1: Workforce
A cadre of highly capable IT professionals with the mission critical competencies needed to meet agency goals. Other Information:
The IT Workforce Committee is government’s advocate for strategies to help develop and maintain an effective IT workforce.
Its broad agenda encompasses the full employment life cycle: workforce planning, recruitment, retention, and career development.
As the Federal government continues to streamline IT resources, resulting in more enterprise-wide programs, it must ensure
that the IT workforce is well versed in areas such as IT project management, IT Security and Enterprise Architecture. It is
for this reason that workforce planning is of critical importance. The complexity of the work environment, combined with the
rapid pace of change amplifies the need for robust IT workforce planning. Our future workforce will be more diverse than at
in any time in history. Agencies must recognize generational issues when focusing on recruitment and retention. IT Workforce
Committee members represent nearly every Federal agency, and work in partnership with OPM, OMB, GSA, the Chief Human Capital
Officers Council, academia, and many private sector organizations in the IT industry. These partnerships enhance IT product
and service delivery by developing, communicating and implementing strategies to recruit, retain and manage a fully trained
and qualified IT workforce, to meet current and future mission requirements. MAJOR ACTIVITIES: Conduct Federal-wide IT Workforce
Capability Assessment (ITWCA) Survey. This online survey is designed to collect information regarding the types of work that
Federal IT employees carry out to inform agency workforce planning. The survey allows agencies to capture the “supply” of
IT workforce capabilities, including proficiency in a set of IT-related competencies and skills, the percentage of the workforce
possessing certain IT-related certification areas, the amount of time spent on selected specialized job activities, and a
demographic profile of the IT workforce. Analyze Government-wide results of IT Workforce Capability Assessment. The Federal
CIO Council developed the Survey and a Capability Planning and Analysis Tool (CPAT) for Federal agencies to identify a “demand”
model of capabilities needed to support their IT mission. A Federal-wide analysis is conducted to present a comprehensive
picture of strengths and gaps. Individual agencies can compare their agency capabilities against Federal-wide capabilities.
This tool also allows agencies to compare the current capabilities of its IT workforce to its desired target capabilities,
and to identify specific competency and skill gaps. Strengthen the utilization of the IT roadmap. Activities over the next
several years include refreshing the content of the roadmap to align with changing job activities and competencies, reviewing
and enhancing privacy and security related controls, and facilitating access and use of the tool. Develop and institute changes
to GS-2210 titling. The ability to identify and target specialties in the dynamic field of IT is essential to workforce planning
and successful recruiting. The Council is working with the Office of Personnel Management to update and add critical specialty
titles. Issue updated Clinger-Cohen Core Competencies. Core universal knowledge requirements have been identified for IT staff
across the Federal Government. The Competencies are updated biennially and are used to define learning objectives for Federal
educational institutions which support IT workforce development, including the Federal CIO University consortium, the National
Defense University’s (NDU’s) Information Resources Management College and the USDA Graduate School. Expand strategic IT recruitment
and workforce planning activities to include examination of multi-generational influences and opportunities. In FY 2008 the
Federal CIO Council began to identify trends and leading initiatives associated with attracting and retaining the internet-savvy
“Net-Generation.” The Council will continue to promote Federal IT careers by working closely with the National Science Foundation
to facilitate use of the Scholarship for Service Program to place qualified information assurance students and graduates in
agency summer and permanent positions. The Council will also continue with student outreach efforts such as career fairs and
its annual IT Job Shadow Day, a cooperative venture in conjunction with Junior Achievement and the Association For Federal
Information Resources Management (AFFIRM). Conduct IT Forums. Since April 2005, over 3,275 federal IT workers and their colleagues
have attended forums that focus on “hot” topics in Information Technology. The goal of the IT Forums is to provide education
on key issues to increase competency in mission critical work. In addition, the sessions allow networking and information-sharing
to promote best practices. These forums are normally held quarterly, and information about them is available at: www.cio.gov/itqf.
