Automated Technologies: DOT Should Take Steps to Ensure Its Workforce Has Skills Needed to Oversee Safety
Fast Facts
Automated technologies in planes, trains, and passenger vehicles can perform tasks without the need for human operators—like crash avoidance systems that automatically slow cars down to avoid a collision. The Department of Transportation needs a workforce with skills related to these technologies in order to ensure the technologies are safe to use.
The department has made some progress hiring people with these skills but hasn't evaluated its recruitment strategies. Officials also haven't fully assessed whether current staff in key areas like cybersecurity have the skills they need.
Our recommendations address these issues.
Highlights
What GAO Found
Stakeholders GAO interviewed said that federal oversight of automated technologies—such as those that control a function or task of a plane, train, or vehicle without human intervention—requires regulatory expertise as well as engineering, data analysis, and cybersecurity skills. Stakeholders also stated that as automated systems become more common across transportation modes, overseeing them will require understanding vehicle operating systems, software code, and the vast amounts of data produced by these systems to ensure their safety.
Skills Needed to Oversee the Safety of Automated Technologies, according to Stakeholders
The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Departmental Office of Human Resources Management has identified most skills DOT needs to oversee automated technologies, but it has not fully assessed whether its workforce has these skills. Through its workforce planning efforts, DOT identified many of the skills cited by stakeholders as important for overseeing automated technologies—regulatory expertise, engineering, and data analysis. In 2016 and 2020, DOT surveyed staff in related positions and identified gaps in some of these skills, including regulatory expertise. However, DOT did not survey staff or assess skill gaps in data analysis or cybersecurity positions important to automated technology oversight. As a result, DOT lacks critical information needed to identify skill gaps and ensure key relevant staff are equipped to oversee the safety of these technologies now and in the future.
DOT developed strategies to address some but not all gaps in skills needed to oversee automated technologies. For example, DOT implemented some recruiting strategies and established hiring goals as a means of closing gaps identified in the 2016 survey and plans to continue these efforts in light of the 2020 survey. However, DOT has not tracked the progress of strategies implemented to close skill gaps since the 2016 survey, nor has it implemented training strategies. Accordingly, some skill gaps related to overseeing the safety of automated technologies will likely persist in DOT's workforce.
Why GAO Did This Study
Automated technologies in planes, trains, and passenger vehicles are in use today and likely to become increasingly widespread. While these technologies hold promise, accidents involving them demonstrate potential safety challenges. DOT is responsible for overseeing the safety of all modes of transportation.
This report addresses: (1) stakeholders' perspectives on the skills required to oversee automated technologies; (2) the extent to which DOT has identified and assessed the skills it needs to oversee these technologies; and (3) the extent to which DOT has developed strategies to address any gaps in skills. GAO reviewed relevant literature and DOT workforce planning documents, and interviewed DOT human capital officials, selected modal administrations, and stakeholders, including transportation associations and technology developers. GAO selected modal administrations based in part on the prevalence of automated technologies.
Recommendations
GAO is making four recommendations, including that DOT: (1) assess skill gaps in key occupations involved in overseeing automated technologies and (2) regularly measure the progress of strategies implemented to close skill gaps. DOT concurred with three recommendations and partially concurred with one on measuring progress. GAO clarified this recommendation and believes its implementation is warranted.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | The Director of DOT's Department of Human Resources should complete efforts to identify all cybersecurity occupations across the agency, and incorporate those related to overseeing the cybersecurity of automated technologies into its workforce planning efforts, such as the Workforce Transformation Chart. (Recommendation 1) |
DOT agreed with this recommendation. DOT completed identifying all cybersecurity occupations across the agency and had identified more than 2,000 positions with duties related to the safety of automated technologies. In March 2024, DOT noted that it planned to incorporate these positions into its Information Technology Workforce Plan by October 2024. To fully implement this recommendation, DOT needs to complete this plan, which we will review when it is available. GAO will continue to monitor DOT's efforts to implement this recommendation.
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| Department of Transportation |
Priority Rec.
The Director of DOT's Department of Human Resources should assess skill gaps in key occupations that are involved in overseeing the safety of automated technologies. (Recommendation 2) |
DOT agreed with this recommendation. As of March 2024, DOT officials noted that the agency had finished identifying which of its positions that oversee the safety of automated technologies require cybersecurity skills. DOT officials also noted that they developed a tool to assess competencies and skill gaps within these positions and would deploy that tool and analyze the results by June 2024. While cybersecurity skills are important for overseeing the safety of automated technologies, other skills-such as data analysis-are also important. To fully implement this recommendation, DOT needs to complete its plan to assess skill gaps related to cybersecurity and to also assess skill gaps in relevant data analysis positions. Implementing this recommendation would help DOT better understand the expertise that exists within its workforce and enable DOT to address any gaps to ensure that its workforce can effectively oversee the safety of automated technologies. GAO will continue to monitor DOT's efforts to implement this recommendation.
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| Department of Transportation | The Director of DOT's Department of Human Resources should regularly measure the progress of strategies implemented to close skill gaps—such as on an annual basis—and ensure modal administrations offer training to close those gaps. (Recommendation 3) |
DOT partially agreed with this recommendation. In March 2024, DOT noted that it was continuing to design efforts to monitor and measure mitigation of competency skill gaps by pairing assessed skill gaps with learning content and courses. DOT estimated that it would finish building a "competency model" by June 30, 2024 that will allow individual managers to monitor and track skill gap closure by tracking course completion. We will review the competency model when it is available. GAO will continue to monitor DOT's efforts to implement this recommendation.
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| Department of Transportation | The Director of DOT's Department of Human Resources should collect and analyze information on the effectiveness of recruiting strategies, such as special payment authorities, in attracting staff to occupations that oversee the safety of automated technologies, and share effective strategies with modal administrations. (Recommendation 4) |
DOT agreed with this recommendation. In April 2024, DOT noted that it needed more time to provide an update to us on this recommendation. We will review DOT's recruitment report or any information the Department provides when it is available.
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