Uncle Sam enlists Hollywood in IT workforce plan

Working with a Hollywood-based film company to produce commercials that make technology jobs look cool is one of the federal government's numerous projects to improve IT recruitment, career planning and retention at agencies, according to a Chief Information Officer Council Federal IT Workforce Committee memo released late last week.

The memo was introduced to give businesses and others attending the FOSE technology conference in Washington the latest information on government IT workforce efforts and follows on a CIO council report released last June that presented 13 recommendations aimed at addressing the challenges of recruiting and retaining IT staff within the federal government.

Both federal agencies and the private sector are having difficulties in finding staff to fill IT jobs. Studies estimate that only about half of private sector IT jobs are expected to be filled. In the government, it's even harder to find people because it can't offer stock options and are constrained in salary offers because of specific government pay scales.

The CIO memo said that the Office of Personnel Management has begun to revise the classification and qualification standards for IT jobs to provide more accurate job descriptions, and it will help agencies better able to recruit for jobs. It is also working with agencies to help them establish special government pay scales for IT workers.

The CIO and the National Academy of Public Administration are planning to conduct a study that is to result in recommendations on what government IT pay scales should be and how to spur IT career development within agencies.

Under the category of retention and recruitment, the Commerce Department signed an agreement with Women in Film, a Hollywood-based organization for writers, producers, directors and others, to target teenagers through two public service commercials to promote a positive image of technology professionals and encourage them to pursue careers in technology. The public service announcements are scheduled to be released in the fall.

OPM also is offering online applications for employment at its main jobs bank and created a pamphlet to help agencies with recruitment, as well as seminars for agencies to help them recruit from minority communities.

Other efforts include a presidential Task Force on Federal Training Technology, which soon will recommend how agencies can provide federal employees with IT training opportunities.

In June, the CIO Council plans to publish a formal report on all its efforts.