PennDOT searching for seasonal employees amid competitive job market
PennDOT is looking for workers in Greene, Fayette and Washington counties. (Photo by Mike Jones)
District 12 Executive Director Bill Kovach, far left, stands with PennDOT employees at the transportation agency蘑菇视频 booth at the Washington County Fair. The agency visited the fair last week to recruit seasonal and full-time workers in Greene, Washington and Fayette counties. The employees, from left, are Melissa Maczko, Eric Gaskill, Rob Orsatti, Angie Walters and Wayne Livingston. (Photo by Mike Jones)
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Facing an ultra competitive job market, the state Department of Transportation is trying new methods to recruit permanent and seasonal workers for a variety of open positions.
PennDOT workers manned an exhibit last week at the Washington County Fair trying to encourage people to take job applications for numerous openings as equipment operators, snowplow drivers and other mechanical positions.
鈥淭he idea is there are a lot of visitors who come to the fair,鈥� District 12 Executive Director Bill Kovach said while joining the employees at their booth. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to get some visibility and recruit for key positions.鈥�
PennDOT is looking to fill many seasonal positions to bolster its ranks before winter arrives in order to have a full complement of workers to treat the roads when it snows.
Washington County蘑菇视频 maintenance staff is searching for 22 full-time equipment operators and 18 temporary drivers, along with open positions for five mechanics and a welder. In comparison, Greene and Fayette counties are only looking for temporary equipment operators with 14 and 28 open positions respectively.
鈥淓very county蘑菇视频 different,鈥� Kovach said.
Those temporary positions in the department蘑菇视频 winter maintenance program are especially popular for retirees, farmers or people who typically work summer jobs. The flexibility of the position allows people with a commercial driver蘑菇视频 license to make money during the colder months when outdoor work is not as prevalent.
Ron Orsatti, a PennDOT assistance maintenance manager, noted that the current job market has made it more difficult to attract workers, so having greater visibility at a popular event like the fair can have an important impact on recruiting. The temporary positions can also quickly lead to permanent ones.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 been very positive for all the positions,鈥� he said about the interest expressed in PennDOT jobs.
The presence at the fair also offered great publicity for the transportation agency that doesn鈥檛 normally get compliments from the motoring public. Children who walked into the exhibit could sign their names onto a sparkling yellow snowplow, while fluorescent orange construction banners surrounded heavy equipment to remind drivers to slow down in work zones.
鈥淚f it gets their attention to these flags and signs 鈥� it can help with road safety,鈥� Orsatti said. 鈥淚t蘑菇视频 been positive. Where we work, we don鈥檛 get a lot of compliments. We鈥檙e getting a lot this week.鈥�
A full list of positions can be found online at www.employment.pa.gov or by calling each individual county maintenance office. Fayette County can be reached at 724-439-7470; the phone number to Greene County is 724-627-6131; and people can call Washington County at 724-223-4480.