Season 5, Episode 5: Celebrating National Apprenticeship Day with MTA NYC Transit

04/22/25 • 42 min

In honor of National Apprenticeship Day, APTA is spotlighting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Elevators & Escalators Apprenticeship Program at New York City Transit (NYCT). With a dedicated team of 400 employees maintaining over 600 pieces of equipment, MTA’s program is an outstanding example of how to grow and sustain a skilled workforce.

This episode of The Transit Authority podcast to features:

Assistant Chief, Damion Thomas, who began his career as an elevator and escalator apprentice and shares his journey;
Supervisor (Lisette), maintainer (Robert), and an apprentice (Singh) to share their career journey ;
Chief, Stephen Carson, who outlines the steps to launch an apprenticeship program, which include:
- Conducting a needs assessment to identify the skills your organization requires.
- Building relationships with local and state government officials to align with labor laws and codes.
- Embedding mentorship into the program by pairing apprentices with maintainers, supervisors, and other seasoned professionals.

This episode of The Transit Authority podcast to features:

Assistant Chief, Damion Thomas, who began his career as an elevator and escalator apprentice and shares his journey;
Supervisor (Lisette), maintainer (Robert), and an apprentice (Singh) to share their career journey ;
Chief, Stephen Carson, who outlines the steps to launch an apprenticeship program, which include:
- Conducting a needs assessment to identify the skills your organization requires.
- Building relationships with local and state government officials to align with labor laws and codes.
- Embedding mentorship into the program by pairing apprentices with maintainers, supervisors, and other seasoned professionals.

Previous Episode

Season 5, Episode 4: A Next Gen Recruitment Strategy That Works: HNTB’s Internship Program

APTA is celebrating National Internship Awareness Month by featuring HNTB’s successful program. If you are ready to learn more about a strategic approach to organically recruit the next generation of talent, while engaging your staff in fulfilling work, tune into this episode of APTA’s official podcast, The Transit Authority!

HNTB interns are assigned to real projects with tasks to develop their technical skills, while expanding their industry knowledge and growing their professional network. The projects provide interns with the experience they need to get hired. Taking this approach has allowed HNTB to grow the program to include 569 interns to work, learn, and grow at the firm. Dive into the framework of innovative solutions and best practices with Yvonne Lopez-Diaz, Amanda Bergmann, Lauren Le Pere, Steve Flormann, and former intern Giovanna Angiolini who is now an HNTB newly hired employee. The team shares from each of their perspectives to tap us into the secrets of a best-in-class internship program

If you have a workforce success story to share, email our team at [email protected] today!