Way Acquisition Agents: Bi-annual certification
Certified Purchasers: Annual continuing education requirements
Surveyors: Annual CEU requirements
Human Resource Professionals--Society for Human Resource
Management certification as Professional in Human Resources or Senior
Professional in Human Resources, annual Professional Development Hour
requirements
Lab Technicians--annual certification
Hot Mix Inspectors--Level 1A, 1B, and Level II bi-annual certification
Washington X Primarily engineers
West Virginia X Department of Health pays for training and work release time for class
time only.
PE = Professional Engineer.
47. How are these requirements met?
State How Requirements Are Met
Arizona They are tracked on Arizona's Learning Management System
Arkansas N/A
California No response
Idaho Through testing
Louisiana Training provided and scheduled by the training section. Employee completes on
department time; structured training programs and policy.
Maryland Training and testing
Michigan N/A
Missouri No response
Montana We offer training materials and programs for engineers to pass the FE and the PE exams.
North Dakota Individuals are responsible for their own certification. However, the NDDOT does provide
study materials and up to 3 days of professional time off to prepare for and take the exams.
Ohio The agency supports these requirements in a variety of ways--funding, work release,
internal certification training, external certification training, etc. This is dependent on the
specific certification or continuing education requirement.
Pennsylvania This information is not readily available.
South Carolina No response
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Texas Through a combination of internal and external training programs
Washington By completing Engineers in Training and PE exams
West Virginia No response
PE = Professional Engineers; FE = Fundamentals of Engineering; N/A = not available.
48. Where you require certifications, continuing education, or other professional credentials, do you
provide full funding, partial funding, work release time to study, prepare for or take exams, or use
other means of supporting these efforts?
State Support Provided
Arizona Tuition reimbursement; pay for exam preparation
Arkansas Not sure
California No response
Idaho Yes, we provide funding for technical training certifications.
Louisiana Full funding with work release time as approved by the supervisor
Maryland Full funding
Michigan N/A
Missouri Partial funding for PEs
Montana Yes. If the department or a supervisor requires an employee to attend training, all expenses
are paid by the department and the employee is allowed to participate during work hours
in compliance with the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act). We do not pay for employees to
take professional tests (e.g., P.E. or CPA) nor pay for renewal fees, but we do make training
available for them to keep up their licenses.
North Dakota We provide study materials and up to 3 days of professional time off to prepare for and
take the exams. Exam costs are paid by the individual. Howeve r, employees are eligible for
a one-time 1% monthly salary adjustment upon achieving certification. In addition, for
positions that require a certification, NDDOT pays the recertification costs.
Ohio We provide full funding and agency time to take the course and the exam.
Pennsylvania Yes
South Carolina It depends on the certification--we provide full funding for some.
Texas Partial funding is provided as allowed by department policy and/or state statute. Work
release time or study time on the job is also allowed as approved by the immediate
supervisor.
Washington Tuition reimbursement is available for exam preparation.
West Virginia No response
N/A = not available; PE = Professional Engineer.
Partnerships with Other Agencies, Private Sector Organizations, Non-Profit Entities, Public Sector
Agencies, and Universities
49. With whom do you partner for training, education, and development activities?
State Partners
Arizona Other agencies, community colleges, universities, private-sector vendors, and providers
Arkansas Other agencies within state government
California We include local, regional, and other state agency staff in training classes and academies at
no cost to participants.
Idaho Colleges, universities, private-sector vendors
Louisiana LA Division of Administration/Comprehensive Employee Training Program for
management, leadership, supervisory training, parish adult education centers
Maryland Maryland colleges, universities; LTAP center, intra/inter-agency contracts, contractors,
consultants
Michigan Training vendors, FHWA, AASHTO, Michigan Department of Civil Service
Missouri We do not partner.
Montana Technical colleges, universities, consultants (we invite and sometimes require consultants to
attend training when they want to do specialized work for us), LTAP. We also invite cities,
counties, and FHWA to participate in our training.
