There are two new programs the N.C. Department of Transportation is launching to help fill job vacancies at the state agency.
Hundreds of openings are available statewide due to promotions and retirements. It’s led to a 21% vacancy rate, according to Amanda Olive, NCDOT’s human resources director.
Entry-level transportation workers are needed and receive a starting salary of $38,777 and college degrees aren’t needed to retain the positions. Employees receive on-the-job training, with options to move up in the positions.
“You can come in and you will get your experience on the job,” Olive said in a press release. “You will learn the different skills that you need to know, depending on what area you’re in.
On-the-job training is received through the department’s Office of Civil Rights, offered for two weeks over the summer to help prepare high-school students for construction industry careers.
Coming this fall, the department will began another initiative — Transportation Apprenticeships Program. It has a goal to hire 100 high-school graduates to be transportation workers and engineering technicians. They will continue as full-time NCDOT employees after they complete their apprenticeships.
“During employee orientation, I like to tell people, the world is your oyster, because you can work your way up to anything,” Olive said in the release.
The NCDOT cites an example of employee Mike Fisher, who began after high school, operating small equipment, constructing secondary roadways and performing maintenance. He was promoted to engineering technician I in 2008, before earning an associate degree in engineering technology.
Today, Fisher supervises 30 people and helps assign work for bridges, inspection review reports and more.
“I think anybody who comes to NCDOT can have a good, happy career, if they choose to,” Fisher said.
For more information about the programs offered by NCDOT, click here.
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