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CAPITOL
State planning job recruitment
BY VALERIE BAUMAN The Associated Press

    At the same time Gov. David Paterson is ordering agencies to restrict hiring during tough fi scal times, the state is preparing for targeted recruitment to replace thousands of mid- and upper-management employees expected to retire in the next five years.
    Civil Service Commissioner Nancy Groenwegen said it’s not a conflict, but a necessity. The hiring is to head off a projected shortage of critical workers, especially highdemand positions such as nurses, engineers, accountants, auditors and information technology specialists.
    The gap in employment is due to a period of attrition under former Govs. Mario Cuomo and George Pataki that wasn’t followed up with heavy recruiting.
    On Monday Paterson called for state agencies to find savings and halt hiring for all but “absolutely essential” positions. Paterson also threatened to issue a hard hiring freeze for agencies that did not meet his savings requirement.
    “The governor has issued a clear directive to the state’s agencies to exercise fiscal restraint, but even as they tighten their belts there are critical positions, such as nurses and engineers, that must be filled even as hiring is reduced,” spokesman Errol Cockfield said in a written statement. “This does not conflict with the governor’s mission to control spending.”
    In the next five years, New York officials expect as much as 30 percent of the state’s work force to retire, taking with them extensive expertise and leaving behind no logical successors. If thousands aren’t hired it could leave a “vacuum of expertise,” said David Ernst, a civil service spokesman.
    The state employs more than 169,000 workers.
    The plan includes the hiring of a public relations firm, but that is being reconsidered since the governor called for reduced spending.
    The Civil Service department — and all state agencies — have public relations employees, but the agency has recognized a need for further expertise. All agencies have until May 16 to submit a plan that will provide a lasting 3.35 percent savings.
    Private employers and the armed forces generally have more money than states to spend on recruitment, Groenwegen said. They also have the benefit of being able to hire people on the spot, while most state jobs require testing and other qualifications before a candidate can be hired.
    To compete with that, the state will have to send recruiters to college campuses and job fairs and reach out to media. They’ve also reorganized a small portion of staff to focus on recruiting issues. Offering extensive benefits, various locations, tuition reimbursement and plenty of opportunity for career variety with the same employer, New York government is trying to play up the good aspects of working for the government.
    “It’s not enough anymore to put your brochures on the table and hope people pick them up,” Ernst said.
    Paterson has set a goal of cutting the budget for the 2009-10 fi scal year by 5 percent to 10 percent before it’s sent to the Legislature.
    Groenwegen said the governor’s mandate challenges the department and state agencies to be more selective in their recruitment.
    “The loss of this [retiring] generation is going to be hard on this state, but it’s going to force us to think creatively,” she said.