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Q&A
Shift in approach to hiring halls and DCAS's current role
0:50:20
ยท
154 sec
Council Member Restler questions the shift away from city government-focused hiring halls, and Deputy Commissioner Porter explains DCAS's current role in supporting broader hiring efforts.
- DCAS now supports overall hiring efforts led by SBS, encouraging city agency participation in hiring events
- DCAS Office of Citywide Recruitment attends events to provide information about civil service jobs
- DCAS tracks engagement at their tables during hiring events, but overall data is handled by SBS
Lincoln Restler
0:50:20
Yeah, I didn't think so.
0:50:22
But I appreciate your honesty.
0:50:24
I'd like to shift to hiring halls, which I just have to say I thought was one of the really wonderful cool things that Decas had been doing and loved you all taking the lead on it and thought that they were really successful.
0:50:38
Why has DCAS moved away from city government focused hiring halls?
Katrina Porter
0:50:44
So DCAS, we're here to support the overall hiring for whole effort being led by SBS.
0:50:50
So our role is to encourage city agencies to participate in the hiring events by providing them with information about when and where these events will be happening.
0:51:00
DCAS, Office of Citywide Recruitment, they are also in attendance at these these events to provide information about civil service jobs.
Lincoln Restler
0:51:09
Are you able to compare the results from how we were doing on the city led city government focused hiring halls that had been a big focus of I think year two of the Adams administration versus these more private sector oriented hiring halls where the city is just one of many?
Katrina Porter
0:51:25
So what we can track is the engagement at our tables when we are you know be it when we are attending the hiring halls.
0:51:33
We track the traffic that, you know, the folks that we engage at our tables, we do track that number, but overall that information is being handled by SBS.
Lincoln Restler
0:51:43
Okay.
0:51:44
And at our hearings, we've heard and in our conversations with city agencies, we've heard from housing and human services agencies about they want health agencies, that they want hiring halls, they want the model back that you all had successfully pioneered.
0:52:02
Have you heard those requests?
0:52:03
Have you received any of those requests from city agency partners?
Katrina Porter
0:52:05
We're in constant contact with city agencies.
0:52:09
We host you know title specific hiring events often and we're always more than willing to support agencies in that way.
0:52:18
You know, so we can definitely maybe ask the question.
Lincoln Restler
0:52:21
Yeah.
0:52:22
When we had our budget hearing last year, and remind me how long have you been in this position, it's about that long?
Katrina Porter
0:52:27
For almost two years now.
Lincoln Restler
0:52:29
Two years, okay.
0:52:29
So my recollection was that there was cuts to the team there was cuts from funding to the team that was responsible for overseeing and implementing the hiring halls.
0:52:40
Is my remembering that correctly that there was cuts about a year ago?
Katrina Porter
0:52:43
Not that I'm aware of.
UNKNOWN
0:52:45
Okay.
Katrina Porter
0:52:45
You know the hiring hall was an all hands on deck event at DCAS, so all DCAS employees kind of pitched in.
0:52:53
So there wasn't really a set team.