Through contributions to a 5-year pooled fund (TPF 5-(046)), the TCCC has developed a Core Curriculum Matrix comprised of five program areas (Construction, Materials, Maintenance, Safety, and Employee Development) and provided training competencies for a wide variety of disciplines within each subject area. The curriculum is used by State and local DOTs in their efforts to establish training programs and to develop specific courses for their technical personnel. It is also being used by the TCCC to guide its development of course materials to be shared nationwide. The curriculum matrices are designed to be a living document that will grow as the program continues to evolve; accordingly, the curriculum will be maintained on the TCCC website (www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/tccc) and will be updated periodically as new disciplines, course materials, and technologies emerge. The TCCC also has several new training courses under development or recently completed for use by State and local DOTs: ¿ Managing Construction Workmanship (134055), designed for construction inspectors and resident engineers, provides information on roles and responsibilities, acceptance of work, and construction quality. ¿ The Bridge Construction Inspection (130088) course has been completed and is designed to give basic knowledge of bridge construction procedures to construction inspectors. ¿ Quality Assurance Technologies training developed as a joint effort between FHWA and the NETTCP ¿ The Pavement Preservation Online Guide and Training (131110) is now available for delivery and is intended to provide participants with an introduction to the Pavement Preservation Online Guide (PPOG) created by Caltrans and the National Center for Pavement Preservation. This course is primarily target at individuals unfamiliar with pavement preservation policy and technical information. ¿ The Ethics Awareness for the Transportation Industry course has been developed for online training and is designed to provide employees with the ethical expectations within their respective DOT. It may be modified to any States' codes. ¿ The Geotechnical steering committee has developed two new training courses: Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls/ Reinforced Soil Slopes, and Subsurface Investigation Qualification Course. ¿ Courses under development include Inspection of Bridge Rehabilitation, Maintenance Leadership Academy, Use of GIS in Construction, and Environmental Factors in Highway Construction. Other recently-identified training needs include Embankment Inspection, Basic Earthwork for Inspectors, Placement and Testing of Self-Consolidating Concrete, and Inspection of Pipe Installation. ¿ The TCCC is partnering with contractor associations in the pavement preservation industry to expand the Maintenance Core Curriculum to provide greater detail on training and qualification contractor personnel and inspectors involved in the placement of pavement preservation treatments. The objective of this effort is to increase the quality and performance of pavement preservation treatments, and to increase DOT confidence in the application of new "tools in the toolbox." The pooled funds under the previous TCCC support project have been supplemented by FHWA Office of Asset Management, Office of Pavement Technology, and National Highway Institute to cover expenses related to training development and other activities. Such an extensive level of funding from the FHWA program offices has enabled them to support the TCCC to a level far beyond what was contributed by the States to the pooled fund. Because of current funding levels under FHWA appropriations, a similar level of funding support from FHWA cannot be expected. It is therefore critical that State involvement be secured for a new pooled fund project for continued support of the TCCC.

Rebuilding and maintaining the Nation's highways requires agencies and industry to have a trained and qualified workforce from agencies and industry. With the loss of experience in the workforce, training is an industry priority. Agencies and the highway industry across the country face this serious shortage of trained and experienced personnel because of attrition and an aging workforce. We must meet the challenge to preserve the system investments and carry out capital improvements for future growth. Since 2000, the TCCC, a partnership between the FHWA, State and local DOTs, and private industry, has diligently worked to support the training of transportation industry¿s technical personnel. The TCCC¿s mission is to: ¿ Provide leadership at the national level. ¿ Develop and maintain national curricula for the various transportation disciplines. ¿ Identify training and certification requirements. ¿ Coordinate/facilitate training efforts. To achieve its mission, the TCCC embraces the following objectives: ¿ Optimize resources through concentrated efforts in the development of core training and qualification mediums. ¿ Improve the skills and abilities of the transportation technical personnel. ¿ Promote the sharing of technical training resources among government and private transportation industry organizations. ¿ Promote uniformity in training content and qualification requirements to facilitate reciprocity between States, local organizations, and regions. ¿ Optimize the usage of AASHTO standards in training development.

This project will be for the creation of a new pooled fund with similar goals to support the TCCC. It will be used for the further development of core curriculum, development of training materials, and tools for sharing training materials. Following is a list of initial activities that will be performed to continue the sharing of training and qualification resources among the transportation industry, while revising and developing identified core training materials and short courses: ¿ Core curriculum materials will be identified under the direction of the TCCC and fully developed under NHI contract or other partner entities (i.e. LTAP Center/State DOT) to address national training needs. Completely developed courses will offer between 80-90 percent of what State agencies, regional groups or industry technical groups need. Recipients may use core materials as developed or individually tailor the materials to meet specific needs for local or regional training programs. ¿ The Core Curriculum materials described above will be made available on the TCCC¿s website and will be searchable through an interactive database. The new pooled funds will be used to continue this development as well as maintain this dynamic, national database. ¿ Continue to promote uniformity in training content and qualification requirements. ¿ Continue to advocate the dissemination of information among training and certifying State, regional and industrial organizations. ¿ Provide a central repository for transportation training resources in the areas of Construction, Employee Development, Maintenance, Materials, and Safety. ¿ Further encourage the development and improvement of AASHTO standards and maximize their usage in member's training and qualification programs. ¿ The TCCC is coordinating with the NHI for hosting a suite of technical training courses to be available in a web-based format.