{"id":15894,"date":"2020-03-30T20:02:05","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T00:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opsweb.wpengine.com\/?p=15894"},"modified":"2021-07-01T16:00:39","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T20:00:39","slug":"inspired-to-serve-steps-to-advance-public-service-and-build-a-stronger-federal-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/blog\/inspired-to-serve-steps-to-advance-public-service-and-build-a-stronger-federal-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspired to Serve: Steps to advance public service and build a stronger federal workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many Americans with critical skills want to join public service. But outdated personnel systems, failed recruiting processes and a lack of a hiring pipeline of students and recent graduates puts federal agencies\u2019 capacity to maintain a qualified workforce at risk. It also jeopardizes their ability to fulfill their important missions, according to a new <\/a><\/a><\/a>report by the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service<\/a>, on which I serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report includes several policy recommendations and legislative\nproposals to restore federal personnel systems at a time when our nation\nurgently needs a viable workforce. The report details the following practical\nsolutions to ensure that agencies attract new generations of Americans to\npublic service and compete for the talent they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Policymakers must fix basic federal hiring processes.<\/strong> The report\nsuggests job descriptions should be short and accessible without government\njargon and that agencies should accept standard one-page resumes and eliminate\nthe candidate self-assessment questionnaire. Federal agencies must empower\nsubject-matter experts and hiring managers to accurately assess the applicants\u2019\nqualifications, and all agencies should have access to OPM\u2019s online assessment\ntools. The Commission also recommends a comprehensive revamp of hiring\npreferences and noncompetitive hiring options that would help attract qualified\nveterans and national service alumni to the federal civil service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal agencies need functional internship and recent-graduate\nhiring programs.<\/strong> To attract new generations to public service, the nation needs\ninnovative approaches to build a pipeline between postsecondary education and\npublic service. The Commission recommends creating a Public Service\nCorps\u2014equivalent to the military\u2019s Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps\u2014for the\ncivil service, granting scholarships in exchange for a commitment to work for a\nfederal agency. A new Federal Fellowship and Scholarship Center would\nstreamline and promote programs to develop students with critical skills and\nleadership ability for federal employment. The Commission would also establish\na government-wide goal of 30,000 annual recent-graduate hires by 2026, rising\nto 50,000 per year by 2031.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agencies need a high-performing personnel culture and must invest in\ntheir human capital capabilities. <\/strong>According to the report, cybersecurity\nand health care personnel systems should be streamlined and made available to\nall agencies. The Commission recommends that federal employee benefits must\naccommodate all career paths, while protecting valuable benefits that help\nagencies retain employees who make public service their career choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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