Meet Howard

Workforce Challenge

Howard Gelman is an electrician with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, in Philadelphia. As an electrician, he faces an issue common to everyone in his field: keeping up with technology that is always changing. As Howard said, “I wasn’t trained in all of this equipment in tech school 25 years ago.”

Workforce Solution

In order to stay on top of the latest advancements in the equipment particular to his job, Howard took part in a two-day course offered through the Southeast Pennsylvania Logistics and Transportation Industry Partnership, or IP. The course, focused on variable frequency drives, helped him to better understand and control the new technology and equipment in the motors at SEPTA. It was part theory and part hands-on training.

Outcomes & Benefits

Howard said, “The ability to not go in cold on machinery you’re responsible for is the best thing to come out of the IP training.” Staying up to speed on the equipment and continually retraining is paramount to succeeding in his job.

IP funding pays for the majority of specialized training at SEPTA. What’s available in-house is generally not as focused on individual worker needs. “IP training is incredibly important to us and ultimately allows us to keep jobs in-house,” said Howard.

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