ORANGE PARK – Low unemployment is forcing employers to get creative on how they find employees to fill their open positions.One such employer is the Clay County School District, which held a …
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ORANGE PARK – Low unemployment is forcing employers to get creative on how they find employees to fill their open positions.
One such employer is the Clay County School District, which held a job fair at the Orange Park Mall last weekend to try and fill a number of open bus driver positions.
The school district is looking to fill twelve to fifteen positions as its need for bus drivers grows.
Derald Sweatt, director of Transportation for the Clay County School District, said that they are looking to fill as many positions as possible.
The need for new bus drivers comes as the unemployment rate in Clay County seems to continue dropping as the national and state economy improves. According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, unemployment in Clay County as of July was 3.6 percent, a drop from 4.1 percent from the same period a year ago.
The school district is offering to pay for the Commercial Driver’s License training to those who are hired. The state of Florida requires a class-B CDL to drive a school bus. CDLcareernow.com says that this type of training can cost between $1,500 to $8,000 depending on the school. Driver pay ranges from $12.65 to $14.60 per hour.
The school district is also offering a $1,000 training bonus as an incentive after a person has been driving for 90 days. He said they would like applicants to have at least 7 years of driving experience.
So, is the school district’s creative hiring method just one of many organizations are using to find good employees? What’s the whole story?
Candace Moody, vice president of communication for Fleming Island-based CareerSource Northeast Florida, said that while unemployment is low, it may not be telling the whole story. She said that a big problem in the current job market is underemployment. She said that people will work multiple part time jobs rather than working a full-time job.
This is a new trend that is starting to pop-up more and more as the job market becomes tighter.
“Employers are feeling the pain of a very tight market,” said Moody. She added that it’s now on the employers rather than applicants to attract candidates to their positions.
Moody believes this is a trend we can expect to see more often as the market becomes even tighter.
Sweatt said bus driver jobs are ideal for stay-at-home parents.
“They work when their kid is at school and they are off when they are not in school,” said Sweatt.
If you are interested in applying for the bus driver position, you can apply HERE!