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North Dakota Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute for the Transportation Learning Network,
BSC Partnership for training of public employees in the Bismarck/Mandan area.
Ohio The Ohio Department of Administrative Services, NHI, FHWA, Ohio Ready Mixed
Concrete Association, Ohio Aggregates and Industrial Minerals Association, and Flexible
Pavements, Inc., are a few examples of our training partners.
Pennsylvania We partner with local universities, county technical trade/vocational schools, and local
governments (counties and municipalities).
South Carolina No response
Texas TxDOT partners with the following agencies and vendors for training, education, and
development activities: (a) University of TexasArlington, (b) University of TexasAustin
through the Center for Lifelong Engineering Education, (c) Center for Transportation
Research--a part of the Texas A&M University system, (d) Texas Engineering Extension
Service--a part of the Texas A&M University system, (e) Texas Tech University, (f) Texas
Transportation Institute--a part of the Texas A&M University system, (g) University of
Houston, (h) University of Central Texas, (i) Amarillo College, (j) The Professional
Development Center at University of TexasAustin, (k) NHI, (l) National Transit Institute
Rutgers, (m) Richards & Associates (nuclear gauge), (n) SOS Technologies--first aid, (o)
SpeedShore (heavy equipment, safety, confined space), (p) International Municipal Signal
Association, (q) David Ford AssociatesCaliforniaHEC-HMS training, (r) Tarrant County
Collegealternative fuels, (s) Texas Asphalt Pavement Association--HMAC and course
delivery, (t) Texas Concrete Pavement Association, (u) McTransFlorida (Highway
Capacity Software training). All of these partners are coordinated through TQD for
department-wide training delivery. Numerous (200+) other training vendor suppliers are
used on an as-needed basis such as soft skills development, specialized
software training, etc.
Washington Unions and universities
West Virginia We use Fairmont State University for technician training. They have developed an on-line
degree program.
NHI = National Highway Institute; LTAP = Local Technical Assistance Program.
50. Are these partnerships the result of a formal agreement; e.g., contract, memorandum of understanding,
other written agreement, or are they informal in nature?
State Partnership Arrangements
Arizona Arizona has written interagency agreements with government agencies; contracts with
private sector
Arkansas Informal
California Formal and informal
Idaho No, Idaho Transportation Department has formal agreements.
Maryland Informal
Michigan Informal
Missouri No response
Montana Informal
North Dakota Informal
Ohio Formal agreements
Pennsylvania These partnerships can be both informal and formal. Partnerships with local universities
and technical trade/vocational schools are generally contractual in nature. Partnerships
with county and municipality government are also generally contractual in nature using
formal Agility agreements.
South Carolina No response
Texas No. Items au in Question 49 all have formal written contracts in place. All contracts are
approved through the department's Contract Services Officer or General Services Division.
Washington Informal
West Virginia Fairmont State is a formal partnership.
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51. If you have identified successful practices for partnering, please share both the practice and the
organization.
State Successful Practices
Arizona Arizona has an entire office devoted to partnering.
Arkansas N/A
California N/A
Idaho No response to this item.
Louisiana PPM 47--Training Advisory Committee
Maryland No response--However, under others to consult: we are current in the process.
Michigan As a result of feedback from employees regarding economic concessions, we partnered with
the State Employees' Credit Union to provide financial planning and counseling webinars
(Internet seminars) to employees.
Missouri No response
Montana We had an informal relationship with the Montana Contractors Association to create a
cooperative training program in which Montana Department of Transportation and
contractors' personnel could attend courses and make it more cost-effective and do it as a
tax-exempt activity. Unfortunately, it didn't work out--the time just was not right.
North Dakota Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute and BSC--identified earlier in responses.
Ohio We believe that all of our partnerships are successful and perform continuous assessments
of their programs to ensure quality.
Pennsylvania Our Agility program has been a highly successful partnering arrangement across the state
with numerous organizations. For further information on PennDOT's Agility program,
please contact Sherry Zimmerman at 717-705-1331.
South Carolina No response
Texas See responses to Questions 49 and 50.
