Youth is vital to the transportation industry, and today’s students represent the pool of workers from which the transportation industry will recruit its future work force. VTrans promotes year-round youth outreach to expose students to rewarding and diverse careers in the transportation industry. These include the Agency’s participation in numerous career fairs, panels, and conferences; serving as a host site for students engaged in Community Based Learning or short term job shadows; and providing annual summer camps for middle and high school students each summer as part of FHWA’s National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI).
Partnerships between industry, government, and education at the national, state, and local levels are critical to improving the quality of life in our communities. VTrans has a successful history and strong commitment to partnering for the benefit of youth, industry, and community. Our youth outreach partnerships reach well beyond planning and administering programs and participating in events. These partnerships also work towards enhancing career technology education, developing curricula that better prepares students for careers in the transportation industry, and increasing the diversity of the transportation industry workforce.