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VIDEO: ‘We were going to have to build a new workforce right here in King County’: How an award-winning approach to workforce development produced a new generation of wastewater talent

Summary

Facing a wave of retirements in the wastewater treatment industry, King County's Wastewater Treatment Division transformed its approach to workforce development to recruit and train the next generation of talent.

News

An award-winning approach to recruiting and training talent is providing King County with a new generation of skilled tradespeople to operate the region’s wastewater system and protect Puget Sound.

The Operator-in-Training Program has filled a critical labor shortage by filling more than 70 wastewater operator positions and increasing the racial and gender diversity of the Wastewater Treatment Division’s workforce.

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies honored the program with its National Environmental Achievement Award for “initiatives that have made a remarkable impact on environmental protection, the advancement of the water sector, and the betterment of their communities.”

“Our transformative approach to workforce development has produced the next generation of highly skilled operators we need to protect the water quality of King County and Puget Sound,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “The award-winning Operator-in-Training Program demonstrates our ability to be nimble and responsive to the current labor market, making it possible for us to recruit, train, and promote talented professionals committed to environmental stewardship.”

About 25 percent of the Wastewater Treatment Division’s workforce is eligible to retire in the next five years. The traditional approach to recruiting operators who were already formally educated and certified was ineffective, prompting the division to develop a new strategy for recruitment and in-house training. 

The Wastewater Treatment Division established a six-month training academy with paid, on-the-job positions that prepares candidates for state certification and a path toward long-term career-service employment. Here are a few ways the Operator-in-Training Program applies a new approach:

  • It focuses on technical and on-the-job-training, removing barriers to entry by recruiting candidates who have transferable skills and a strong work ethic.  
  • Recruitment focuses on attracting talent from local communities through job fairs and trade shows, which is growing a workforce that reflects the communities the division serves.  
  • It establishes cohorts so recruits have peers starting at the same time, which women and people of color said made the experience more inclusive.
  • The curriculum offers field trips and other programming that introduce the trainees to the underlying principles of water quality and resource recovery so they have a well-rounded understanding of how their work contributes to environmental stewardship.

Seventy percent of trainees have become long-term employees at the Wastewater Treatment Division. The program has also contributed to King County surpassing the national averages for employees who are women and people of color.

“There’s a lot of competition out there for skilled and talented people, and we know that we need to move beyond traditional forms of recruitment to fill critical roles that protect our natural environment, said King County Chief People Officer Whitney Abrams. “The Operator-in-Training Program is an outstanding example of our ability to be creative and successful in the current labor market.  This is the kind of effective model I want to replicate elsewhere in King County.”

“The effectiveness of the infrastructure we’re building and modernizing relies on our ability to develop the talented workforce that can operate it,” said Kamuron Gurol, director of the Wastewater Treatment Division. “The nationwide shortage of skilled labor is not unique to King County, but our staff’s innovative response to it is. I’m grateful for all those employees who helped us bring on new talent that better reflects the communities we serve.”

The Wastewater Treatment Division is the largest division of King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks with a mission to protect public health and the environment by collecting and cleaning wastewater while recovering resources for a healthy and thriving Puget Sound region.

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Resources

Quotes

Our transformative approach to workforce development has produced the next generation of highly skilled operators we need to protect the water quality of King County and Puget Sound. The award-winning Operator-in-Training Program demonstrates our ability to be nimble and responsive to the current labor market, making it possible for us to recruit, train, and promote talented professionals committed to environmental stewardship.

Dow Constantine King County Executive

There’s a lot of competition out there for skilled and talented people, and we know that we need to move beyond traditional forms of recruitment to fill critical roles that protect our natural environment. The Operator-in-Training Program is an outstanding example of our ability to be creative and successful in the current labor market. This is the kind of effective model I want to replicate elsewhere in King County.

Whitney Abrams King County Chief People Officer

The effectiveness of the infrastructure we’re building and modernizing relies on our ability to develop the talented workforce that can operate it. The nationwide shortage of skilled labor is not unique to King County, but our staff’s innovative response to it is. I’m grateful for all those employees who helped us bring on new talent that better reflects the communities we serve.

Kamuron Gurol Director, King County Wastewater Treatment Division

Contact

Akiko Oda, Wastewater Treatment Division, 206-263-4190

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