By Jim Wallace - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) - The Dougherty County Sheriff says he is puzzled why he has job openings he can't fill. Albany and Southwest Georgia's unemployment rate is more than ten percent, and the Georgia Department of Labor reported in September there were almost 17,000 unemployed Southwest Georgians.
So Sheriff Kevin Sproul wants to put out the word he has quality job openings and he is eager to fill them.
Right now the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office is having to work detention officers here at the jail overtime, because he has eight job openings that he has been trying to fill. He wants people to know this is a good opportunity.
Sheriff Kevin Sproul says it disturbs him to hear about South Georgians who are unemployed, and his Office is having to recruit people to fill jobs.
Sproul said "I know with the economy on the downturn as it has been for the past year, we still have good quality jobs available."
Sheriff Sproul has eight immediate openings for detention officers at the Jail. You don't have to be a certified Peace Officer. You will receive the training needed to fill jobs like finger print processing, or property manager.
"I'm ready. The starting pay is almost $27,000 for a detention officer that goes into that position. And when you are looking at somebody who has been laid off or terminated from their work, they don't have any work, this is a perfect opportunity," Sproul said.
You notice that many of these detention officer jobs are filled by women, so it's an equal opportunity position. And Sproul says he is proof that there is advancement.
Sproul said "It is a career. 27 years ago I started out as a detention officer and worked my way up through the organization until last year when I was elected Sheriff."
The jobs offer good benefits and health insurance, so the Sheriff says he wants to let people know he has these job openings available. He says his officers are having to work overtime to make up for these vacancies, and he is ready to fill them with people who want good jobs.
The requirements for these jobs, you have to 19 years old, have a G.E.D. or a high school diploma, and no criminal activity in your background. Sheriff Sproul says that when Firestone closed back in the 1980's a number of their former employees went to work for the Sheriff's Office and five are still there. He says with Cooper's closing, this is an opportunity for those laid off workers.
Sheriff Sproul has also started internship programs with Albany Technical College, Darton College, and Albany State to get their students learning while on the job.
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Sheriff Kevin Sproul
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