One of the alums of MnDOT’s On-the-Job Training program is Akeethia Brown, equipment operator, who graduated to journey level in 2020. She has worked nearly 4,900 hours on MnDOT highway heavy construction projects. She is pictured at the I-35W@94 Downtown Crosstown Project. Photo by Lee Zutz from MN DOT

From the Minnesota Department of Transportation - February 22, 2022

The Minnesota Department of Transportation On-the-Job Training program placed 211 trainees in jobs in highway construction careers in 2021, exceeding its original goal of 130 trainees.

This marks the fourth year in a row that the program exceeded its trainee goal number.

“The On-the-Job Training program’s goal is to create a more diverse workforce by providing training in highway construction to people of color, women and disadvantaged populations,” said Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher. “MnDOT is committed to improving access to positions and enhancing career opportunities for historically underserved individuals.”

Trainees identified as:

• Hispanic or Latino, 31 percent
• Caucasian, 23 percent 
• African American, 19 percent 
• American Indian or Alaska Native, 15 percent 
• Asian or Pacific Islander, 8 percent
• Two or more ethnicities, 4 percent

Nearly 39 percent of the 2021 trainees were female.

Program participants pursued the following trade training:

• Truck driver (14)
• Pile Driver (13)
• Equipment operator (51)
• Laborer (105)
• Iron Worker (1)
• Electrician (4)
• Cement Mason (8)
• Carpenter (15)

Nineteen trainees reached journey-level status with the program this year. Seventy-four employees have reached this status since 2018.

Responsibility for the program - from establishing goals to recruitment and training - is a collaboration between MnDOT, the Federal Highway Administration, Tribal Governments, training providers, community-based organizations and construction contractors.

“We are especially grateful to our partners, who continue to help the OJT program and its trainees thrive year after year,” Anderson Kelliher said.

MnDOT’s On-the-Job Training program offers equal opportunity for the training and upgrading of people of color, women and disadvantaged persons toward journey-level status in the highway construction trades.

More information is available at mndot.gov/civilrights/ojt-program.html