Federal IT Workforce Challenge Recommendation

1
Addressing the Federal IT Workforce
Challenge IT Workforce Committee Federal IT
Workforce Challenge Chief Information Officer
Council Co-Chairs Ira Hobbs Gloria
Parker Presenter Fred Thompson, U.S. Department
of the Treasury http//cio.gov/files/itchalle
.pdf
2
Overview

• The National Picture
• Federal Efforts
• Recommendations of the IT Workforce Challenge
  Report

3
IT Job Growth Rate Has Been Strong 1987-1997
177 Employment Growth for Systems Analysts,
Computer Engineers and Computer
Scientists Growth Rate for All Jobs 12
4
Starting Pay for IT Workers Projected to Jump in
1999

• Programmers 18.4
• Database Administrators 16.3
• Web Developers 14.8
• Software Installers 13.5
• E-Commerce Specialists 12.4
• SOURCE 1999 Salary Survey Forecast/RHI
  Consulting

5
America Will Need 1.3 Million New Core IT
Workers by 2006
New jobs
3,000
Net replacements
Job

1996 base year
2,500
Openings
employment
1,134
Due to
2,000
Growth
1,500
and
244
(in thousands)
Net
1,000
1,501
Replacements
1,257
500
0
1996
2006
6

Clinger-Cohen Act

• Established CIO Position in 24 Federal Agencies
  (E.O. 13011 Established Council)
• Emphasized Capital/Strategic Planning
  Requirements
• Simplified Federal I/T Procurement
• Required CIO to Assess and Improve Agency I/T
  Skills

7
Clinger-Cohen Act

• Requires that the CIO
• Assess IRM Knowledge and Skill Needed By Agency
  Personnel
• Evaluate Agency Executives and Managers
• Improve Performance by Recruitment and
  Development
• Report Annually to Agency Head on Progress

8
Study Topics
Focus Teams
Study Reports
Post-Conf. Off-Site
Post-Conf. Report
CIO Council
Action Leaders
AFCEA Conference 2/25/99
National and Federal Strategies
Champion
Team
Report
Champion
Plenary Session - Best Practices Industry
Perspective
Breakout Sessions - Team Reports Discussions
Feedback
Consolidated Action Plans
CIO Council Response
April 5-6, 1999
Champion
Recruitment and Retention
Champion
Team
Report
Champion
Career Development
Team
Report
9
Where the Federal Government is Projected to be
in 2006
10
The Federal CIO Council

• SUSTAINING GROWTH
• OPM/CIO partneringspecific pay/occupational
  standards

HARVEST An effective and efficient IT workforce
supporting the working mission
REPS FROM OPM,Justice, Commerce, Treasury, GSA,
Labor, NPR, Agriculture, Navy

• PLOWING THE FIELD
• Info/outreach campaign to encourage IT careers
• IT Career Academy/HS
• Fed participation in skills alliances
• Cyber Corps
• Intern Program

• FERTILIZING THE FIELD
• CIO Virtual University
• Upgrade of IT skills GSA/Best Practices
• Sample SOW for transfer of skills from industry
• Knowledge Management
• Government Industry Exchange

• SEEDING THE FIELD
• Waiver authority
• Limited critical need hire authority
• On-line recruiting/marketing
• Recruitment from non-traditional labor pool
• Scholarship/intern program to promising IT
  students
• Pay and Occupational restructuring

• FARMING
• Establish continuing workforce planning at OPM
• IT Occupational Study
• IT Job Profile Assessment Tools

