NCJ Number
206971
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 66 Issue: 5 Dated: August 2004 Pages: 90,92,98
Date Published
August 2004
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the ways in which correctional agencies can recruit the best job applicants by forming collaborative partnerships with institutions of higher learning.
Abstract
In order to attract the most appropriate job applicants to the corrections industry, it is essential that corrections management effectively envision their workforce needs and strategize about how to attract that workforce. Educational attainment in the United States is at an all-time high and will likely continue escalating. However, more education is not necessarily the best solution to hiring the most qualified applicants. Rather, managers should closely examine the requirements of a job before arbitrarily assigning hiring criteria that may include more education than necessary. In order to reduce turnover and attract the best applicants, the author asserts that correctional agencies should comprehensively examine and restructure existing jobs, project future staffing needs, and proactively pursue qualified applicants. One of the main ways of doing this involves partnering with local colleges, and even high schools, in order to inform educators on how to serve the specific occupational needs of the corrections industry for interested students. Proactively planning for the agency’s future workforce needs is the key to gaining the most from this collaborative relationship. Once future workforce needs have been established, it is also imperative that the management style of the corrections industry be updated from the paramilitary organizational structure it now supports to a more open environment. In addition to “breaking down bureaucracy,” it is important that correctional agencies create meaningful career development options for employees and recruit new employees “outside the box” by introducing potential applicants to a range of professional opportunities within the corrections industry. The author offers several tips for reaching students in postsecondary educational institutions as well as those in high school, including offering internships and certification development opportunities. Figures, endnotes