Since 2018, BART has had great success through its partnership with Cypress Mandela, a nonprofit training center that works within the community to help pull its students out of poverty by providing free training and help with job placement. BART leverages Cypress Mandela by adding one week of specialized training on in-demand transit jobs to its existing training program. BART has promoted four transit-specific trades jobs: track worker, structures worker, electrical helper, and grounds worker. It also sends in recruiters to teach program participants about the agency’s application process and to talk about how they can add the experience they gained at Cypress Mandela to their resumes. Cypress Mandela provides its students and graduates assistance with job readiness and getting started with the basics. Once hired, BART managers work closely with Cypress Mandela to support onboarding and retaining the new hires.

Read the article on page 14 of APTA’s How to Serve the Underserved guide.