Source Ms. Alex Bennet Dep. CIO Enterprise
Performance Department of the Navy CIO
11
Recommendation Establish a Joint OPM/CIO
Council Initiative for Development of a Specific
Pay and Occupational Strategy for IT
Professionals.
Why - Supports OPM initiative - investigating
pay flexibilities - Change to match prevailing
practices in industry - Better analysis of the
federal workforce gap - Make the government more
competitive as an employer - Entry level pay
disparity would be addressed
12
Recommendation OPM Extend Beyond Y2K Delegated
Waiver Authority to Agencies for Recruitment and
Retention of IT Professionals.
Why - Prohibition of dual compensation results
in loss of military officer and civilian
retirees with critical skills - Capitalizes on
the recent experience of the Y2K emergency
(Y2K delegation authority successful, not
abused) - Reduces cost for the federal
government - Increases government competitiveness
with private sector - Retains institutional
knowledge
13
Recommendation OPM Seek on Behalf of Agencies a
Critical Needs Hire Authority for Term and
Permanent Appointments in IT Occupations.
Why - Current competitive procedures prolong the
hire process resulting in losses to the private
sector - Speed to seat increased - Increased
responsiveness on IT projects - Increases
benefits of IT recruitment efforts such as job
fairs
14
Recommendation Establish a Government Wide IDIQ
Contract for On-line Recruiting and Marketing
Support.
Why - Broadens candidate pool and increases
visibility of IT jobs - Saves administrative time
- Higher yield of on-line applicants per vacancy
- IRS experience shows ten times more on-line
applications
15
Recommendation GSA Increase Collaboration Among
Federal Agencies to Upgrade IT Skills of the
Current Workforce - Skills Road Map -
Comprehensive Training and Education Database -
Identify and Disseminate Best Practices -
Eliminate Restrictions on Degrees/Certification. W
hy - Increase the pool of IT talent - Increase
IT skills of the non-IT workforce - Motivate and
retain existing IT workforce - Federal
restrictions are inconsistent with private
sector
16
Recommendation OPM Should - Establish an
Outreach Program to Attract Unemployed,
Under-employed Mid-career Technical
Professionals. - Establish a Bridging Program
for Military Technical Professionals. -
Recruit women, minorities, and people with
disabilities Why - Industry is overlooking
talent - Government is often employer of choice
17
Recommendation Create Sample SOW Language for
Skills Transfer from Contractor to Government.
Why - More communication and cooperation between
industry and government is now seen as a
positive - SOW language will guarantee that
contractor assists government in acquiring
specialized skills and abilities - SOW formalizes
the obligation - SOW could guarantee
reimbursement to contractor for training
provided to federal employees
18
Recommendation Department of Commerce and the
CIO Council Jointly Conduct an
Information/Outreach Campaign to Encourage
Students to Pursue IT Careers.
Why - Encourage kids to study subjects like math
and science that will help them pursue IT
careers - Make clear connection between careers
and good income - Expands the future pool of IT
workers
19
Recommendation CIO Council in Partnership with
Key Federal Agencies and the Private Sector
Develop an IT Career Academy/Curricula for
Adoption by High Schools Nationwide.
Why - Will establish a cohesive, well-defined
program for implementation in any school
district nation-wide - Government/Industry in
partnership with academia, can develop
curricula that address skill needs (PIE,NAF) -
Will focus teenagers on practical course work and
help set both higher educational and post
education goals - Provides an excellent source of
future workers
20
Recommendation Establish a Scholarship/Internshi
p Program for Promising IT Students in Exchange
for Government Service.
Why - Guaranteed crop of talented, experienced
professionals, with latest IT skills -
Encourage outstanding students to pursue IT
careers - Will enable pursuit of outstanding
students that need financial help - Immediate
return on investment - Students become familiar
with employer and vice versa
21
Recommendation The CIO Council Should Encourage
Federal Agencies to Participate in Regional,
Sector, and Occupational Skills Alliances.
Why - Provide a way for organizations to
leverage resources - Brings specific areas of
expertise together - Working with schools, can
enhance science, math, and computer
aptitudes.
22
Recommendation Support Continuing Workforce
Planning Capability at OPM.
Why - To obtain data necessary to perform
critical analysis to understand the nature of
the work force challenge - To evaluate the
effectiveness of agencies in recruiting and
retaining IT professionals - Current studies
only broadly cover the federal IT workforce -
Solid data (occupational structures and central
databases) are not available to project skills
shortage
23
RecommendationEstablish CIO University - a
Virtual University

• Why
• - Structure Around CIO Council-adopted core
  competencies
• - Establish partnerships with universities
• - A comprehensive program tailored for todays
  leaders
• - Encompasses the depth and breath of IT and
  business disciplines
• - Will deliver the knowledge and skills necessary
  to be a
• successful CIO

24

Other Recommendations to Consider
- Facilitate a continuous discussion to study and
analyze workforce trends
- Team with HR and be
active in recruiting efforts - Recruit where IT
professionals are - the Web - Use flexibilities
to balance work/personal life and market
flexibilities as part of total compensation -
Advertise in non-traditional publications -
Market job openings more competitively
(e.g.,Cisco) - Encourage your employees and
recognize their needs - Increase and maintain
on-going training investments