States Try ‘Boot Camps’ to Address Tax and Audit Staff Shortages

New kinds of workers are finding their way into state government financial agencies hungry for talent after staffing blows from the pandemic and a wave of retirements.

With “boot camps” and other programs, state tax and other departments are bringing on people with limited, or no, experience in specialized fields, particularly accounting.

In North Dakota, special training courses have helped the state auditor’s office decrease its reliance on a shrinking number of accounting graduates. New York’s tax department is using the method to onboard hundreds of IT professionals as it races to complete a $75 million upgrade of its aging ...