‘Standard-bearers:’ DMV welcomes its largest class of new front-line workers

It’s not often that the governor shows up for a graduation ceremony for new driver’s license examiners at the Division of Motor Vehicles.

But the graduates of the DMV’s training school who received their certificates Wednesday represent a significant expansion of the agency’s workforce and are a key part of its strategy for reducing long lines and wait times at driver’s license offices.

The 149 people who completed the training since June represent the largest graduating class in DMV history. They include 64 examiners who fill new jobs authorized by the General Assembly this summer, the first growth in driver’s license office staff in more than two decades.

Gov. Josh Stein told the graduates that the work they do is essential, even if the public doesn’t always appreciate it.

“I want to thank you, the graduates sitting in front of me, for stepping up and saying yes to serving the people of North Carolina,” Stein said. “You will make a difference in people’s daily lives — in their work, in their ability to travel and above all in how they feel about the state of North Carolina’s government. So let’s show them that we work for them.”

Few people go to work as a driver’s license examiner right out of high school or college. Most of the new hires spent years, often decades, doing something else.

Kashante Forte, who now works in the Raleigh East office, was laid off as a federal contractor earlier this year. Justin Hernker, now in the Durham East office, was a self-employed web designer for 15 years and decided he wanted a job where he could interact with people one on one.

Christal Dunlap had retired after 20 years as a paralegal in the Army when she went to a DMV office with her teenaged daughter to get her license last December, after previous failed attempts.

“I saw the line, the challenges and, once inside, I saw the ‘We’re now hiring’ sign,” said Dunlap, who works in the Raeford office. “So I was like, let me see if I can be part of the solution.”

The DMV, with the help of lawmakers, is taking several steps to try to shorten the lines at driver’s license offices. They include a bill signed into law in September that allows residents to renew a driver’s license or state identification card two consecutive times online, as long as their credential is not a REAL ID.

In the first two months, the new law allowed 80,000 additional people to renew their license or ID online, Stein said.

“That’s 80,000 people who before had to go to a DMV office and get in line with all the other people, slowing everybody down,” he said. “It was a good move.”

But Wednesday was a time to celebrate the new employees. DMV commissioner Paul Tine called them “standard-bearers” for an agency with a new emphasis on good customer service.

“You, our front-line examiners, are the most important people in making all this come true,” Tine told them. “Your smile, your patience, your knowledge, your commitment will shape their entire view of North Carolina state government.”

The 64 additional license examiners means the DMV now has one employee for each computer terminal at its 115 offices statewide. That’s better than before, when dozens of those terminals went unused. But Tine said the agency is still short-staffed when you count vacations, sick time, training and extra duties, such as Saturday hours.

“We’ve still got a ways to go,” he said. “But every little step helps, and I’m excited about the progress that we’re making.”