FHWA Office of Civil Rights

On-the-Job Training (OJT) and On-the-Job Training and Supportive Services Programs (OJT/SS)

The FHWA On-the-Job Training (OJT) Program requires State Transportation Agencies (STAs) to establish apprenticeship and training programs targeted to move women, minorities, and disadvantaged individuals into journey-level positions to ensure that a competent workforce is available to meet highway construction hiring needs, and to address the historical under-representation of these groups in highway construction skilled crafts. The primary objectives of OJT/SS are to increase the overall effectiveness of each STA's approved OJT program in connection with Federal-aid highway construction projects, and to seek other ways to increase the training opportunities for women, minorities, and disadvantaged individuals. In turn, OJT/SS is used to increase the participation of women, minorities, and disadvantaged individuals in skilled and semi-skilled crafts.

The OJT/SS was established (23 CFR Part 230) to supplement the OJT Program and support STAs' training programs by providing services to highway construction contractors and assistance to highway construction apprentices and trainees. Under the provisions of 23 U.S.C. §140(b), the Secretary of Transportation has the authority to fund OJT/SS in an amount not to exceed $10,000,000 annually. Under Section 5204(e) of SAFETEA-LU, the Federal funding of the cost of activities shall be 100 percent of funds apportioned to them for the Surface Transportation Program under 23 U.S.C. §104(b)(3) and the Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program under 23 U.S.C. §144 for this program. Section 5204(e) provides for 100 percent Federal funding if the core program funds are used for training, education, or workforce development purposes, including "pipeline" activities. Training and development include activities associated with surface transportation career awareness, student transportation career preparation, and training and professional development for surface transportation workers, including activities for women, minorities, and disadvantaged individuals. The five core programs are: Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, Highway Bridge Program, Interstate Maintenance, National Highway System, and Surface Transportation Program. The types of services/projects eligible for OJT/SS funding include: recruitment, skills training, job placement, child care, and outreach, transportation to work-sites, post-graduation follow-up, and job-site mentoring.

The STAs are responsible for establishing procedures, subject to the availability of Surface Transportation Program and Highway Bridge Program funds under 23 U.S.C. §140(b) (Nondiscrimination), for the provision of supportive services with respect to training programs approved under 23 CFR 230, Subpart A (Equal Employment Opportunity on Federal and Federal-Aid Construction Contracts – including Supportive Services)

Contacts/phone numbers/email addresses

Martha Kenley
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Contractor Compliance
Programs Manager
Martha.Kenley@dot.gov
(202) 366-8110

Michael Caliendo
OJT/SS Program Coordinator
Michael.Caliendo@dot.gov
(202) 334-9180 ext. 131

Authorities

23 CFR § 230, Appendix A to Subpart A
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5&node=23:1.0.1.3.8

23 CFR § 230, Appendix B to Subpart B
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5&node=23:1.0.1.3.8

23 CFR § 230.111, Implementation of Special requirements for the Provision of On-the-Job Training
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CFR-2011-title23-vol1/CFR-2011-title23-vol1-sec230-111

23 CFR § 230.113, Subpart A, Implementation of Supportive Services
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CFR-2011-title23-vol1/CFR-2011-title23-vol1-sec230-113

23 U.S.C. 140(b)
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/environmental_justice/facts/140.cfm