Registered Apprenticeship in the Transportation Industry

Registered Apprenticeship in the Transportation Industry

The transportation industry is broad, encompassing all modes of travel through land, air, and sea to move people and goods and the infrastructure that enables this movement. It is a vital part of the United States (U.S.) economic system and supply chain. The industry is currently facing many challenges and opportunities, which according to the report Critical Issues in Transportation in 2024 and Beyond by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, includes technological innovations, climate change and the switch to clean energy, and the need for increased road safety.

Did you know?

• According to the National Academies report, the 14.3 million transportation and transportation-related industry employees in the U.S. represent 10.2 percent of the entire U.S. workforce.
• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship (OA), in 2023 there were 17,469 registered apprentices in the transportation industry.
• The transportation industry workforce is aging, creating challenges for employers, but generating opportunities for apprentices.

As the transportation industry grows and changes, several apprenticeship occupations are high demand according to OA. These include diesel mechanics who work with bus, truck, or even marine diesel engines; airframe and powerplant mechanics who maintain hydraulic and pneumatic systems; avionics technicians (defined below); truck drivers; and storage and distribution managers.

Registered Apprenticeship sponsors looking to create new apprenticeship programs in the transportation industry have access to competency-based occupational frameworks provided by OA and developed in partnership with the Urban Institute. These include:

• Avionics Technician: Installs, inspects, tests, and repairs equipment on aircraft and/or spacecraft including radar, radio, and navigation systems.
• Transit Bus Technician: Inspects, repairs, and maintains bus equipment.
• Transit Coach Operator: Provides safe and reliable transportation for passengers and goods via bus or motor coach.
• Truck Driver: Provides safe transport and delivery of goods via truck.

The transportation industry is the focus for Apprenticeship Building America (ABA) round two grantee the Amalgamated Transit Union International who is creating a National Transit Center for High Road Clean Energy Transit Careers in ten public transit agencies across the U.S. Another ABA round two grantee, the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, is serving as a sponsor and intermediary for the auto collision repair industry’s need to grow RA in auto collision repair in high growth occupations.

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• Posted by: Anna O'Connell
• Posted in: Apprenticeship Building America