Foreign Languages: Workforce Planning Could Help Address Staffing and Proficiency Shortfalls
Published: 2002-03-12T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Federal agencies' foreign language needs have increased during the past decade because of increasing globalization and the changing security environment. At the same time, agencies have seen significant reductions-in-force and no-growth or limited-growth environments during the last decade. As a result, some agencies now confront an aging core of language-capable staff while recruiting and retaining qualified new staff in an increasingly competitive job market. The four agencies GAO reviewed reported shortages of translators and interpreters and other staff, such as diplomats and intelligence specialists, with foreign language skills. These shortfalls varied depending on the agency, job position, language, and skill level. The agencies reported using a range of strategies to address their staffing shortfalls, such as providing employees with language training and pay incentives, recruiting employees with foreign language skills, hiring contractors, or taking advantage of information technology. One of the four agencies has adopted a strategic approach to its workforce planning efforts. In contrast, the other three agencies have yet to pursue overall strategic planning in this area.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: I am pleased to be here today to discuss our recently completed report on  foreign language proficiency and personnel shortfalls at four federal  agencies. Federal agencies’ foreign language needs have grown  significantly over the past decade with increasing globalization and a  changing security environment in light of such events as the breakup of the  Soviet Union and the terrorist attacks of September 11.  Foreign language  skills are increasingly needed to support traditional diplomatic efforts and  public diplomacy programs, military and peacekeeping missions,  intelligence collection, counterterrorism efforts, and international trade.  One sign of this need is the budget devoted to hiring, training, and paying  language-skilled staff.  For example, the Department of Defense estimates  that it currently spends up to $250 million annually to meet its foreign  language needs.
At the same time that federal agencies find their needs for staff with foreign  language skills increasing, these agencies have experienced significant  reductions-in-force and no-growth or limited-growth environments during  the last decade.  As a result, some agencies must now contend with an  aging core of language-capable staff while recruiting and retaining qualified  new staff in an increasingly competitive job market.
Today I will discuss (1) the nature and impact of foreign language  proficiency and personnel shortages in selected federal agencies, (2) the  strategies that are being used to address these shortages, and (3) the efforts  that have been made to address current and projected foreign language  shortages.  My observations are based on the results of our January 2002  report on the foreign language needs of the U.S. Army, the Department of  State, the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service, and the Federal Bureau of  Investigation (FBI).  This work was initiated at the request of the House- Senate International Education Study Group, which includes Senators  Thad Cochran and Christopher Dodd and Representatives James Leach and  Sam Farr.
Finally, I would like to note that two other products supplement our  recently issued report on federal agency foreign language needs.  One is a  “For Official Use Only” version of this report that includes information on  the National Security Agency/Central Security Service  and its foreign  language operations. The other is a classified report providing detailed  foreign language staffing information about two of the agencies covered in  our review—the National Security Agency/Central Security Service and the  FBI.I encourage government staff with a need to know and the  appropriate clearance to read these supplemental products.
Before discussing the specifics of our work, let me provide a brief summary  of our findings.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Although more than 70 federal agencies have foreign language needs, some  of the largest programs are concentrated in the Army, the State  Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Federal Bureau of  Investigation.  Office of Personnel Management (OPM) records indicate  that the government employs just under a thousand translators and  interpreters in the job series reserved for this group.  The government also  employs tens of thousands of individuals who use foreign language skills in  positions such as FBI special agents and legal attachés, State Department  Foreign Service officers, and Department of Commerce Foreign  Commercial Service (FCS) officers. For the four agencies we reviewed, a  total of nearly 20,000 staff are employed in positions that require some  foreign language proficiency.
Agency management of these resources takes place against the backdrop  of an emerging federal issue—strategic human capital management.  The  foreign language staffing and proficiency shortfalls we discuss in our report  can be seen as part of a broader pattern of human capital weaknesses and  poor workforce planning that has impacted the operations of agencies  across the federal government.  In fact, GAO recently designated human  capital management as a governmentwide high-risk area on the basis of  specific problem areas identified in prior GAO reports.For example, GAO  previously testified that the Department of Defense faces looming  shortages of intelligence analysts, computer programmers, and pilots. In a  subsequent report on trends in federal employee retirements, we found  that relatively large numbers of individuals in key math and science fields  will be eligible to retire by the end of fiscal year 2006: These include  physics (47 percent); chemistry (42 percent); computer specialists (30  percent); and electronics and electrical engineering (27 percent and 28  percent, respectively).
