The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced at a White House event today that the agency is launching a project to overhaul the Federal government’s hiring process for the IT management job series – transitioning to a fully skills-based approach by the summer of 2025.
OPM also issued new guidance for skills-based hiring in AI-related roles today – as mandated by the Biden administration’s October AI executive order (EO).
During the White House Convening on Good Paying Jobs in Cyber event today, OPM Deputy Director Rob Shriver announced that the agency has launched a comprehensive project to transition the government’s Information Technology Management job series to a skills-based approach for hiring.
“In collaboration with our agency partners, we chose to focus on the 2210 series because that reflects the majority of the technical hires across the Federal government, including, of course, a whole lot of cybersecurity professionals,” Shriver said. “It accounts for nearly 100,000 current Federal employees and it is also one of our most in-demand roles in government, so that 100,000 is growing.”
“Of course, with the emergence of new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, skills-based hiring becomes ever more critical to finding and onboarding people who have gained these skill sets through whatever pathway,” he continued. “We need these skills in government – we can’t be fussy about how people got them and in fact, we’ve got to honor these alternative paths.”
Speaking at the same event today, National Cyber Director Harry Coker – who has publicly said the cyber workforce is his top priority – highlighted that the government is leading by example.
“For the first time, the Biden-Harris administration is committing to converting an entire series of technical employees that work in every Federal agency and represent a majority of the Federal IT workforce to skills-based hiring,” Coker said. “This is a major milestone in our national effort to move to skills-based hiring.”
“It represents an important commitment and vital work ahead. This process will take time, but we’ll get it done by the summer of 2025,” he said. “You’ll hear us making a similar commitment to skills-based hiring with Federal contractors, employees that work shoulder to shoulder with Federal employees to advance our mission. And you’ll hear about new commitments being made by private sector companies representing more than a dozen industries.”
OPM said it is currently reviewing Federal agency skill qualification requirements, including the 2210 IT Specialist Qualification and Classification Standard, and will use this pilot to expand the use of competency-based hiring more broadly across the Federal Government in fiscal year 2025.
OPM’s announcements came on the 180-day mark of the AI EO, and the White House announced today that all Federal agencies have completed their assigned tasks on schedule.
The agency unveiled the new skills-based hiring guidance and competency model for AI work today, aiming to empower agencies to “shift towards a skills-centric paradigm” that emphasizes practical skills over educational pedigrees or past titles and prioritizes talent with “AI proficiencies tailored to organizational objectives,” OPM said in its memo.
“For new or rapidly evolving fields, such as those associated with AI, data, and technology, it is crucial that agencies adopt this skills-based hiring approach,” the agency said. “This ensures the Federal workforce can readily adapt to the changing landscape and integrate innovative skills that may not yet be captured in traditional education or certification frameworks.”
Today’s guidance supports Biden’s AI EO as well as the Trump-era AI in Government Act of 2020.
In July, OPM issued general and technical competencies to support agencies’ efforts to target AI skills needed to fill positions to expand AI capabilities governmentwide. Since its issuance, OPM consulted with subject matter experts from Federal agencies and conducted environmental scans, focus groups, and governmentwide surveys.
Today’s guidance includes 43 general competencies and 14 technical competencies found to be important for performing AI work. It also expands on OPM’s July memo by including competencies by grade.
“When assessing job applicants based on competencies and proficiency levels, rather than just minimum qualifications, agencies are required to use validated (that is, job-related) assessment tools,” the guidance section of the memo states. “Use of validated assessment tools, such as cognitive tests and structured interviews, is critical when assessing job applicants to validate competency-based qualifications.”
OPM Announces More AI Workforce Guidance, Progress
OPM also issued new guidance on the responsible use of generative AI for the Federal workforce to support Federal employees in learning about the new tool’s potential benefits and risks, exploring best practices for safely, securely, and responsibly using generative AI in work, and finding ways to learn more about generative AI.
The guidance states that agencies should practice basic cyber hygiene, like ensuring they don’t input any information into generative AI tools that’s not allowed. It also tasks employees to follow their individual agency guidelines for using the tool.
It does offer examples and recommendations for generative AI uses, including summarizing information, creating communication materials, and developing code.
Among its other announcements today, OPM highlighted its contribution to the “Increasing AI Capacity Across the Federal Government: AI Talent Surge Progress and Recommendations” report to the president. The report was submitted by the AI and Tech Talent Task Force, which includes OPM.
The April 26 report offers insight into the progress of the Federal government’s AI Talent Surge, noting that programs hiring through the surge saw an average 288 percent increase in AI applications compared to previous periods, and some tech talent programs saw up to 600-2,000 percent increases in AI applications.
“Moreover, public interest in Federal AI roles remains high. From January through March 2024, applications for AI and AI-enabling roles have doubled as compared to similar periods in 2022 and 2023,” the report says. “The message is clear: the public is ready and motivated to join the Federal Government to work on AI priorities.”
As for hiring, the report notes that more than 172 new AI hires have been made within the Federal government since the AI EO was unveiled in October.
The report notes that AI capacity gaps across agencies remain – like insufficient data, compute, and technical infrastructure. To help increase AI capacity, the AI and Tech Talent Task Force made 10 recommendations, including to increase funding for AI and tech talent; launching a Federal AI scholarship-for-service program; and exploring AI talent with global partners.