Washington Informal agreements whereby Northwest LaborsEmployers Training Trust Fund
conducts Workzone Safety Supervisors training for vendors and contractors. Training is
needed to meet WSDOT contract requirements.
West Virginia No response
N/A = not available.
Opportunities, Challenges, and Constraints
52. What are the two greatest opportunities for training, education, and development in your organization
in the next five years?
State Two Greatest Opportunities
Arizona E-learning, mentoring
Arkansas Greatest opportunities--(1) The Maintenance Training Program (if approved) will help
narrow the gap between the senior employees leaving via attrition and the new employees
starting with less knowledge and experience in these types of jobs. (2) There is also an
opportunity to train the next generation of supervisors to where they really understand the
proper means and methods of leadership.
California First, we must and are taking advantage of a new generation of planners through high
school and college outreach, to encourage students to follow a curriculum necessary to
become planners. The department's Adopt-A-School program, housed in the Office of
Professional Development, targets high schools, and the Office of Professional
Development's recruitment program targets colleges and universities within and outside of
California.
Idaho Working with strategic leaders to truly embed a system-wide learning philosophy and
methodology into the Idaho Transportation Department.
Louisiana The 14,000 square foot LTRC Transportation Training and Education Center is scheduled
to open in Fall 2005. The Center will be used to partner with universities and private
sources to deliver transportation training to LADOTD, local governments, contractors,
consultants, and suppliers. Develop technical training for engineers with SME's found
within LADOTD, including succession planning and knowledge/experience transfer.
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Maryland Succession planning and web-based training
Michigan
Missouri On-line learning and video conferencing
Montana (1) Training to bolster skills after the competencies for the positions have been identified.
Many of the duties have changed. For example, our maintenance employees are expected to
inspect contractors' work. As we contract out more, contract and project administration
will be more important. (2) Determining what skills are required and preparing employees
to take positions that require those skills.
North Dakota Support from the executive level of NDDO T, progressive programs like Mentoring
Opportunites (our formal mentoring program) and our Succession Planning program.
Ohio No response
Pennsylvania Expanding E-learning opportunities and expanding structured on-the-job training and
knowledge management.
South Carolina On-line learning and distance learning opportunities
Texas With the new advent of public/private ventures in the state with the $128 billion Trans
Texas Corridor project contractors in the private workforce are going to be looking at the
department to set the guidelines or provide the actual training for their employees in
numerous areas such as materials test and acceptance, inspection, DBE/HUB Title 6
reporting, environmental issues, etc. TQD has already been requested to prepare a
preliminary impact to the training operations and how we can accommodate increased
training needs to the private sector.
Washington Developing blended learning that takes advantage of live training and e-learning.
Converting statutorily required training to e-learning where appropriate.
West Virginia Technician series for development and succession planning
LTRC = Louisiana Transportation Research Center; SME = Subject Matter Expert.
53. What are the two greatest challenges for training, education, and development in your organization in
the next five years?
State Two Greatest Challenges
Arizona Keeping up with technology; generational differences
Arkansas Having sufficient time and money
California Answer subsumed in response to Question 54 "Constraints."
Idaho Overcoming executive resistance to perceive human capital investment as equal in
importance to other fiscal investments.
Louisiana As more experienced personnel retire, we are faced with cutting the organization by that
number.
Maryland Strategic succession planning without PINS
Michigan Economic climate. Making time for staff to attend the training offered.
Missouri No response
Montana (1) Determining what's relevant and passing on institutional knowledge when the
experienced employees retire. (2) Working effectively with intergenerational barriers and
expectations.
North Dakota Our very small staff of regular employees, which is only two individuals. Time constraints
on employees' time, which is a limiting factor for attendance at training events.
Ohio No response
Pennsylvania Tying training to the department's strategic direction and transferring agency training
management to a commonwealth enterprise-wide learning management system.
South Carolina No response
Texas Meeting expectations of the quantity of training delivery that is being demanded with
existing staff resources.