In response to these risks, the administration, the Office of Management  and Budget (OMB), OPM, and GAO have issued guidance on how agencies  can begin the process of strategically managing their staffing resources.  For example, OPM has developed a five-step workforce planning model  that outlines the basic tenets of effective workforce planning. The  president and OMB’s guidance stresses that agencies should seek to  address shortages of skills by conducting thorough workforce analyses, by  using existing personnel flexibilities available to federal agencies, and by  identifying additional authorities or flexibilities they might need to remove  current obstacles and barriers to effective workforce management. GAO  guidance emphasizes the use of a self-assessment checklist for better  aligning human capital with strategic planning and core business  practices.
section_title: Agencies Reported Varied Foreign Language Shortages
paragraphs: Officials in the four agencies we reviewed reported varied types and  degrees of foreign language shortages depending on the agency, job  position, language, and skill level.  They noted shortages of translators and  interpreters and people with skills in specific languages, as well as a  shortfall in proficiency level among people who use foreign language skills  in their jobs.  The Army’s greatest foreign language needs were for  translators and interpreters, cryptologic linguists, and human intelligence  collectors. The State Department has not filled all of its positions  requiring foreign language skills.  And, although the Foreign Commercial  Service has relatively few positions that require foreign language  proficiency, it had significant shortfalls in personnel with skills in six  critical languages.  While the FBI does not have a set number of positions  for its special agent linguists, these agents must have some level of foreign  language proficiency that they can use in conducting investigations.  (When  identified by language, FBI staffing and proficiency data are classified and  are discussed in the classified report mentioned earlier.)
While our report provides detailed staffing and proficiency shortfall data  for four agencies, I would like to use the data we obtained for the U.S.  Army to illustrate the nature and extent of some of these shortfalls.
The Army provided us data on translator and interpreter positions for six  languages it considers critical: Arabic, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Persian- Farsi, Russian, and Spanish (our analysis excluded Spanish because the  Army has a surplus of Spanish language translators and interpreters).  As  shown in table 1, the Army had authorization for 329 translator and  interpreter positions for these five languages in fiscal year 2001 but only  filled 183 of them, leaving a shortfall of 146 (44 percent).
In addition to its needs for translators and interpreters, the Army also has a  need for staff with applied language skills. We obtained detailed  information on two key job series involving military intelligence—  cryptologic linguists and human intelligence collectors.  As shown in table  2, the Army had a shortfall of cryptologic linguists in two of the six foreign  languages it viewed as most critical—Korean and Mandarin Chinese.  Overall, there were 142 unfilled positions, which amounted to a 25 percent  shortfall in cryptologic linguists in these two languages.
The Army also had a shortfall of human intelligence collectors in five of the  six foreign languages it viewed as most critical in this area—Arabic,  Russian, Spanish, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese.Overall, there were 108  unfilled positions, which amounted to a 13 percent shortfall in these five  languages.  The greatest number of unfilled human intelligence collector  positions was in Arabic, but the largest percentage shortfall was in  Mandarin Chinese.  Table 3 provides data on these shortfalls, by language.
subsections: section_title: Impact of Language Shortages on Agency Operations
paragraphs: The shortages that agencies reported can have a significant impact on  agency operations.  Although it is sometimes difficult to link foreign  language skills to a specific outcome or event, foreign language shortages  have influenced some agency activities.  Here are a few examples:
The Army has noted that a lack of linguists is affecting its ability to  conduct current and anticipated human and signal intelligence missions.  As a result, the Army said that it does not have the linguistic capacity to  support two concurrent major theaters of war.
The need for Spanish speakers has been an issue in pursuing Florida  health care fraud cases.  The assistant U.S. attorney in Miami in charge  of health care fraud investigations recently advised the FBI that his  office would decline to prosecute health care fraud cases unless timely  translations of Spanish conversations were available.  This situation has  important implications, since the Miami region has the nation’s largest  ongoing health care fraud investigation.  The FBI estimates that  Medicare and Medicaid losses in the region are in excess of $3 billion.
The FBI’s Los Angeles office has also cited a critical need for Spanish  language specialists and language monitors for cases involving violent  gang members.  According to the Bureau, being able to target these gang  members will save lives in Los Angeles but is contingent on the  availability of Spanish linguists to assist with these investigations.
