NYS waives civil service fees

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- New York State is facing a workforce shortage of about 14,000 employees. The New York State Health Department alone is looking to fill 1,500 jobs in a wide range of positions.

"They range from medical doctor, to nurse to architects, to nurses, surveyors, administrative staff, operational staff, so we are really a vast entity that hires several types of professionals and skill sets," explained Megan Baldwin, Acting Executive Deputy Commissioner for NYS DOH.

To help recruit more workers, $2.5 million dollars was allocated in the state budget to waive the cost of civil service exam fees until 2025, which typically cost between $25 to $45 dollars.

"This really reduces the barriers to entry into state government and that’s what we are really trying to do," said Timothy Hogues, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Civil Service.
In an online statement, the president of the New York State Public Employees Federation said, “New York needs to do everything it can to attract and retain workers in order to address staffing shortages across multiple agencies and waving civil service exams fees should help.”

This will especially benefit those who may want to apply to more than just one job.

"Sometimes you may be interested in several exams. You could be paying $120 bucks and some people just don’t have that available," said Hogues.

The state is also modernizing the way testing is being done for some exams.

"We shifted some of our most popular examinations to training and experience, which allows individuals to take them on a computer," explained Hogues. "Some in the comfort of their own home, where we open it up and they have a time span to take it, usually a 30 day time span to take it."

Funding from the state budget will be used to establish 12 testing facilities across New York and examinations will be offered more frequently.

"Any dollar that’s a barrier for someone applying to a job, we would love to see that go away," said Baldwin.