# Presentation: 318463

## Addressing The Federal IT Workforce Challenge

- Strategic Compensation Conference 2001
- Dabney Hibbert, Program Manager IT Workforce Program
- NASA, Office of the CIO
- August 29, 2001

## Agenda

- Background of the Federal IT Workforce Challenge
- Federal CIO Council IT Workforce Activities
- Modernization of Federal IT Job Structure
- Why
- Initiatives -- Overview, Approach, Status
- Recruitment/Retention Activities
- NASA IT Workforce Issues
- Next Steps

- 8/29/2001

## }

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**1,134**

**0**

**500**

**1,000**

**1,500**

**2,000**

**2,500**

**3,000**

**1996**

**2006**

- (in thousands)

**New jobs**

**Net replacements**

**1996 base year**

**employment**

**Job**

**Openings**

**Due to**

**Growth **

**and **

**Net **

**Replacements**

- America Will Need 1.3 Million
- New Core IT Workers by 2006

- (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce)

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## A Challenge to Federal IT Workforce Stability

- (Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management)

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## “Meeting the Federal IT Workforce Challenge”

- CIO Council IT Workforce Committee Report - Issued July 1999
*http://www.cio.gov/Documents/it%5Fworkforce%5Fchallenge%5FJun%5F1999%2Epdf*
- Implementation Plan - September 2000
*http://www.cio.gov/Documents/Plan%5FImplement%5FFinal%5F9%5F2%2Ehtml*
- Mid-Year Update - March 2001
*http://www.cio.gov/Documents/update%5Fit%5Fworkforce%5Frecommend%5FMar%5F2001%2Ehtml*

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## CIO Council IT Workforce Committee FY2001 Activities

- Workforce Planning and Management
- Cooperative efforts with OPM
- IT Job Categories
- IT Classification Standard
- IT Competency-Based Pilot
- IT Special Pay Rate Study
- NAPA Study
- CIO Mentoring Program
- Recruitment & Retention
- Scholarships for Service
- High School Outreach
- OPM’s Federal Intern Program
- OPM’s Federal Student Loan Repayment Program

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## Federal IT Jobs Prior to Modernization

- Outdated IT classification standard
- Not reflective of current technologies
- Not aligned with private sector jobs
- Goal: To reflect current state of IT via descriptive job categories
- Why?
- Recruitment
- Retention
- Skills

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## Modernizing the Structure of Federal IT Jobs

*Description:*  Create IT **Job Categories** that reflect current IT profession and better correspond to private sector jobs -- clearer announcements; competency-based recruiting; better measures of hot skills areas; and more management involvement in recruitment and selection.
*Approach:  *OPM Pilot Study (Focus Groups with Agency SMEs)* **	*
*Status:  *
- Study Conducted
- New parenthetical Specialty Titles
*Completion Date:  *Spring 2001
*Implementation Date: *Individual Agency schedules (up to 1 year)

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## Modernizing the Structure of Federal IT Jobs (Cont’d)

*Description:*  Create IT **Job Classification** **Standard** that covers employees whose jobs are primarily related to the use and management of IT
*Approach:  *OPM Survey of Agencies
*Status: *Issued June 2001
*Target Date:  *All new IT jobs to be classified by the standard

- 8/29/2001

## Modernizing the Structure of Federal IT Jobs (Cont’d)

*Description:*  **OPM IT Competency-Based Pilot** – To assess the benefits of the competency-based job profile approach
*Approach: *Participating Federal agencies post specific IT job vacancies using the OPM competency-based job descriptions and using OPM assessment tools
- Initiated April 2000
*Status:  *OPM conducing close-out evaluation interviews with agency representatives of participating agencies
*Target Date:  *OPM results to be reported* *

- 8/29/2001

## Modernizing the Structure of Federal IT Jobs (Cont’d)

*Description:*  **OPM IT Special Pay Rate Study** – Assess the need for special pay rate schedules for IT workers within current General Schedule structure -- pay Federal IT workers competitive rates.
*Approach:  *Survey of all Federal agencies - 38 agencies representing 90% of IT employees responded
- Evaluated by series, grade, geographic location and specialty area
- Federal CIO Council input
*Status:  *OPM established special rate for Computer Specialists, Computer Engineers and Computer Scientists,  GS-5 through GS-12
*Implementation Date:  *February 2001* *

- 8/29/2001

## IT Workforce Management and Planning Initiatives

*Description:*  **NAPA IT Pay System Study** – National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) will be making recommendations on how the Federal Government can best compete for IT talent; evaluate best practices and innovative solutions
*Approach:  *Non-Partisan Independent Study
-  Initiated  October 2000
*Status:  *Final Report in Development
*Target Dates:  *
- Executive Report - March 2001
*http://www.cio.gov/Documents/IT%5FPay%5FStudy%5FExecSum%2Epdf*
- Final Report - September 2001