The need for foreign language speakers has hindered State Department  operations.  The deputy director of the State Department's National  Foreign Affairs Training Center recently testified on this topic. She said  that shortfalls in foreign language proficiency have contributed to a lack  of diplomatic readiness.  As a result, the representation and advocacy of  U.S. interests abroad has been less effective; U.S. exports, investments,  and jobs have been lost; and the fight against international terrorism and  drug trafficking has been weakened.
Finally, the lack of translators has thwarted efforts to combat terrorism.  For instance, the FBI has raised concern over the thousands of hours of  audio tapes and pages of written material that have not been reviewed  or translated due to a lack of qualified linguists.
section_title: Agencies Use a Variety of Strategies to Meet Their Foreign Language Needs
paragraphs: Our second objective was to examine federal agencies’ strategies to  address these foreign language shortages.  The agencies we reviewed are  pursuing three general strategies to meet their foreign language needs.  First, agencies are focusing on staff development by training staff in foreign  languages, providing pay incentives for individuals using those skills, and  ensuring an attractive career path for linguists or language-proficient  employees. Second, agencies are making use of external resources.  This  effort can include contracting staff as needed; recruiting native or U.S.-­ trained language speakers; or drawing on the expertise of other agency  staff, reservists, or retirees.  Third, several agencies have begun to use  technology to leverage limited staff resources, including developing  databases of contract linguists, employing language translation software,  and performing machine screening of collected data.  Figure 1 provides an  overview of these categories and related strategies.
While these assorted efforts have had some success, current agency  strategies have not fully met the need for some foreign language skills, as  evidenced by the continuing staffing and proficiency shortfalls that each  agency we reviewed faces.
Limited Progress Made 	 Our third objective was to analyze federal agencies’ efforts to implement an  on Workforce Planning	 overall strategic workforce plan to address current and projected foreign language shortages.  To help fill existing skills shortages, some agencies  have begun to adopt a strategic approach to human capital management  and workforce planning.  As I mentioned earlier, OPM has issued a  workforce planning model that illustrates the basic tenets of strategic  workforce planning.  We used this model to assess the relative maturity of  workforce planning at the four agencies we reviewed.  As shown in figure  2, this model suggests that agencies follow a five-step process that includes  setting a strategic direction, documenting the size and nature of skills gaps,  developing an action plan to address these shortages, implementing the  plan, and evaluating implementation progress on an ongoing basis.  This is  a model that could be used to guide workforce planning efforts as they  relate to other skills needed in the federal government such as math,  science, and information technology.
We found that the FBI has made an effort to address each of the five steps  in OPM’s model.  For instance, the FBI has instituted an action plan that  links its foreign language program to the Bureau's strategic objectives and  program goals.  This action plan defines strategies, performance measures,  responsible parties, and resources needed to address current and projected  language shortages.  We found that the FBI’s work in the foreign language  area was supported by detailed reports from field offices that documented  the Bureau’s needs.  The FBI reviewed these reports along with workload  statistics from its regional offices.  FBI officials noted that implementation  progress is routinely tracked and adjustments to the action plan are made  as needed.
In contrast, the other three agencies have yet to pursue this type of  comprehensive strategic planning and had only completed some of the  steps outlined in OPM’s planning model.  The Army has limited its efforts to  developing a plan partially outlining a strategic direction and identifying its  available supply and demand for staff with foreign language skills  (addressing only steps 1 and 2 of the OPM model).  The State Department  has not yet set a strategic direction for its language program; however, the  department has addressed step 2 in the workforce planning model through  its annual survey of ambassadors regarding foreign language needs at their  posts on a position-by-position basis.  State has yet to develop an action  plan and the related implementation and monitoring steps described in  OPM’s model.  Finally, the status of the Foreign Commercial Service’s  language program closely mirrored the situation we found at the State  Department.  One difference, however, is that the agency surveys senior  officers regarding a post’s foreign language needs every 3 years instead of  annually.  Another difference is that FCS officials indicated that they have  begun a workforce planning initiative that is designed to address the key  components outlined in the OPM model.
In closing, I would like to note that foreign language shortages have  developed over a number of years.  It will take time, perhaps years, to  overcome this problem.  Effective human capital management and  workforce planning, however, offer a reasonable approach to resolving  such long-standing problems.
Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, this concludes my  prepared statement.  I will be happy to answer any questions the  Subcommittee members may have.