What types of training activities can be funded under this program?

All training supported by the FTA grant must be related to developing or carrying out a State’s SSO program under MAP-21, and each State should clearly demonstrate how each training course proposed in its grant does this. FTA will approve the training activities through the grant application process.
FTA encourages each SSO Agency (SSOA) to develop and implement a training plan that identifies skill gaps and appropriate training to fill those gaps. In particular, FTA encourages States to focus training activities on Safety Management System (SMS) training, which will be offered by FTA, and technical training related to the operating conditions of the rail transit systems the State oversees.
Eligible training may be offered by the US Department of Transportation’s Transportation Safety Institute, the National Transit Institute, post-secondary institutions, non-profit organizations, industry organizations, or other third-party providers. The training program does not have a post-secondary degree-seeking purpose, and as noted above, all training funded through this grant must be related to developing or carrying out a State’s SSO program under MAP-21. Thus, FTA does not anticipate that such degrees will be a typical result of training funded by the grant.
FTA is developing an interim safety certification training program, as required under 49 U.S.C. 5329(c), that may provide further guidance on eligible training activities. Once established, this interim program will become the basis for determining eligible training activities in future funding years. FTA expects to publish a proposed interim program for comment in Spring 2014.