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GLENDALE COUNCILMAN CALLS FOR RECRUITMENT OF MORE ARMENIAN FIREFIGHTERS
PanARMENIAN.Net
June 17, 2011 - 10:34 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Glendale fire officials plan to develop a recruitment
strategy to diversify their ranks and make it easier for existing
personnel to be promoted from within and stay with the agency.
As part of the five-year strategic plan, officials will create a
recruitment committee to identify the city's demographics and develop
methods for hiring applicants who reflect those ethnic categories.
They will also develop programs that would allow firefighters to learn
skills from more experienced employees and give them an opportunity
to promote to other positions.
Councilman Rafi Manoukian raised concerns at the meeting about the
department's recruitment process, saying former Glendale Fire Chief
Christopher Gray had assured him 10 years ago that recruitment efforts
would generate more Armenian American firefighters to reflect the
local community.
"Ten years later, the result is zero," Manoukian said. "Nothing
is there."
But Scoggins said the department has made progress, recruiting one
woman and four Armenian American firefighters within the last decade.
And about 40% of the hires were from a variety of ethnic backgrounds,
including African, Armenian and Korean Americans, Scoggins said.
Among the other goals that came out of the strategy sessions: develop
plans to maintain and replace facilities and equipment; streamline
incident response planning; analyze workloads; and find ways to better
communicate and work together with other agencies for mutual aid.
Officials also want to evaluate the effectiveness of community
education programs, Glendale New-Press reported.
PanARMENIAN.Net
June 17, 2011 - 10:34 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Glendale fire officials plan to develop a recruitment
strategy to diversify their ranks and make it easier for existing
personnel to be promoted from within and stay with the agency.
As part of the five-year strategic plan, officials will create a
recruitment committee to identify the city's demographics and develop
methods for hiring applicants who reflect those ethnic categories.
They will also develop programs that would allow firefighters to learn
skills from more experienced employees and give them an opportunity
to promote to other positions.
Councilman Rafi Manoukian raised concerns at the meeting about the
department's recruitment process, saying former Glendale Fire Chief
Christopher Gray had assured him 10 years ago that recruitment efforts
would generate more Armenian American firefighters to reflect the
local community.
"Ten years later, the result is zero," Manoukian said. "Nothing
is there."
But Scoggins said the department has made progress, recruiting one
woman and four Armenian American firefighters within the last decade.
And about 40% of the hires were from a variety of ethnic backgrounds,
including African, Armenian and Korean Americans, Scoggins said.
Among the other goals that came out of the strategy sessions: develop
plans to maintain and replace facilities and equipment; streamline
incident response planning; analyze workloads; and find ways to better
communicate and work together with other agencies for mutual aid.
Officials also want to evaluate the effectiveness of community
education programs, Glendale New-Press reported.