BY LEON B. CREWS

Sentinel Staff Writer

Thanks to an award of $234,281 from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Innovative Transit Workforce Development Program, a recruitment and training partnership was formed.

Now, the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc. (CDC of Tampa) and HART have joined to implement “Meeting Today’s and Tomorrow’s Job Needs in Mass Transit.”

The CDC of Tampa was the direct recipient of the grant.

CDC of Tampa CEO, Ernest Coney, said they are hoping this partnership will become a long term relationship.

“The partnership will also result in livable wage jobs ad career paths that will transform the area into a vibrant and strong community.

Coney said the project will recruit, train and employ up to 30 people in the transit industry, including operations and maintenance.

“The criteria for eligibility is still being established as far as potential applicants are concerned. Sometime within the first quarter of this year, we’ll be ready to roll out the program.

“We envision the funding will start a formal partnership to help provide training for those who need it, and not just with HART.”

HART said they will soon begin using new technologies and advances practices, such as transit signal priority and compressed natural gas vehicles, to keep their local public transit system modern and environmentally sustainable.

The CDC of Tampa will provide enrolled candidates with certification based transit training, job placement services, and case management services.