A changing workforce requires change in how water and wastewater agencies recruit people to accommodate growth and fill voids left by retirement.
Each year the National Association of Clean Water Agencies presents Workforce Development Awards to recognize outstanding programs that help meet needs for qualified, diverse and knowledgeable water professionals.
For 2023, NACWA conducted video interviews with leaders from the six Workforce Development Award-winning organizations. During the interviews, these professionals dive into the challenges they faced, the results they achieved and the lessons they learned about recruiting and retaining staff. Here are a few highlights of the videos:
Des Moines (Iowa) Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority. The authority launched an apprenticeship program in 2009. Recruiting operators who already had large-facility experience and Iowa licensure had been extremely difficult. Students begin by taking classes at the local community college and finish with an apprenticeship certificate and about two-thirds of the credits needed for an associate degree in water and wastewater treatment. Operators then are able to train new people who already grasp the basics of the trade.
Hampton Roads (Virginia) Sanitation District. Facing a wave of retirements, the utility formed a partnership with a local job corps program that has delivered a group of promising young operators. The program covers eight trades, and apprentices are exposed to a wide variety of career options. Each year the program includes 100 to 120 apprentices. The role of the job corps includes working with school systems to identify prospective apprentices, helping them through the application process and helping the district with interviewing and selection.
Jefferson County (Alabama) Commission. This utility’s apprenticeship program takes young people with no experience and guides them through a two-year process to earn Grade 2, 3 and 4 certifications. The commission also started a high school internship program for wastewater treatment to introduce students to the profession. One aspect of the program is to improve and sustain workforce diversity. Plant tours are an early component of the recruitment process. Nearly two-thirds of the 59 apprentices hired since the program’s inception are still with the commission and have full-time positions.
Madison (Wisconsin) Metropolitan Sewerage District. Diversity was a key aim of this district’s recruitment program, which reached out to under-represented groups in order to attract prospective team members into a two-year training program. The district added new positions for trainers to help drive the program. Leaders found that a more diverse workforce reflecting the character of the community infused the team with different perspectives and new ways of solving problems. During the COVID pandemic, the district instituted paid leave to encourage team members to stay home if they contracted the disease.
Mount Pleasant (South Carolina) Waterworks. This utility went through a rebranding aimed at aligning the workforce behind the mission and goals. Team members were deeply involved in the creation of a new strategic plan. For leadership, close communication with and investment in staff was key to achieving buy-in. The strategic plan was built on the I-Values of innovation, inspiration, integrity and involvement, and the We-Statements of what the team members intend to accomplish together.
King County (Washington) Wastewater Treatment Division. This apprenticeship program helps replace retiring team members with qualified people trained internally and ensures that the workforce looks like the community the division serves. The program sees more than 70% of trainees become long-term team members in the division. The program sought to remove unintended barriers in recruitment and hiring and so attract a larger pool of candidates. Barriers included requirements for associate degrees or wastewater certification. Now people can apply with no background in wastewater and no higher education.
You can visit nacwa.org/news-publications/summer-2023/2023-sa-workforce-interviews to view all six videos, which range from about nine to 15 minutes long. By hearing from these innovators you’re likely to pick up ideas that can help you recruit more successfully and build an effective workforce for today and years to come.
