Faced with more than 40 vacancies of emergency medical technician and paramedic positions, the city has come up with a sensible plan: Hire people to learn the job.

In a pilot project beginning in June, the city will pay 20 students $2,917 a month plus benefits to learn to assist paramedics as emergency medical technicians, or EMTs. It's the same rate of pay as a fully certified entry-level EMT, and in fact, the students will be city employees. In return, the students will work for the city for two years after the six-month course and certification.

It's a practical solution to a chronic problem. Eighteen percent of the available EMT and paramedic positions are vacant, while demand for EMT services is on the rise. In the 2007 fiscal year the city's emergency teams transported 45,335 patients in response to 911 calls. That's an increase of 12,505 from 2001.

While creating its own EMT training academy is a good start, the city should also work cooperatively with Kapi'olani Community College's Emergency Medical Services program, through which the city currently recruits newly certified EMTs and paramedics.

EMTs who want to become paramedics — the city could use more of those, too — must attend a program like KCC's for specialized training. The city should coordinate its curriculum with KCC to ensure that its students will be able to advance their medical skills through higher education. That collaborative approach would also encourage local residents to launch and maintain a career in emergency medical care here at home.

And that would benefit the entire community.