2009 APTA - TRB Light Rail Conference Issue
 

The issue of workforce development is one of significant concern worldwide, which is why the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) has scheduled a workshop on the topic—“A smile is worth a thousand welcomes”—on June 9 in Vienna, Austria, as part of its 58th World Congress.

APTA Chair Beverly A. Scott, Ph.D., will represent North America on the panel at this session, joining speakers from Africa, Brazil, and China. The workshop’s moderator will be Sylviane Delmas, Relations de Service, RATP, Paris, France, and chair of UITP’s commission on human resources.

The entire conference, along with UITP’s Mobility & City Transport Exhibition, takes place June 7-11.

Customer-oriented front-line staff comprise a vital resource for all public transport companies and all modes. The session will explore different situations around the world and identify best practices to attract and recruit new candidates. Presenters will also discuss training programs that result in skilled personnel, as well as the development of long-term strategies to motivate and retain these individuals.

The key objectives of the session are to consider differing strategies connected with the problems of recruiting quality operators, and to identify and share best practices. Scott and the other speakers will focus their presentations around the following elements:

- To give value to the job of driver and to improve the image of public transit as an employer

- To produce qualified candidates

- To ensure that drivers are treated as professionals, thus facilitating company loyalty

- To provide customer-oriented training.

For more information about the conference, visit the UITP web site.

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