Washington Implementing training for the new state government competency-based personnel
management system. Implementing training for the new automated personnel
management system.
West Virginia No response
PINS = personal identification numbers.
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54. What are the two greatest constraints for training, education, and development in your organization in
the next five years?
State Two Greatest Constraints
Arizona Staffing and time
Arkansas N/A
California Retirements and politics are the two greatest constraints we have. Critical skills change
with the experience level of the workforce, itself a function of the many retirements that are
beginning to occur and that will come in the next few years. During the first few years of
Office of Professional Development's existence, 19992004, the Transportation Planning
Academy was geared toward bringing up to speed a significant number of new hires that
resulted from cutbacks in the mid-1990s. Now those new hires are approaching journey
level, just as retirements are beginning to increase. The result is professional development
in constant flux, leaving largely unknown the critical skills and needs of the workforce.
Couple this with the political forces--California's historical delay in having a budget on
time, for example--and the challenge of planning and scheduling key courses, seminars,
and forums becomes more pronounced.
Office of Professional Development has been fortunate in having the strong support of the
Transportation Planning Division Chief and the Planning Deputy, even in times of
budgetary constraints. They have made a concerted effort to "keep the doors open" in
anticipation of an economic turnaround.
Idaho Lack of understanding at the executive level
Louisiana Downsizing
Maryland Lack of additional funding and PINS
Michigan Lack of funding. Lack of flexibility to respond quickly to needs--especially in the area of
procurement.
Missouri Having the time to train and the staff to do the training
Montana (1) Getting management to recognize that not all performance problems can be fixed with
training. (2) Reinforcing the importance of management's role in recognizing training as
work, sending employees to training that can be applied to their work, and ensuring they
apply what they learn on the job.
North Dakota Our very small staff of regular employees, which is only two individuals. Time constraints
on employees' time, which is a limiting factor for attendance at training events.
Ohio No response
Pennsylvania Funding
South Carolina Funding and manpower to deliver the training statewide for 5,000 employees
Texas Limited staff resources. We have a legislatively mandated HR staff ratio of 1:85 for the
entire department. Training personnel are included in that HR ratio. With a staff of 21 to
deliver more than 200 different courses, more than 1,500 course sessions per year is at
times a real stretch. We have reached capacity for delivery. Without additional personnel
new programs will be introduced at the expense of other programs that will have to be
scaled back.
Washington Funds and staff
West Virginia Funding and workload
N/A = not available; HR = Human Resources; PINS = personal identification numbers.
55. How do you link the results of your strategic planning or similar process to funding requests, funding
allocations, and organization performance assessment?
State How Results Are Linked
Arizona No response
Arkansas N/A
California No response
Idaho Idaho Transportation Department does not
Louisiana Beginning in 2006, Planning Performance and Review forms will be linked to the
LADOTD's strategic plan and agency goals.
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Maryland No response
Michigan N/A
Missouri No response
Montana This has not been done.
North Dakota The link is made through the budgeting process at the executive level with
recommendations by the HR Director.
Ohio No response
Pennsylvania Through the strategic planning and business planning process
South Carolina No response
Texas No response
Washington See response to Question 22
West Virginia No response
N/A = not available; HR = Human Resources.
Means to Share and Integrate Information
56. What automated tools do you use to support training, education, and development activities in your
organization?
State Automated Tools to Support Training
Arizona Pathlore Enterprise Learning Management System
Arkansas N/A
California A new system for tracking employee training was implemented in May 2005, called
Learning Management System (LMS). LMS will greatly enhance the management and
study of employee skills and to what extent training meets those needs.
Idaho Idaho Transportation Department has just purchased Meridian software and, hence, the
capacity to develop web-based training. This is a future goal.
Louisiana ETRN--internal mainframe tracking system to track training completion and
requirements accessible to managers, supervisors, and employees.
Maryland Pathlore's Learning Management System tracks all administrative training activities.
Michigan On-Track (Training Management System), e-learning, Intranet
Missouri Powerpoint, Learning Management System, laptops
Montana HRIS system for tracking attendance and hours of training, web-based training that
includes assessment of performance in course, on-line enrollment for larger training
conferences.
