El Paso County trying new measures to fill 30 persistently open positions in highway department

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- In the two months since KRDO NewsChannel 13 first reported the story, El Paso County has made little progress in filling 30 open positions within its highway department.

So the county is making changes that hopefully will attract more qualified applicants.

First, the county will drop its requirement that applicants have a Class B commercial driver's license. The cost of enrolling at a truck driving school to gain the training needed for the license -- around $2,000 -- is believed to discourage applicants.

"All we ask is that an applicant have a permit to train for a CDL license," said Kevin Mastin, the county's deputy public works director. "That only costs around $70. We'll train them here on site with qualified trainers we have."

Another change is the county will no longer require applicants to have a high school diploma.

"But we will require them to know enough to do basic computations that they'll need on the job," Mastin said. "And we will help them to get their diploma eventually."

The county has hired six people for the highway department during the past two months, but Mastin said that was balanced out with employees who retired or were promoted.

Mastin also said that many applicants either didn't follow through on the requirements to apply for the job, or they refused to take or couldn't pass a drug test.

"You can't be under the influence of marijuana or any drug," he said.

The county has future plans to work closely with high schools and promote the department as a great career opportunity for students who have no plans to further their education after graduation.

"This is a good job with good pay and benefits," Mastin said. "If you start after high school, you can retire by age 50. You'll get to drive a snowplow and a variety of vehicles, and do a variety of jobs. But the current trend is something that we're seeing across the country."

Good unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic also may be a factor in trying to fill the open positions.

For more information about the job openings featured in this story, visit: http://www.elpasoco.com or call 719-520-7486.