RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation is starting two new initiatives in order to fill vacancies across the state.

DOT officials say many of these job openings do not require a college degree.  

Mike Fisher has worked at the NCDOT for the last 20 years.  

“DOT was a right out of high school,” Fisher said. “I had a friend that worked here and mentioned it weren’t a bad place to go. It was a local job, so I  put in and got an opportunity to get on DOT. DOT is outdoors, I love the outdoors. So it was a good place for me to come in,” Fisher said.

After taking classes at N.C. State University through NCDOT, Fisher was able to become a technician.  

He’s continued to excel, all the way from a transportation worker to a highway division 6 bridge maintenance engineer in Fayetteville.  

“I’ve come a long way from when I first started here as a TW. Worked hard, enjoyed the hard work, the experience has been fun. The people have been probably the most fun I’ve had,” Fisher said.

NCDOT says hundreds of vacancies exist across the state due to promotions and retirements. Many of the open positions do not require a college degree.

Fisher says the new on-the-job training program that recently launched can change someone’s life.

“You don’t have to have worked on a bridge every day or ran asphalt crew. You know, those are things that we do here and they can be learned. So just someone that’s willing to do that, come in and learn, take a chance, because we’re going to teach you how to do it,” Fisher.

 Fisher has enjoyed his two decades working here and points out when it comes to steady work, it’s hard to beat.  

“Roads ain’t going away and there’s always going to be work,” said Fisher.