The North Carolina Department of Transportation says that 21% of its jobs are vacant. Agency leaders hope two new programs will help fill most of those positions.
NCDOT will offer on-the-job training and apprenticeships for positions that don't require college degrees, like mechanics and maintenance technicians. There's also a need for crew on coastal ferries, according to human resources director Amanda Olive.
"With the ferry positions, you have to have a certain number of individuals based off Coast Guard regulations and Homeland Security regulations to be able to maintain the boats and run them," Olive said.
Details are available on the career's section of NCDOT's website. Olive says there are openings in every part of the state.
"We know Durham County has a large number of vacancies in these classifications," Olive said. "They are sometimes anywhere between 40 to 50%. Given the fact that we have a lot of competition in the Durham area for these types of jobs, but that may not be the case in Edenton where we also have a division office."
The recruitment push comes as many state agencies are struggling to fill vacant positions.
Leaders, such as Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, have asked the General Assembly for additional funds for employee raises, but the General Assembly has been reluctant to fulfill those requests.
