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Department of Labor study spotlights SFFD recruitment and diversity efforts
Summary
The San Francisco Fire Department was the only fire department featured in a Department of Labor study on promising practices to increase diversity; staff highlighted school outreach, apprenticeship partnerships, employee groups and bilingual pay as key practices that helped reach about 51% minority representation and roughly 15'16% female workforce.
The San Francisco Fire Department was featured as a national example in a Department of Labor study on promising practices for increasing diversity among first responders, department human-resources staff told the Fire Commission Wednesday.
Jesus Sabushon, representing the department's human-resources team, described the study and the SFFD's contributions. The consultants visited in April 2016, met with command staff, employee group representatives and community partners, and toured the department's training facility. Sabushon said the report highlighted SFFD's robust school outreach at multiple age levels, partnerships with City College and the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee (CJAC), and the role of employee groups and community organizations in recruiting and retaining diverse candidates.
"At the time of the study, April 1, 2016, we had 51% minority and 15% female workforce," Sabushon said, citing department demographics used in the report. The study also flagged financial incentives, such as bilingual pay, and test-preparation supports and community information nights as practices that encouraged a broader applicant pool.
Chief Joanne Hayes White and commissioners praised the recognition as confirmation of long-term recruitment and retention efforts, while noting the work is ongoing. Commissioners emphasized continuing outreach to schools, community groups and employee organizations to sustain and expand representation.
What happens next: Commissioners asked that the study be posted to the department's website so the public can review the findings and the department said it would follow up to provide additional demographic updates and outreach plans.
