Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

NDOT active in recruiting engineers to fill major vacancies

NDT freeway signsProject Neon

Courtesy of NDOT

The Nevada Department of Transportation is installing 52 Active Traffic Management signs as part of Project Neon, as shown in this rendering.

With a constant flow of projects lined up across the state and in the midst of the largest road project in Nevada history, the Nevada Department of Transportation is short on engineers.

NDOT is looking to fill 64 vacant engineering positions, and officials say it has been challenging to find applicants for those roles.

Engineers play a vital role for the department in carrying out work for the traffic, civil, structural and environmental aspects of road projects, said Tony Illia, a department spokesperson.

The problem isn’t unique to NDOT — engineers are among the top 10 hardest jobs to fill, according to a 2015 report from Manpower Group, Illia said. He added that 82 percent of employers who hire engineers struggle to fill open positions.

“Finding skilled, experienced help is a challenge felt across the building industry,” Illia said.

The educational requirements of an engineering degree is a turnoff to the younger generation, Illia said. And the up-and-down nature of the construction industry is also unattractive because engineers fresh out of college want more stable employment.

“The Great Recession saw many Baby Boomer engineers opt for early retirement while others exited the industry for other professions,” he said. “It has been a challenge attracting new engineering students since many are leery of the profession’s math and science requirements as well as incurring college debt.”

NDOT has taken a proactive approach. It partners with UNLV and UNR to target engineering students and provides internships in areas such as construction, surveying, materials testing, roadway and structural design, hydraulics, environmental, planning, traffic, maintenance and operations and research. It also participates in career fairs and is active in industry trade groups such as the Associated General Contractors and American Society of Civil Engineers.

The department’s director, Rudy Malfabon, and Deputy Director Tracy Larkin-Thomason are both UNR graduates.

“We routinely hire UNR and UNLV graduates, several of whom previously interned with the department,” Illia said. “Our partnership with the state’s four-year colleges has been fruitful, filling several important positions.”