WAGGA City Council's new Sydney office is proving better than expected, with job advertisements attracting hundreds of applications.
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Before the new recruitment campaign began, general manager Peter Thompson said some positions received no interest or applicants did not meet the requirements.
The council advertised for 17 new positions including engineers, project managers, construction supervisors, business analysts and procurement staff.
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However, only nine positions offer the successful candidate the choice of working at the Sydney office.
Mr Thompson said more than 300 applications have been received and the council was in the process of shortlisting, which is "proving to be difficult".
The decision to open an office in Sydney was made in a bid to fix the council's ongoing struggle to fill vacant specialist roles in the engineering and design fields.
"It's an overwhelming response for such a simple concept," Mr Thompson said.
Although the successful applicants will have the choice of living and working in Sydney, Mr Thompson said they will be required to travel to Wagga "at least once or twice" each month.
During these monthly visits, he said the employees will be shown what the city has to offer - from house prices to school options and where to get a decent coffee.
"They can relocate at any time once they have experienced the great lifestyle a regional city offers," he said.
"For families and couples, it also gives their partner time to find appropriate work in Wagga or to factor in their children's schooling before they move. It takes all the time and finance pressure off that decision."
Despite applicants given a choice on relocating to Wagga, Mr Thompson said many have already indicated their readiness to move immediately rather than wait.
"The campaign removes the all-or-nothing option. People who have never thought about regional living will consider the job because they don't have to move, but this starts a thought process and down the path they begin to see that they could be better off in Wagga," he said.
The council is signing a one-year lease to trial the metropolitan-based office near Hyde Park, costing $135,000 each year.
Mr Thompson said there was no harm in trialling the new approach. He said the worst-case scenario will be much-needed projects will be delivered.
There are currently $30 million worth of projects waiting on the technical staff to help deliver them.
"This is just a new idea for introducing people to our city. We now have more than 300 skilled infrastructure specialists who say they are interested," Mr Thompson said.