SACRAMENTO, Calif — As Californians, we all know water is important to our state. However, now, many employed to clean and treat it are getting ready to retire, causing a high turnover rate over the next few years.
The EchoWater facility in Elk Grove treats millions of gallons of sewage everyday. Over the last 30 years, Christoph Dobson has played a role in making sure it is a well-oiled machine.
"I started as an engineering technician and worked my way up through the engineering ranks, all the way into management and, now, the district engineer and general manager," he said.
Dobson's time as the general manager of the Sacramento Area Sewer District is coming to an end as he eyes retirement in about four years. He's not the only one. As the general manager, he said many of his employees are also nearing retirement or have already retired. The race is on to replace those leaving.
"We're sitting at about 13% vacancy rate right now, so that's how many open positions we have," Dobson said.
This is a growing trend across many industries. The California Department of Aging (CDA) predicts a growing population of adults 60+ over the next decade.
"By the year 2030, 1 in 4 for Californians will be age 60 or older, so we're seeing a huge surge in older adults and that will translate to retirements in the workplace," said Susan DeMarois with the CDA.
While replacing retired employees is part of the process, the CDA is also urging employers to find ways to hire and train older employees.
"Lots of benefits in terms of coaching and mentoring staff, keeping the organizational culture thriving, opportunities for special projects and bringing specialized expertise," said DeMarois.
Because the Sewer District has a big responsibility to the community, Dobson said he's focused on protecting public health and the environment as employees retire.
"We will figure out a way to make it work. It just makes it more challenging, because again, we're having to bring new people and bring them up to speed," he said.
Current job openings at the Sewer District range from electricians, mechanics and human resources.
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