Tag Archives: federal workforce

The Highs and Lows of Strengthening the Federal Workforce

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The federal government has put an emphasis on the need to strengthen the federal workforce. A strong federal workforce is one that is diverse in terms of race, gender, age, and experience. It is also made up of people with the skills needed to utilize and innovate with modern technologies. The results of diversity and hiring efforts have been mixed, providing insight into what really works in recruiting and retaining a strong federal workforce.

Help Wanted = Data Wanted

NASA has been working on improving the diversity of its workforce for over a decade. However, a recent report showed that despite all of the focus and effort, little progress has been made. The report found that demographics of NASA's workforce remain mostly unchanged since 2012 with only small increases of 1% to 2% for some demographic groups. NASA continues to lag behind the general federal workforce demographics with women making up 35% of the NASA workforce as compared to 45% of the general federal workforce. Women make up only 25% of NASA's scientific workforce compared to women holding 31% of scientific jobs elsewhere in government. Continue reading →

Millennials and the Future of the Federal Workforce

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There has been considerable coverage of the aging federal workforce and the desire to attract millennials (people born from 1980-1994) to a career in public service.

This generation is said to [Tweet "Millennials value a feeling of knowing the work they are doing is meaningful and making an impact."]value a feeling of knowing that the work they are doing is meaningful and is making an impact on the community or world at large. With this in mind, public service jobs seem tailor made for these eager and idealistic workers of the future. Why then, is the government struggling to recruit them? Much of it comes down to a culture change in how the government does business. From reporting across the web on this topic, we've pulled out what we feel are three of the most critical areas for change and focus. Continue reading →

Impact of a Retiring Federal Workforce

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We've been hearing the warnings for years now, "The aging federal workforce will retire in droves - we need to prepare." While the "retirement tsunami" has not come to fruition (at least yet), there is still a real truth in the impact an aging workforce has on the government.

A GAO report found that the percentage of federal workers eligible to retire will roughly double by 2017. With a rough economy and general economic uncertainty, many people have deferred their retirement, but that trend seems to be changing with the retirement rate up to 3.5 percent in 2012, from 2.5 percent in 2009. What does this slower, but nonetheless meaningful, wave of retirements mean for the government and the industry partners that serve it?

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