LIHUE — Sitting with a group of jobseekers, a Travel Security Administration Security officer asks if I would like to watch the film that just ended again. After a quick no is given, the security officer posits if I would like to fill out an application. The officer is informed I’m there to cover the event for TGI, and after a quick photo was taken, a TSA official approaches and informs that no applicants’ information can be used and in order to answer any questions, approval from the higher ups must be obtained.
The on-the-job training has begun.
“We work at Lihue Airport,” Crystal Derego, a TSA security officer at the Lihue Airport said to five eager applicants who patiently awaited their turn to fill out an application. “That is where you will work. It’s an international airport … your job is to find the danger.”
Over three dozen job seekers made their way to the Kauai Marriot Resort and Beach Club within an hour of the hiring event starting Tuesday morning.
The potential Transportation Security Administration employees sign in at the registration office and start the fast track hiring process that typically takes three hours to complete. Many of them, if hired, will fill different positions within the TSA. This could range from being a security officer to a lead transportation officer, depending on skill assessment and experience.
The hiring process has been condensed in an effort to get people to work with the TSA faster. The candidates have the opportunity to fill out an application beforehand, or they had the option to do it there with the assistance of TSA officials on the 15 laptops that were on hand. It’s something that gave people the chance to get everything in the hiring process done all at once in one site.
Every computer was filled with applicants completing their required applications before they could move on to the next step in the process, which was a computer-based ability test.
Once the applicant passes the computer-based ability test, they are required to do an in-person interview.
The final step before an applicant is hired is the medical evaluation. It’s the only step in the hiring process that could not be completed during the hiring event.
The TSA — in an effort to bolster their workforce numbers at Lihue Airport — held the Fast Track hiring event as part of their proactive approach to increase their workforce numbers. It’s something they are doing in anticipation of the busy summer season and the new service arrivals of Air Canada and Southwest Airlines to the Lihue Airport.
Prior to filling out the application, there was a video. The potential federal employees were given a brief about the necessary training successful applicants must complete for two weeks in Georgia. The per diem provided for the venture was outlined as hiring officials shared their personal experiences about starting out with the federal organization.
Betty Jane Uegawa is the assistant federal security director at the Lihue Airport. She said the TSA at Lihue Airport did not see a reduction in numbers during the federal government shutdown in December and January like many airports around the country did.
“We didn’t (lose employees), we were very fortunate they handled everything with care and grace,” Uegawa said, adding that they did lose some employees when a new resort opened up recently. “We’re trying to increase (employee numbers). Right now Kauai is booming with new carriers coming in, so we are trying to get to where we need to be.”
