HELP Program Assists Tioga County NY in Filling Vacant Jobs, Program Waives Civil Service Exam
TIOGA COUNTY, NY (WENY) -- In Tioga County New York, the county is looking to hire for multiple positions. The civil service exam is proving to be a hurdle for many applicants but with the HELP Program, it can help fill vacancies without people having to take the test.
"The HELP (Hiring Emergency Limited Placement) Program is an initiative by the state civil service office to reduce the need for certain titles to have to test to become eligible for hiring at the county level. It opens up the doorway to more people being able to access becoming employees," said Commissioner for Social Services for Tioga County, NY, Shawn Yetter.
The HELP Program is a 12-month temporary program that allows Tioga County New York to hire people for jobs like caseworkers, community service workers, public safety dispatcher trainees, and social welfare examiners. Three of the positions fall under the Department of Social Services. Yetter said the HELP Program proved beneficial.
"So far through the HELP Program, we’ve been able to hire nine people since it was initiated. Which is significant for us [because] our total full-time staffing is 88 employees. At one point before HELP started, we had a 30-percent vacancy rate, which is incredibly high and is very stressful for the existing staff. Because of HELP and the initiation, we were able to turn the vacancy rate around, and we’re down to about an eight-percent vacancy rate. We’ve made significant progress and it is through the assistance of not having to wait for the testing process," said Yetter.
Yetter believes the civil service exam is outdated, and said the HELP Program is the first step to revamping it. He said some people have test anxiety who would be great caseworkers but might not be able to pass the civil service test.
"It just eliminates a barrier for people in those three positions who have test anxiety [and don't] want to go through that process. [It] allows them to come in, be certified, and not have to worry about the test results," said Yetter.
Since the HELP Program started in late September 2023, some of the positions have been filled, but others are still open.
"As of right now, we’ve appointed three [people] for [the] caseworker [positions]. [For] our community services worker [positions] we appointed two and filled all of the vacancies. The same [happened] with [the] social welfare examiner [where] we appointed four and we filled them all. [The] public safety dispatcher trainee [position] we appointed one through the HELP Program but we still have two available openings," said Senior Civil Service Technician for Tioga County, NY, Kelly Quick.
While the positions available through the HELP Program waive the civil service exam, there are still some other requirements and/or qualifications people have to meet, like having a college degree.
To apply and see the job descriptions under the HELP Program, click here.
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