CITY OF MODESTO
“ We have a very sharp and well put together machine here at the City of Modesto , and I ' m loving it ”
SCOTT CONN CIO , CITY OF MODESTO
driven by the pandemic , so that employees could talk with each other , even though they were working from home .”
We ’ ve mentioned the diversity of Modesto , and California in general . It ’ s a multilingual environment , with Spanish speakers by no means the only major minority . So we needed to look for ways to make things easier for people for whom English is not their first language . After a search they discovered Wordly , which many people know as a word game but whose main platform provides AI-powered interpretation and translation at in-person , virtual , and hybrid meetings and events and works as an add-on to Zoom . It translates in audio or captions in more than 20 languages without the need for special equipment . “ We were the first city in the USA to go live with this technology , though many others have since jumped on to it , following Modesto ’ s example . Our residents love it , and its usage goes up with every council meeting we hold .”
Brightest and best Being within reach of Silicon Valley is one of the things that attracted Scott Conn to Modesto . He keeps a close eye on the developments that come out of there , whether it is to do with transport management , citizen engagement or general efficiency and safety for the residents . But the city has resources of its own , among them the residents themselves who are encouraged to communicate the improvements they would like to see . Among the most vocal residents are the young people . While the schools and colleges have their own administration structure , the city is very interested in providing opportunities close to home .
In the IT organisation itself , there are three current vacancies . “ It ’ s proving difficult to fill these , but one of the things we have had success with is actually going out and looking for those that are either still in school or recently graduated , and bringing them on board as interns . They may not be able to work full time , but they can work a smaller amount of hours , and be exposed to how we do business here at the city of Modesto , how we work in the IT department , our processes , the technologies that we play with and support here . Of the 33 staff in my department , six of them started out as interns , and are now full time employees . The educational system locally is vitally important , not just to us but to other city departments too , and we ’ re very grateful for it .”
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