Syracuse job fair targets seasonal, full-time city openings

Syracuse is trying to fill summer jobs and permanent posts at the same time, and that makes this hiring push more than a routine recruitment drive. The city held a job fair Monday afternoon at Bob Cecile Community Center, 174 West Seneca Turnpike, with seasonal openings in parks, recreation and youth programs on the front table and information on more than 30 full-time jobs behind it.

The seasonal list was aimed squarely at the work residents see and feel in warm weather: lifeguard, water safety instructor, trails maintenance worker, adult athletics program assistant, mobile recreation summer aide and arts and crafts summer aide. City representatives reviewed resumes, answered questions about the hiring process and accepted applications on-site for jobs across city departments, offices and divisions. For parks-seasonal roles, applicants generally must be at least 15 years old, and City of Syracuse residency is required. The Parks, Recreation and Youth Programs department also offers lifeguard classes and recertifications, a sign the city is trying to build its own pipeline for hard-to-fill safety jobs.

The broader job board showed the scale of the city’s staffing needs. The open-positions page listed 45 full-time openings, including Fiscal Officer, Custodial Worker I, Motor Equipment Operator I, Water Maintenance Worker I, Nightlife Coordinator, Administrative Assistant, Laborer I, Cashier and Real Property Appraiser. That mix points to a city hiring not just for summer programming, but for the everyday operations that keep municipal services moving. Syracuse also announced William Sullivan as Trails Coordinator on May 12, a small but visible example of parks-related staffing moving forward.

The city has good reason to treat staffing as a service issue. Syracuse has previously struggled to open three outdoor swimming pools because it did not have enough lifeguards, leaving a shortage to spill directly into summer access for families. Parks Commissioner Syeisha Byrd said, "We have a variety of positions available for residents who want to make a difference in the community and work on a flexible schedule." Mayor Sharon Owens has made workforce development and job creation a central priority since her first State of the City address in January, and the hiring fair fit that broader agenda by linking open jobs to the city’s ability to expand services in a growing Syracuse.