Energy Department to recruit more high-tech students

Given the growing competition it faces with the private sector for high-skilled workers, the Energy Department is stepping up its efforts to recruit science and technology workers by putting more emphasis on attracting high-school and college students.

But Energy Department Undersecretary Ernest Moniz acknowledged that one of its most challenging areas is recruiting information technology workers, because the higher-paying private sector also is struggling to find enough skilled employees.

While the department has been working for the past few years to attract more workers, Moniz said during a telephone news conference Friday that Energy Secretary Bill Richardson is boosting the department's efforts to meet anticipated needs over the next few years.

"We have done well in attracting excelling scientific talent," said Moniz, the department's top scientist. "Nevertheless, we are concerned as we go forward."

For example, he pointed to a decrease in the number of students graduating with science and technology degrees, a statistic high-tech companies, too, have noted with concern. He also acknowledged that allegations of Chinese espionage at some department labs could have a negative impact on recruitment.

"We cannot be blind to the fact that the current discussions have created some uncertainty," Moniz said. "As we articulate our programs and emphasize our commitment to science, I think it will be a temporary issue."

One of the department's central efforts is an internship program that allows students from high school through graduate school to work in various areas of the department, focusing on such fields as nuclear weapons non-proliferation and energy research. Last year, the department employed 4,300 interns. The department has produced a promotional video featuring past and current interns in an effort to highlight its program. In addition, the department is trying to better utilize flexibility it has been given by Congress to increase compensation for workers, particularly by contractors who operate the national labs, and to take steps to retain older workers.

While acknowledging that the department may have a difficult time competing in some fields, particularly information technology, with private companies that can offer more money and better benefits, Moniz argued that the department offers opportunities to be on the cutting edge of new technology and scientific research, noting that it has produced 73 Nobel Prize winners.

"Information technology is a particularly difficult example in terms of our ability to compete with the private sector," he said. "On the other hand, we have quite a bit to offer . . . This department has for 40 years virtually defined cutting-edge large scale computation and its application to complex problems in science."