New security officers can ‘earn-as-you-learn’ while working for EMT certifications
John Knox Village Public Safety leaders are taking a different approach to attracting candidates for open security officer positions and seeing results.
In the past, all security officers needed to have an emergency medical technician (EMT) certification upon hire. However, because of challenges caused by the labor shortage, finding qualified candidates has been difficult. To help level the playing field, the Village recently implemented a new hiring policy and are enabling new security officers to earn their EMT certification while on the job.
“We pride ourselves on maintaining a safe and secure environment for our residents, associates and visitors to our campus,” said Brian Opoka, director of public safety. “Even though the hiring environment is more difficult than it has been in the past, our standards remain high, so we have to be more creative to make sure we are hiring the right people, and our efforts are working.”
The Village quickly hired new associates to fill the available positions. During their first week on the job, the new officers shadowed associates with longer tenures to learn the ropes. The second week, they all participated in an emergency medical response course, a 40-hour class that teaches first aid and healthcare CPR and other skills that will enable them to be effective security officers. Then, each associate will earn their EMT Basic certification while they work as security officers.
If you know of anyone who is interested in working as a security officer or in another role at the Village, ask them to apply at www.jkv.org/careers.
Did you know?
There is a lot of room for career growth for individuals who earn their Emergency Medical Technician certification. They can go on to earn additional certifications, such as advanced EMT, paramedic and community paramedic. From there, they can transition into other related health care occupations as well as administrative positions in various healthcare settings.
