Davidson County looking to fill vacancies for 911 operators, EMTs and other positions
Just like many other industries, the national labor shortage has impacted those who work for the local government. Currently, Davidson County is actively recruiting to fill open positions for 911 operators, EMTs, inspectors and in other departments.
“We are down in a variety of areas,” said Davidson County Manager Casey Smith. “Right now, we are running about four or five (911 operators) a shift, but we would like to get back to around seven or eight...It's not just us, at a bigger level you can see how the labor market is affecting everyone because we are competing against other counties for these employees.”
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According to the NC Department of Commerce Labor and Economic Analysis, Davidson County currently has 37 open positions in different departments. The county has increased the hourly wages and overtime pay for some of these positions, but Smith said it is not always money that is the deciding factor for potential employees.
“There are a variety of reasons people don’t want to take a job or leave a job,” said Smith. “It could be the stress, or they don’t want to work certain shifts, or they decided the job is just not for them.... There’s not much we can do about it, but it does put a strain on those left.”
The pandemic has a lot to do with the recent shift in the labor market with more people dropping out of the workforce or switching to jobs where they have flexibility to work from home.
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In a 2020 Employer Needs Survey by the Labor and Economic Analysis Division (LEAD) of the North Carolina Department of Commerce, employers were asked to choose their single biggest workforce challenge and 45 percent selected “finding job candidates”, followed by 31 percent choosing “turnover”.
Smith said the county offers a 12-week training program for 911 telecommunicators, where trainees are supervised while learning to take emergency calls. He said the current program is close to completion and will hopefully fill some of the vacancies.
In an effort to streamline the process, Smith said the county is considering shortening the 911 operators training program to six weeks, making it quicker to get more potential employees.
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“We are looking to see if we can shorten it without sacrificing the training,” said Smith “We have to think that this trend in the labor force might continue, we might continue to see high turnover. So, we want to still meet the standards, but maybe get there quicker.”
Smith said that although there are a few vacancies, there has been no gap in service because current employees are covering shifts and staying on-call for more days. Unfortunately, this is leading to more worker burnout.
“The biggest need right now is to give people some down time,” said Smith. “We are still responding to calls with the same speed and accuracy, still providing the same service but it makes it tougher when you’re constantly on call.”
General news reporter Sharon Myers can be reached at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com. Follow her on Twitter @LexDispatchSM.
This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Davidson County looking to fill vacancies due to labor shortage
