Annual snow school began Tuesday for 75 El Paso County public works employees
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- With lows in the upper 30s Monday morning, it reminds us that winter weather is closer than we may think.
But El Paso County Public Works crews aren't waiting for it arrive, to prepare for it.
They're about to participate in the county's annul snowplow training -- called Snow School by the county.
At public works headquarters on Akers Drive, near the intersection of Marksheffel Road and Constitution Avenue on the eastern edge of Colorado Springs, 75 employees are taking part in this snow school.
They will serve either as drivers or instructors.
The first day of training started Tuesday at 9 a.m.; employees will train for ten hours each day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
It's easier to learn when the weather is warm and sunny, instead of cold and wet.
But employees will get to work in snow and ice, and the cold, soon enough; the goal is to be ready when winter weather does arrive.
Drivers will learn their plowing routes, how to perform maintenance on their equipment, and gain experience installing tire chains.
One of the trainees is Gabriel Ortiz, 18, who recently became a full-time employee after graduating from high school; he first became interested in a public works career last year during a county program to recruit high school students.
"I didn't know where I was going to go after high school," he said. "I had no idea, no plans. I thought I was going to be flipping a burger. I went through a bunch of stations and they showed me what it's like and what they do and instantly, I just fell in love with it."
Scott Hall, a training manager for 14 years, said that high school students are an underutilized resource; the public works department has struggled with worker shortages and employee retention since the start of the COVID-19.
"We're a lot closer now, to where we want to be," he explained. "We used to be 25 to 30 people short and now we're down to around 12 short. And fewer employees are leaving for other jobs."
The county is finally benefitting from changes made early in the pandemic; the hiring requirement to have a high school diploma was dropped, although the county helps employees to acquire a GED; the county offers to train new hires on acquiring the required commercial driver's license, saving them the expense of getting it before applying to the county; and county commissioners approved an increase in salary and benefits for hirees.
The county's Snow School comes a week after 130 public works employees in Colorado Springs completed their annual two-day snowplow training.
