Fortunately I am doing pretty well on staffing levels. One huge help has been a shift leader that is a teacher. He is a great recruiter for us. Can you get your current staff to recruit their friends? Or find a way into the school to draw attention to the opportunity.
When we really had a shortage in 2017 we started helping staff cover the cost of certification and that really helped. We started with free certification, then transitioned to where we are now with staff paying $45 to cover the Red Cross fee plus a few bucks to help cover the cost of materials. If you don’t already do this, is that something your City would support? When the class was free, we had no-shows. I think the $45 fee is a nice compromise where the applicant has some buy-in but it’s not as big of a barrier to work as a $200 class.
Good luck!