- 8/29/2001

## More IT Workforce Management and Planning Initiatives

*Description:* **CIO Mentoring Program** - Provide IT developmental opportunities through participation in cross-functional Governmental activities
*Goal:*  Foster the development of well-rounded IT personnel and advance interagency e-government initiatives
*Approach:*
- Selected proteges (GS13-15) are matched with a mentoring CIO Council co-chair;
- Later, additional work assignments from Chief Financial Officers Council and the Procurement Executive Council
*Status:*  Program details announced in July 2001
*http://www.cio.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Enhanced&Section_1=16*
*Target Date:*  Work assignments to begin September 2001

- 8/29/2001

## Improve IT Workforce Recruitment and Retention

*Description:* **Scholarships for Service** - Provide 2-year scholarships to graduate and undergraduate students studying IT Security
*Goal:*  Encourage college students to enter the IT Security field
*Approach:*  Federal Cyber Service initiative provides $11M for grants to selected colleges and universities; National Science Foundation to manage grants process
*Status:* $8.6M for scholarship grants awarded in May 2001
- Later, additional $1.6M will be go towards faculty instruction in IT Security
*Target Date:*  Students to receive scholarships in September 2001

- 8/29/2001

## Improve IT Workforce Recruitment and Retention

*Description:* **High School Outreach** - Students "shadow" Government CIOs and other Government IT mentors during a normal day on the job.
*Goal: *Encourage High School students to enter the IT field and work for Federal Government* *
*Approach: *Closely coordinated with  the Industry Advisory Council’s IT Programs for Academic and Career Enhancement (PACE) Committee; several initiatives on-going
*Status:*  Formed November 2000
*Target Date: *Next “Groundhog Shadow Day” February 1, 2002

- 8/29/2001

## More IT Workforce Recruitment and Retention Initiatives 

- OPM’s Federal Intern Program
- OPM’s Federal Student Loan Repayment Program
- National Research Council’s Committee on Workforce Needs in IT** **
*http://www4.nationalacademies.org/cpsma/itwpublic2.nsf*
- Encourage Recruiting from Non-Traditional Resources

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## OPM’s traditional view of “IT workers” does not fit NASA
57% of NASA’s Workforce are Scientists and Engineers, with high IT skill levels 
NASA’s Core Technical Expertise 
IT “Power Users” have Applied IT and Advanced IT skills
IT is a cross-cutting functional area 
IT skills are critical to all NASA jobs at all levels
Downsizing: 
Since 1993, employees under age 35 have decreased from 28% to 13% of the workforce
Agency buyouts: 
Loss of corporate knowledge due to downsizing

- 57% of NASA’s Workforce are Scientists and Engineers, with high IT skill levels
- NASA’s Core Technical Expertise
- IT “Power Users” have Applied IT and Advanced IT skills
- IT is a cross-cutting functional area
- IT skills are critical to all NASA jobs at all levels
- Downsizing:
- Since 1993, employees under age 35 have decreased from 28% to 13% of the workforce
- Agency buyouts:
- Loss of corporate knowledge due to downsizing

- Unique IT Workforce Issues within NASA

- 17

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## NASA’s Technical Workforce

- 18

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## Aggressive recruitment and retention needed
Use of cutting edge technology
Leverage on NASA’s name recognition and exciting mission
Use of OPM recruitment and retention methods
Loss of Corporate knowledge across Agency
2-way mentoring program
Succession Planning needed to sustain cadre of knowledgeable  senior and executive IT management
New OPM Special IT pay rate does not address our pay issues
NASA has outsourced most of these targeted positions (entry level Computer Specialists)
NASA Programs traditionally hire mid-career Computer Scientists and Computer Engineers (“hit the ground running”)
Loss of IT Security personnel to industry

- Aggressive recruitment and retention needed
- Use of cutting edge technology
- Leverage on NASA’s name recognition and exciting mission
- Use of OPM recruitment and retention methods
- Loss of Corporate knowledge across Agency
- 2-way mentoring program
- Succession Planning needed to sustain cadre of knowledgeable  senior and executive IT management
- New OPM Special IT pay rate does not address our pay issues
- NASA has outsourced most of these targeted positions (entry level Computer Specialists)
- NASA Programs traditionally hire mid-career Computer Scientists and Computer Engineers (“hit the ground running”)
- Loss of IT Security personnel to industry

- Significant NASA Findings & Next Steps

- 19

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## Potential Future CIO Council IT Workforce Committee Activities

- Develop a “Road Map” for Career Development
-  IT employees plot career through:
- Improved competency in IT job specialties
- Training
- Job enrichment opportunities and assignments
- Advocate Project Management skills
- Prepare future IT Professionals to better manage for results to support business objectives
- Address training and skills development issues

- 8/29/2001