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| DOMENICI & WILSON: USFS MOVE TO ALBUQUERQUE CREATES JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW MEXICANS |
February 15, 2005 |
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Forest Service Begins Moving Employees to Journal Center Site
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and Congresswoman Heather Wilson today welcomed word that the U.S. Forest Service decision to relocate hundreds of service personnel to Albuquerque will open opportunities for New Mexicans to fill many positions.
Domenici and Wilson have been briefed on the USFS progress to relocate the agency’s financial services center, human resources and information technology (IT) personnel to Albuquerque. In all, the agency will relocate or fill more than 700 positions in New Mexico.
Forest Service officials informed the New Mexico lawmakers that approximately 60 percent of financial services and human resources employees that will work in Albuquerque will be recruited from outside the USFS—first from other government agencies and then to the extent needed from the public sector.
“The fact that the Forest Service is moving significant portions of its operation to New Mexico is great news by itself. The fact that the move will create more employment opportunities for New Mexicans makes the move even sweeter. I am pleased with the progress the Forest Service is making in this transition, and believe the move will prove to be a good fit for them, the city and our state,” said Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
“This is a tremendous boost for our local economy. These are quality jobs that will bring lasting financial stability to many families in Albuquerque,” Wilson said. “We appreciate the Forest Service’s commitment to New Mexico. We look forward to welcoming more new residents to the Land of Enchantment, and we enthusiastically welcome these great opportunities for so many New Mexicans.”
The Forest Service is now accepting applications for 240 positions associated with financial services positions to fill the agencies Albuquerque Service Center. (Additional information about the positions, qualifications and applications are available at www.usajobs.opm.gov. Enter keywords “forest service” and “Albuquerque” to display job descriptions. Salaries for the jobs being advertised range from $24,000 to $110,000 a year.)
The first IT employees are already moving to Albuquerque, and 365 budget and financial services workers will begin arriving in late February and should be in place by October.
Wilson and Domenici indicated that additional employment opportunities should arise as the Forest Service moves 280 human resources personnel to Albuquerque in September.
In addition to these positions, the Forest Service is also expected to hire an unspecified number of support service employees associated with these personnel moves.
Domenici and Wilson lobbied for New Mexico and Albuquerque when the Forest Service decided to consolidate the agency’s administrative services. Albuquerque will become host to a new U.S. Forest Service Albuquerque Administrative Service Center. In finding a host city, the Forest Service considered such factors as: labor pool (diversity, skill, education), socio-economic (tax rates, labor productivity), infrastructure (office space, transportation and telecommunications), and quality of life (housing costs and cost of living).
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