Tag Archives: Washington

Closing the Government Workforce Gap with Innovation in Hiring and Training

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Younger workers are not replacing the aging and rapidly retiring federal government workforce at an equal rate. Additionally, the work of government has changed, requiring specialized skills in cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) not just in technology jobs but in careers across all departments. There are simply not enough candidates to fill these positions (40,000 in cybersecurity alone) utilizing standard hiring practices. Given this reality, hiring officials are getting innovative in how they fill technical roles.

Utilizing Existing Programs

The Biden administration has worked to modernize internships, apprenticeships, and fellowships to attract younger, less experienced workers to build their resumes within government. The pay for participants in these programs has been raised considerably, making them more attractive and practical to a wider base of people. An apprenticeship sprint for cybersecurity resulted in 7,000 apprentices being hired. These programs are also being used to fast-track development efforts, giving participants real assignments to develop solutions that can be put into use in government today. Continue reading →

How Government Workforce Policies and Programs Support the Most Vulnerable

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With nearly three million people in the federal workforce, the government has to be prepared to support employees with a wide variety of needs. With a workforce that resembles the population as a whole, the policies that the government puts in place can be used as an example for private sector companies as well as for organizations supporting our nation's more vulnerable populations.

The following three programs illustrate the ways the government is supporting its workforce and citizens when they are in vulnerable situations. Continue reading →

Grading the FAFSA Roll-Out

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The Department of Education underwent a complete overhaul of its Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online system to improve the user experience. The existing form consisted of 108 questions, and the Department saw that many applicants were abandoning the process out of frustration and confusion.

The FAFSA Simplification Act was passed in 2020. The act helped fund the work needed to simplify the form and update how aid was calculated. The system rolled out in December 2023, more than a year later than expected and at the height of college application season. While the new system did reduce the number of questions to a maximum of 36 and the intake of 3.1 million forms in the first month alone, the rollout has been marred by some glaring issues that have made the customer experience worse, not better, for many, already stressed college-bound students. Continue reading →

Developing an AI Training Plan for the Government Workforce

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In talking about AI, there is a lot of discussion about "training the models"--feeding large amounts of data into an algorithm and then examining the results to ensure they are accurate. Once the models are deployed, the training does not stop for the models, and even more importantly, for its users.

A study from Deloitte estimates that generative AI could help boost productivity tenfold. However, this jump in efficiency will only be realized if AI and its outputs are being used correctly. Working with AI and AI-generated content requires a different set of skills that include critical thinking, algorithmic understanding, data analysis, deeper domain knowledge, cyber/data hygiene, and more. Continue reading →

Climate Disasters Have Unequal Effects in Communities

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Severe weather events are on the rise. In fact, the U.S. set a new record for billion-dollar climate disasters in 2023. Extreme weather events do not discriminate. Hurricanes, fires, and tornadoes hit wealthy and poor areas equally. However, the recovery in those areas is not as equitable.

Realizing the Power of Power

A study found that low-income communities had to wait longer for power to be restored following hurricanes. The study found that a "1-decile drop in socioeconomic status in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's social vulnerability index was associated with a 6.1% longer outage on average." Continue reading →