BAKERSFIElD, Calif. -- Foothill High School senior Diego Osorio has won a contest for area high school and college students to design a logo to market the County of Kern as an employer of choice. It was approved today by the Board of Supervisors with the accompanying slogan, “Where Careers Grow.”

Osorio’s design depicting a tree rooted in Kern County was selected from nearly 40 entries for use in print advertisements, videos, podcasts, websites, and other County job recruitment media. His design garnered Osorio a $150 prize.

Despite the current economic decline, the County anticipates it will be competing with other employers to recruit qualified workers that will be needed to replace as many as 40 percent of County employees who could retire in the next decade, according to Dedre Ahl, Deputy County Administrative Officer. Not only will the logo provide County employment efforts with a distinctive brand, Ahl said the contest itself has made students more aware of the County as a career choice.

“Many young people don’t think about public service when they graduate and begin their careers. We have lots of exciting jobs, like criminalists, boating park rangers, video technicians, or ultrasound technicians, besides the other more widely known jobs like firefighters and social workers. We will also need professionals to fill positions as engineers, accountants, and health care workers, which are sometimes hard to recruit,” Ahl said.

“This logo and slogan are intended to change the way people view working in the public sector. We like to say that at the County, people can have many careers with one employer, as they can promote and try new jobs in 38 departments with locations all over Kern County. In fact, we want talented people of all ages to consider a career with us.

“The County traditionally offers stable employment and good benefits, which are important to job seekers,” Ahl said. “But County employment also gives people the opportunity to provide public services to improve the communities where they live. An added benefit of this contest was the chance to persuade talented young people to stay in our county instead of moving away. We hope we achieve the goal of that investment for our future.”

Prizewinners:
First prize:

Diego Osorio, Foothill High School (instructor Laura Ghilarducci)

Second prize:

Carolin Haney, Stockdale High School (instructor Matthew Dills)

Third prize:

Firas Dalia, Stockdale High School (instructor Matthew Dills)