AGENCY TESTIMONY
CUNY's Initiatives to Enhance Civil Service Recruitment and Retention
0:22:23
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3 min
Ludwig Vouitsis, University Director of Civil Service Support at CUNY, presents the university's efforts to improve recruitment and retention for civil service positions. He outlines several initiatives including online exams, increased communication for promotional opportunities, and strategies to address challenges in recruiting for security positions.
- CUNY has implemented online exams for all written tests to enhance accessibility and flexibility for candidates.
- The university is exploring the creation of new training or intern titles to provide opportunities for students and recent graduates.
- CUNY is in the process of requesting approval for over 40 titles to be part of the New York State Health's local program, allowing for faster filling of vacancies.
Ludwig Vouitsis
0:22:23
Thank you, Lauren.
0:22:25
Good morning, honorable chair, De La Rosa and Denowitz, and members of the Committee on Civil Service And Labor, and the Committee on Higher Education.
0:22:34
Thank you for the invitation to speak on Civil Service at CUNY.
0:22:39
My name is Ludwig Vuitzis.
0:22:41
Please call me Lou.
0:22:43
I serve as the University Director of Civil Service Support for the City University of New York, CUNY, attracting and retaining qualified individuals for civil service positions poses ongoing challenges.
0:22:55
Competitive markets and evolving job preferences require strategic measures to ensure a robust and diverse talent pool.
0:23:03
With that being said, CUNY has reviewed our processes and taken several measures to increase our recruitment and retention efforts, including online exams for enhanced accessibility.
0:23:15
To ensure accessibility and flexibility for candidates, all of our written exams are now online, and candidates take the written exam using their personal computers on the day and time of their choosing.
0:23:28
For promotional exams, CUNY has increased communication with the HR teams at the 25 colleges to advertise promotional examination opportunities for staff to increase employee career development.
0:23:43
For public safety and security titles, in terms of recruit men.
0:23:48
In response to challenges posted by recruiting for security titles, campus peace officer or CPO, and campus security assistant or CSA, we have taken several approaches to recruit for these positions Public safety recruitment staff attended in person job fairs providing candidates with information about the positions as well as the use of tablets so they can apply for the exams immediately.
0:24:12
We developed a new website dedicated to recruit CPOs by making the information more attractive and accessible for candidates to explore and apply for the CPO exam.
0:24:23
Continuous recruitment exams, Recognize the urgency in filling security positions.
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We instituted continuous recruitment examinations for campus peace officer and campus security assistant titles.
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This allows candidates to apply for these examinations 24 hours a day 7 days a week, 365 days a year, even on holidays.
0:24:45
The New York State helps local program.
0:24:47
CUNY is in the process of requesting approval from New York State Civil Service Commission to have over 40 CUNY titles in our blue and white collar unions be approved for the New York State Health's local program.
0:24:59
This will allow CUNY to fill vacancies in the approved titles faster while allowing the employee to gain permanent civil service status.
0:25:08
Recruitment of CUNY students.
0:25:10
CUNY is exploring the creation of new training or intern titles in order to create opportunities for students and recent graduates to gain valuable experience.
0:25:20
Which will allow them to trans transition into permanent civil service titles and create a pipeline for CUNY students.
0:25:27
Additionally, we're exploring opportunities to partner with the CUNY internship program and the civil service pathways fellowship program.
0:25:35
To conclude, we believe that by addressing these aspects of recruitment, retention and highlighting the inherent benefits of civil service positions, we can strengthen the foundation of our workforce acuity.
0:25:47
Your support and advocating for policies that recognize and enhance the value of civil service roles at CUNY will undoubtedly contribute to the continued success and growth of our institution.
0:25:59
We appreciate your time and consideration of these matters and look forward to the opportunity to discuss them further.
0:26:05
Thank you.
