The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded the University of Memphis Intermodal Freight Transportation Institute (IFTI) a four-year grant to be the center of the Southeast Regional Surface Transportation Workforce.
About $1 million is being funded into this initiative to “put the right people in the right jobs,” Dan Pallme, interim director of the Center for Intermodal Freight Transportation Studies, said.
It was announced on Oct. 7 at the Intermodal Conference that featured 130 guests from public and private sectors. Stephanie Ivey, associate professor and center director for the Herff College of Engineering was in Washington, D.C. when they kicked off the initiative.
“This award is a regional scope that we are trying to tie with the Federal Highway Administration. The different centers will come up with a plan individually, and will travel to Washington D.C. to see which is best fit nationally,” Pallme said.
Freight transportations such as railroads, trucks, warehouse distributions and river jobs will be affected to improve transportation times and logistics.
It will serve 12 states including Puerto Rico. It ranges from west of Arkansas to east of West Virginia from north of Kentucky to south of Puerto Rico.
They are a part of a national network of centers from University of Madison-Wisconsin, Montana State University, University of Vermont and California State University, Long Beach to improve transportation workforce development.
According to the United States Department of Labor, the Memphis Tri-State metropolitan area employed 1,980 with hourly wage around $8.90 and an annual wage of $39,300 because of high concentrated jobs and location quotients in the area in 2013.
They are committed to work with area middle and high schools to inform them about the industry and the workforce.
Pallme said that Wooddale High, Trezevant High and Sheffield High are the only high schools in Memphis who have the transportation and logistics classes that originally didn’t have them. Wooddale High is the only one with an aviation class.
Also, they are trying to growth the number of women working in the transportation industry.
According to the United States of America Department of Transportation, as of May of 2013, there were over 1.3 million women working in the transportation and warehouse industries.
“One of the problems that women look at is the physical challenge or demand of transportation, and they do not realize the opportunities that it benefits,” Pallme said.