Continue to work with OPM and participating agencies to encourage IT Exchange Program. This program allows for temporary details
(3 months to 1 year) of civilian IT employees to the private sector or for temporary details of private sector employees to
agency positions. Interested agencies are currently developing ITEP agency plans and programs in order to implement IT exchanges.
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: 50% of agencies actively using the Capability Planning & Analysis Tool for IT workforce planning
in support of the President’s Management Agenda. 75% of agencies sending participants to IT Quarterly Forums and Federal IT
Summits; and programs are evaluated as good to excellent by 90% of agency participants. 10% increase in the number of agencies
participating in the scholarship for Service Job Fair each year. SU CCESS STORY: Developing the strategies and actions to
recruit, develop, and maintain a best-in-class professional IT workforce has been a Federal CIO Council priority since the
establishment of the Council. Workforce issues are real, compelling, and rank consistently at the top of CIO critical issues
lists. Initiatives supported by the Council target both today’s employees and tomorrow’s leaders. In years past, IT workforce
planning was an afterthought, now it is a targeted approach. The CIO Council established the IT Workforce Capability Assessment
(ITWCA) Survey in 2003 with the goal of identifying IT employees, assessing existing skill gaps and determining agency IT
bench strength across the Federal Government. This was the first time that a specific section of the Federal civilian workforce
was analyzed in such detail. Significant economies of scale have been achieved by the use of one survey and gap analysis tool
for all agencies. The utility to agencies is evident in the continual improvement in survey response rates: 26% in 2003, 28%
in 2004, and 40% in 2006. The Survey and resulting data have informed the Title 40 IT workforce management obligations and
activities originally conveyed upon Chief Information Officers through the Clinger-Cohen Act, as well as the IT workforce
assessment requirements levied by the E-Government Act. Periodic workforce assessment has been recognized as a promising federal
practice and the ITWCA is serving as the basis for the new Federal Competency Assessment Tool, which will be used to measure
human capital competencies across the Federal Government. Both the National Defense University’s Information Resources Management
College and the Federal CIO University consortium have built highly successful, graduate level education programs based upon
knowledge requirements contained in the Federal CIO Council’s Clinger-Cohen Core Competencies for IT managers and their staffs.
Since these programs’ inception, over 2,600 individuals from government, military, private industry and coalition partner
organizations have earned CIO certificates. Graduates of the programs have an understanding of relevant laws and regulations,
existing and emerging technologies, as well as project management, information security, enterprise architecture and E-Government
requirements. The Federal IT Summits have been very successful. This free, annual one-day training event provides Federal
IT workers at all levels the opportunity to discuss topical government IT issues with recognized Federal Government experts.
A highlight of these Summits is the capability to dialogue with Clay Johnson, OMB’s Deputy Director for Management, and Karen
Evans, OMB’s Administrator of E-Government and Information Technology, regarding the strategic direction of Federal IT management.
Powerful sessions like these help to build a sense of community among Federal IT workers. The 2006 IT Summit was quickly filled
with 500 registrants, and the 2007 IT Summit had 700 registrants in only three days. Part of this program’s success is due
to the careful selection of speakers that are fully vetted with CIO Council Leadership. Ninety-five percent of attendees reported
that they “learned something at the IT Summit that will help them do their jobs.” The Council is also reaching out to tomorrow’s
IT leaders through its co-sponsored Federal IT Job Shadow Day program with Junior Achievement and AFFIRM. Working with high
schools throughout the metropolitan Washington area, Federal agencies are providing a day’s view on the many missions within
the Federal Government and how information technology is used to provide an extensive array of services to the American public.
Based on a successful 2007 Shadow Day, more agencies, high schools and students will all participate in the 2008 event. The
goal is to continue to build upon this initial outreach program as part our recruitment strategies for the Net-Generation.
Objective(s):
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