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Tallahassee Police working to fill jobs; new program designed to help fill the need

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  • Friday was day two for the Worlds of Work event on TCC's campus.
  • Law enforcement is one of many industries that's seen a drop in the workforce, and is actively recruiting.
  • Watch the video above to see how the event helps students and employers.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT

“Definitely the police car, that was pretty cool.”

That was high school student Mason Bonfanti... I asked him what his favorite thing was while attending the Worlds of Work event on Friday.

Bonfanti say he has aspirations of being in law enforcement… and there couldn’t have been a better time to want that job.

Law enforcement is one industry that is actively looking for the next generation of police officers, due to the drop in the workforce.

“I think there’s some social media where kids have a preconceived notion of what law enforcement is.”

Police officer, David Alford, tells me that while there may be challenges in recruiting new faces… he’s glad to be out at the worlds of work event at TCC on Friday.

The two-day event was designed to expose high school students to different career paths, and at the same time, help employers find potential workers.

“It’s definitely nice that out of high school; out of college, there’s something for me to do.”

Another reason why TPD participated…

I reached out to TPD department of recruiting….

Sgt. Steven Damm tells me the goal is to hire at least 40 police officer trainee positions each year…

Last year they fell beneath their goal with just 34 positions filled.

“There’s always people retiring so we always need blood to come in; new young officers to come in and learn the job.”

I also asked officer Alford how the event has helped him pitch the idea to students.

“It’s great we get to interact with the community especially with kids and get them to see a more positive side of law enforcement. If it’s a great job for someone that likes to be out in the public and talk to people and just being out of an office, that’s the best career you could ask for.”

It’s something Bonfanti could agree with…

“It really gives you an idea on what’s out there.”