Metro News Release
For immediate release: October 17, 2007
Metro Finds Next Generation of Employees at D.C. High School
Britney Reed and Tori Whitfield got a jump on their professional careers in high school. The students went to school at Cardozo High School during the morning and took classes in the afternoon at a specialized Metro job training program.
The two-year program started in 2005 as a partnership between Metro, DC Department of Transportation and DC Public Schools. Nine students graduated from the first class (June 2007) and Reed and Whitfield are the first to become Metro employees. Other program graduates are attending college.
The specific program offered at Cardozo High School grooms the students for careers in rail, bus, and elevator and escalator maintenance, specializing in fields like electronic track communications, automatic train control and automatic fare collection.
“I didn’t have to look for a job at a fast-food restaurant,” Whitfield said.
“We had an advantage over everybody else,” Reed, added.
Metro developed the curriculum and supplied the equipment, including computers, desktop electronic kits and specialized tools for hands-on lab work. The program costs approximately $300,000 a year to run, which is reimbursed to Metro by the District of Columbia.
"The vision behind this program is now a reality for these two fine youth," said Jim Graham, Metro Board member. "They have been able to seamlessly shift from high school students to the workforce with skills in high demand," he added.
Reed and Whitfield, both 18, agree. Both employees are now part of Metro’s two-year training program. “The program has taught us good study skills, to take our work seriously and to come to work on time,” said Reed. “When the trainer asked basic technical questions, I already knew the answer. I have a smile on the inside,” she added.
“I’m proud of myself,” Whitfield said.
The high/school jobs program, designed for eligible juniors and seniors, accommodates students with two program instructors – one Metro technical skills employee and one Cardozo High School instructor. Juniors take a principles of technology course and an electronics/electricity course on the Cardozo campus. Seniors spend about three hours per day at Metro’s Carmen E. Turner Maintenance and Training Facility in a custom-designed course covering advanced electronics, workplace safety and basic tools.
“We give them projects that are meaningful to them,” said Cynthia Gannaway, Manager of Operations Training. “You get to see their transformation from the beginning of their senior year to the end of the program.”
Finishing the program, however, does not secure a job at Metro. Once they graduated, Reed and Whitfield started the job application process. They took a four-hour test and a personal interview. They passed with high marks. They would like to work at Metro’s automatic fare collection division, which oversees faregates and fare vending machines, when they finish the training program.
They are both making plans for the future to attend college, and purchase both a car and a house.
They are Metro’s new generation of employees.
News release issued at 12:00 am, October 17, 2007.