City and state officials marked the 40th anniversary of Public Service Recognition Week Monday at the Albany Public Library.
Since 1985, the first week in May has been designated as Public Service Recognition Week, to honor those who serve as federal, state, county and local government employees.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and state Civil Service Commissioner Tim Hogues kicked off the week at the Washington Avenue branch during a civil service workshop and job fair.
“This is about ensuring that we are lifting up opportunities for people in public service," said Sheehan. "These are wonderful jobs, wonderful career opportunities, and they're people who work really, really hard for our communities. And so if people care about their community and want to know how they can give to their community, it's not just about volunteering. Come and see what job opportunities and career paths are available."
Sheehan says she's always had tremendous respect for those in public service.
Hogues says the job fair complements New York HELPS, or Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide.
“This is a statewide program that's happening at both the state and local levels, where it has temporarily eliminated the need for civil service examination for individuals that meet the minimum qualifications," Hogues said. "And so with the onset of that, the time that it takes for individuals to get into state employment and local employment, as far as the government and public service, has been drastically reduced.”
Hogues says it removes the need for jobseekers who take an exam to wait from six months to two years for a callback.
New York State Civil Service says the HELPS program runs until June 2026. Since the program began in April 2023, there have been more than 26,000 appointments in state government, plus nearly 7,000 more at the local government level.
The state currently has more than approximately 7,000 job openings in transportation, health care and a wide variety of other fields. Positions like attorneys, engineers, nurses and IT specialists are among those in demand.
In the Capital Region, there are more than 500 jobs currently posted that are open to the public. And eight city openings fall under the HELPS program.
Sheehan told jobseekers that prior to entering politics to run as city treasurer 15 years ago, she didn't see herself in any type of "public service" role.
"You know, there comes a point when if you want to see change in your community, you have to actually take action and be part of that change, and I had developed skills and abilities that were helpful. I worked for a publicly traded company, so I knew about the importance of ensuring that we were transparent with our finances, that people understood where the money was going, that we were able to make good decisions about scarce resource taxpayer dollars that we have, and that I had learned a lot in the private sector, that while government is not business that the city of Albany could utilize in order to allow our workforce to continue to do more. And be able to do what they want to do and accomplish what they want to accomplish," said Sheehan.
