DUNMORE, Pa. — Winter is the busiest time of the year for road crews here in Pennsylvania, and PennDOT hires specifically for the season.
"Our joke here is winter is coming, winter is coming, but winter is here," said Carl Kmiec, PennDOT Human Resource Officer, District 4.
Okay, maybe not quite yet in terms of the weather. But in the road crew world, winter is here. PennDOT's winter jobs are now posted, and the department is looking to hire operators, radio dispatchers, mechanics, and more as part of the department's winter maintenance program.
"These seasonal positions start September 9 and they run until roughly April of 2025. It is full time work during that winter season. We want to keep the roads safe and passable for the motoring public," Kmiec said.
The interview and hiring process is now underway. These seasonal positions can also turn into full-time jobs. Jobs like operators start at more than 22 dollars an hour.
"So we do offer a trainee program where PennDOT will pay for trainee operators to get their CDL license so they can become a CDL operator. So we do offer trainee programs like that and we also extensively train our employees so that they are successful in these winter positions," said PennDOT Maintenance Services Engineer, District 4, Lonell Shalkowski, P.E..
There will be a Winter Maintenance Program job fair next week, on Tuesday, August 6, from noon to 5 p.m. Open houses will also be held at each of PennDOT's District 4 locations in Northeastern PA, including Dunmore in Lackawanna County.
"We will have employees there to help answer any questions they need and help them fill out applications right at those open houses. We also offer interviews on-site and conditional offers," said Shalkowski.
If you are interested in applying for one of the seasonal positions at PennDOT, click CLICK HERE.
There will be a Winter Maintenance Program job fair in Central PA, too, but it has not been scheduled yet.