State DOTs are facing a significant challenge in recruiting and retaining sufficient numbers of engineers, planners, managers, and staff for other key positions.  Retirements,  fewer civil engineering graduates, and a hyper-competitive employment environment make it difficult for state DOTs to attract and maintain the level of skilled employees they need. Other factors such as greater complexity of construction methods have also added challenges for agencies’ efforts to develop and retain critical positions such as construction project managers. 

The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOT practices for recruiting and retaining engineers, planners, managers, and other key positions.

Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to):

• State DOT policies, programs, and practices for recruiting needed employees;
• Programs, practices, and incentives to help retain employees;
• Approaches for making state DOTs attractive to younger professionals;
• Strategies for expanding the existing pool of eligible staff to fill needed positions;
• Implementation and performance measurement, including determining competency;
• Measures of success.

Information will be collected through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected agencies for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified.

TRB Staff
Jo Allen Gause
Phone: 202-334-3826
Email: jagause@nas.edu

Meeting Dates
First Panel Meeting: October 17, 2024 (Virtual meeting)
Teleconference with Consultant: TBD
Second Panel: TBD