North Dakota We have a training lab with 10 desktop PCs.
Ohio ODOT's Training Records System is the propriety training database/learning management
system.
Pennsylvania We use a Learning Management System called Training Partner 2003.
South Carolina Internal website for registering for some classes, mainframe training system to keep up
with the training an employee has taken.
Texas Utilization of PeopleSoft 8.3 for training processes, course sessions, enrollments, course
completion data, individual transcripts, etc. Automation links between the department's
Learning Content Management System (LCMS) for on-line courses and updates to PS 8.3
on Training Transcripts.
Washington Mainframe Automated Training Management Training System
West Virginia On-line college courses
N/A = not available.
57. What other means do you use to share and integrate information?
State Other Means of Program Support
Arizona State of Arizona STARS Learning Management System
Arkansas N/A
California Senior Forum, PDL Seminar
Idaho Idaho Transportation Department has integrated formal coaching/mentoring from an
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organizational development intervention perspective into our post-training activities.
We bring together trainees to "de-construct" experiences, reintroduce and practice skills
application exercises, and discussion to allow for better internalization of training concepts
and skill sets. We also provide one-on-one coaching and mentoring.
Louisiana E-mail, newsletters, publications, website
Maryland No response
Michigan Internet team rooms, webinars, streaming video web casts
Missouri Video conferencing
Montana Meetings and coordination with other trainers in the department, use of subject matter
experts in training, and provides train the trainer courses for technical trainers.
North Dakota We communicate training opportunities via e-mail and maintain an electronic training
calendar.
Ohio No response
Pennsylvania MS Outlook e-mail and Electronic Construction Management System. We are currently
exploring options for a knowledge management system.
South Carolina E-mail
Texas Group releases of e-mails to attendees of recent courses when policies or operational
procedures change related to an area that course covered.
Memorandums for circulation to all business units.
Use of team rooms and bulletin boards on the Learning Content Management System.
Quarterly meetings via VTC with all department training coordinators, HR officers, and
directors of administration.
Presentations on training courses/events at various department-sponsored conferences such
as Construction, Design, Bridge, Traffic and Maintenance, and HR Conferences, etc.
Attendance at national level conferences such as AASHTO HR Conference, National
Transportation Training Directors annual conference.
Washington Web, Internet, intranet
West Virginia No response
N/A = not available; HR = Human Resources.
Others With Whom We Should Consult
If there are others, either within state DOTs, in other public-sector organizations, the private sector,
nonprofit sector, or academia, with whom we should consult, please provide their name, institution, and
contact information.
State Other With Whom to Consult
Arizona No response
Arkansas No response
California Chris Hatfield, Chief, Office of Professional Development (916-653-1277) or
Mike Gordon, Administrator (916-653-3529).
Idaho No response
Louisiana No response
Maryland We are currently in the process of forming the MD SHA University. When this
project is complete, we will have identified core, recommended, and elective
training for each classification within the administration. I am happy to provide
this information as it becomes available.
Michigan No response
Missouri No response
Montana No response
North Dakota Executive Director, Transportation Learning Network (TLN)--TLN is an
Internet-based, two-way interactive telecommunications network in U.S. DOT
Region 8. The network links the transportation departments in Wyoming, Utah,
South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana with the MountainPlains
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Consortium universities; North Dakota State University, Colorado State
University, University of Wyoming, and Utah State University.
TLN is headquartered at The Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at
North Dakota State University. A schedule of events is listed on the TLN
website.The main purpose of TLN is to increase communication among the
network participants.
Ohio
Pennsylvania Our Agility Program has been a highly successful partnering arrangement
across the state with numerous organizations. For further information on
PennDOT's Agility Program, please contact Sherry Zimmerman at 717-705-
1331.
Michelle Mont, Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority, 717-939-9551
South Carolina No response
Texas No response
Washington No response
West Virginia No response
SHA = State Highway Administration;