In an effort to help young people find jobs, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. has created the California Transportation and Logistics Institute. Al Shepetuk, a former consultant, is now president of the newly formed organization.
The institute works with both businesses and local colleges to promote professions in five different fields: transportation, logistics support, warehousing, supply chain management, and safety and security.
“Industry leaders define what jobs are available and what skills are needed for that job,” Shepetuk said. “Then we work with the community and state colleges to create appropriate curriculum for these positions.”
At the beginning of the year, college leaders started to discuss what courses were already in place. Now CTLI is determining what new classes need to be created to train people for widely available jobs.
Shepetuk believes one of the most important features of CTLI will be its Internet accessibility. A student or an unemployed person can go online, put in their zip code, and select among five categories. They can choose among the land, air, water, or rail industries and the site will tell them what jobs are available in the area and what qualifications are necessary for the job.
“It will be like Monster.com,” Shepetuk said. “But it will inform these people if they need, for instance, a welding certificate.”
Shepetuk feels getting industry members involved is the hardest part about launching CTLI. He hopes that there will soon be more direct relationships between businesses and colleges to create company specific courses.
Before undertaking this project, Shepetuk had been working with manufacturing and distribution companies for 30 years, with 20 years as a consultant at firms such as Arthur Anderson.
Shepetuk got his first taste of local government experience in 1994 when he led a six-month review of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation authority after funds were frozen on Red Line construction. This led to work for the Los Angeles Unified School District, which sparked his interest in education.
“When I saw this job I thought it was created just for me,” Shepetuk said. “But it took me about three months to convince them of that.”
In addition to his decades of consulting experience, Shepetuk holds a bachelor’s and master’s in aeronautical engineering from New York University and an M.B.A. from Stanford. He also served as an officer in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.
In his free time, Shepetuk enjoys working in the garden of his Redondo Beach home where he lives with his wife Lisa and two sons.
Sean Chalk
