State DOTs are struggling to maintain staffing levels and worker skillsets, and high turnover rates are depleting the transportation industry of the skills and knowledge required to meet public needs. To address these challenges, state DOTs need to grow and diversify their workforces and anticipate the workforce needs of the future. State DOTs are exploring the science of workforce management to determine how to best support the changing workforce. The levels of workforce planning knowledge and access to effective workforce strategies vary across the state DOTs.  

A state DOT community of practice has emerged to develop tangible resources that state DOTs can put into practice. This community has also highlighted the challenges state DOTs face in allocating the needed resources to effectively address workforce issues, while trying to address the needs of the traveling public with a diminished workforce. Research is needed to address the priority needs of state DOT leadership by providing successful practices and processes to address current workforce challenges, identifying additional resource needs, and preparing leadership for future workforce needs. 

The objective of this research is to develop a roadmap for state DOTs to address priority gaps in their workforces. The research would identify the following:

• Priority state DOT needs in workforce planning and development
• Gaps in resources to address priority state DOT needs  
• Available workforce resources and successful/innovative practices in the transportation industry and other sectors
• How successful/innovative workforce practices are transferrable to state DOTs

This research would provide successful practices and processes that state DOTs can implement to address current workforce challenges and guide work to address future workforce challenges. The research would also assist state DOTs in understating the resources and time needed to conduct workforce development and planning and prepare leadership for future workforce needs.