The situation of growing demand, and level or dwindling supply for civil engineering positions poses a significant challenge for Minnesota and for the country at large. To avoid turning the pending reality into a major crisis, though, Minnesota decided to take action. The Research Implementation Committee of Minnesota's Local Road Research Board sponsored the Minnesota Summit on Civil Engineering Workforce Development to address civil engineering employment issues. Held August 9, 2000, the summit attracted 44 leaders from the private and public sector, including representatives from city and county government, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, federal government, private engineering firms, industry and organizations, and educational institutions. Summit participants focused on the following tasks: Reviewing recent research on the expected demand and supply of civil engineers, surveyors, and technicians; Showcasing innovative methods of recruiting and retaining civil engineers, surveyors, and technicians by reviewing nationwide best practices; Examining the survey of cities, counties, and industry that assessed the nature of the problem in Minnesota; Developing an action plan that collaboratively leverages the resources of all the workforce development stakeholders; and Defining roles and responsibilities for solving the program among all stakeholders. Divided into four smaller groups, participants completed problem and vision statements for four key areas; awareness, attraction, access; recruiting; retention and redesign; and re-recruiting. The report details work completed at the summit and the actions that resulted from the summit.
In October 22-24, 2000, 59 leaders from consulting engineering firms, Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) and the Department of Administration gathered in Minneapolis, Minnesota to participate in a workshop to address their fundamental working relationships and the processes related to the consultant program. The workshop was convened by the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies and sponsored by Mn/DOT and the Consulting Engineers Council of Minnesota. The workshop objective was to discover new ways for Mn/DOT and the consulting industry to expedite the delivery of transportation projects that benefit the public. Leaders in the private and public sector, seeking to address the challenges of the future with fresh approaches and new thinking, met to: Understand the central role of the Consultant Program in the "Big Plan"; Analyze the problems facing government and private users of the Consultant Program; Examine the best practices in Consultant Programs from other state DOTs and lessons they may hold for Minnesota; Develop a blueprint to make the Consultant Program "better-faster-cheaper" and more satisfying to work in. Four groups of Mn/DOT stakeholders, two groups of consulting firms and an administration group were formed to identify issues and challenges in the "as is" consulting process from their perspectives. The major issues and challenges were recorded and reported to the larger workshop. After presentation by other state DOTs on best practices, the group created stretch goals for the consultant program. The next steps in bringing improvement ideas to strengthen the consultant program into action include: Preparation of the Final Workshop Report to be mailed to each participant within three weeks; and A Steering Committee meeting immediately following the workshop to identify goals and dates for the next steps.
