Intern recruitment program finalized

The Office of Personnel Management has finalized rules governing the federal career intern program, which gives agencies a tool to recruit new civil servants.

President Clinton created the program in July 2000 by executive order. OPM issued interim rules administering the program in December of that year, and adopted the rules as final Tuesday in the Federal Register.

"This program will help agencies to recruit and to attract exceptional men and women who have a variety of experiences, academic disciplines and competencies necessary for the effective analysis and execution of public programs," OPM stated in the final rules.

Interns hired under the program receive excepted-service appointments for up to two years, usually at grades GS-5 through GS-9. The jobs can be professional, administrative or technical. Successful completion of an internship allows participants the option of converting to a full-time job in the civil service without going through the competitive process.

"It's a good thing because the FCIP has been a very successful way to recruit new talent into government," said John Palguta, vice president for policy and research at the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit organization devoted to attracting people to work in government.

The FCIP has grown steadily since its inception. In 2002, its first full year of operation, 2,851 interns were hired. In 2004, 6,619 employees participated.

Palguta said he often tells agencies that the FCIP is an effective tool for finding new workers.

"If you're doing college recruitment, for example, you don't have to announce to the world that 'we're filling these positions' and start getting applications from Alaska and the Fiji Islands and so on," Palguta said. "You can do more targeted recruitment."

The National Nuclear Safety Administration launched its Future Leaders Program last year, which is similar to the FCIP. James Cavanagh, NNSA's associate administrator for management and administration, said targeted recruitment is a big advantage.

"It allows you just to handpick the folks that you're most impressed with." Cavanagh said.

OPM said in the announcement that while agencies do not need its approval to fill intern positions at GS-5 through GS-9, they are required to get permission for higher-graded positions.

OPM defined jobs most suited for this program as "entry-level positions that require training and development."

The internships essentially create a two-year probationary period for agencies to determine the success of an employee.

"Since no hiring process is perfect," Palguta said, "if you happen to find someone that just isn't well matched to the job…you can remove them from the position without going through all the appeals process."

The program also can be used to hire employees already working for the government. If such employees decide not to finish the program, the rules allow them to return to their previous jobs at the same pay rate, provided the internship position is in the same agency where the employee served as a career worker.