The county will hold two outreach sessions regarding Civil Service employment opportunities with county government — one at Utica’s King School on Thursday and one at the Plumley Building at Mohawk Valley Community College’s Rome campus on Thursday, Dec. 3. Both events will begin at 6 p.m. and conclude at 8 p.m.

"One of the very important ways that we can achieve the diversity we need in our workforce is to take some pro-active efforts to ensure that all parts of our Oneida County community know about Civil Service testing and all the steps along the way such as looking for job announcements, filing applications, and taking required tests," said County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. "The Civil Service process is a lot more complicated than simply walking up to look for work, and we want to make sure that the Cornhill community — and all parts of our county — understand the lead time involved and the full application process."

"Diversity is a very important part of the workforce," said David Mathis, director of the Office of Workforce Development. "These sessions are a first step at broadening the diversity of the county workforce so that many people who may not have considered Civil Service positions with County Government will take the tests that are the first step to finding a job."

Picente said that although county government has no immediate plans for anything more than the replacement of people leaving essential positions, he also noted that the county workforce will be impacted as Baby Boomers approach retirement age. "The Civil Service process, by which we fill most positions, requires that people be aware of upcoming tests long before openings exists," Picente said. "We are conducting this outreach to encourage people who have an interest in Civil Service positions with the county to follow the announcements and take the tests so that as openings emerge, we can have the advantage to looking over a diverse collection of top applicants for the positions we need to fill."

Picente urged all county residents interested in Civil Service employment to keep themselves updated by checking the county’s web site — www.ocgov.net. "What I would like to see in the coming years is an increasingly diverse applicant pool so that as we go through the fair and competitive Civil Service appointment process, we will increase the diversity of our workforce to help us better serve the diverse populations of Oneida County."