Report On The Establishment Of A Governmentwide Information Technology
Training Program
Recommendation
OPM believes that the programs addressed in this report can be the
foundation of a Governmentwide IT training framework. All programs reviewed
in this report are driven by the Clinger-Cohen core competencies as
outlined by the Federal CIO Council, address the different levels of
IT development, and have built-in program assessment and update capabilities.
Based on an adequacy assessment of existing IT programs determined by
the programs' capability to address Clinger-Cohen competencies, there
are no current recommendations for improving these existing IT training
programs. However, we recommend that a Governmentwide IT training framework
be established using the IT Workforce Development Roadmap to link the
programs discussed in this report, as well as the IT Exchange Program.
IT Workforce Development Roadmap
The IT Workforce Development Roadmap is driven by OPM's IT competencies
which, as discussed, are crosswalked with the Clinger-Cohen core competencies.
Additionally, OPM agrees with the Federal CIO Council in identifying
the Roadmap as the cornerstone of IT career development. Currently,
the Roadmap only links to available opportunities within GoLearn.gov.
We recommend that the IT Workforce Development Roadmap be used as the
foundation for linking all the programs discussed in this report into
a Governmentwide IT training framework. Figure 1.1 displays what a Federal
IT training framework would look like with the Roadmap as the cornerstone.
IT Exchange Program (5 U.S.C. chapter 37)
The IT Exchange Program (ITEP) will allow promising individuals from
the Federal Government and the private sector to share rather than compete
for critical IT expertise. Participating Federal IT workers will be
exposed to private industry's best practices, while private sector employees
will gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the challenges
Federal agencies face in meeting the growing demand for Government IT
services.
We recommend that every agency include the ITEP, in addition to the
programs discussed in this report, as an integral component of their
human capital plans to build IT capacity and to fill competency gaps.
Each agency's assessment of its current workforce will identify competency
imbalances, as well as areas where the IT workforce may lack the expertise
necessary to address agency priorities. Human capital plans should identify
competency gaps and positions where the ITEP could be used to meet agency
needs, and the process for identifying candidates to participate in
the exchange.
Additionally, as illustrated below, we recommend that the ITEP be included
in a Governmentwide IT training framework as a developmental opportunity
within the IT Workforce Development Roadmap. OPM, in consultation with
the CIO Council, will administer the ITEP.
Figure 1.1 Proposed Federal IT Training Framework Plan.
The above figure illustrates the interaction among the IT Workforce
Development Roadmap, Federal agencies, Federal IT workers, OPM, the
e-Training Initiative Team, and the Federal CIO Council. It describes
how the Roadmap could show individuals and agencies the various training
and developmental opportunities that are available to address their
competency needs.
In addition to the IT training programs identified in this report,
the Roadmap should navigate individuals to other opportunities. These
opportunities should include, but not be limited to, shadowing programs,
coaching opportunities, mentoring programs, and developmental assignments.
The inclusion of these other opportunities will enhance the ability
of Federal agencies and their IT workers to identify and set career
goals. This framework illustrates a blended learning approach to the
training and development of the Federal IT workforce. Figure 1.2 below
demonstrates the roles and responsibilities related to the IT Roadmap.
Figure 1.2. Roles and Responsibilities
This figure illustrates that a partnership between the Federal CIO
Council and OPM must exist to ensure the validity of this framework.
As the Clinger-Cohen core competencies are updated by the Federal CIO
Council, OPM will continue to update its crosswalk of IT competencies
in the IT Roadmap with the Clinger-Cohen competencies, as appropriate.
OPM will also continue to ensure that job classification standards meet
the needs of the Federal IT workforce. OPM, currently through the e-Training
Initiative Team, will continue to maintain the Roadmap as appropriate.
The role of Federal agencies in the proposed Governmentwide IT training
framework would be to work in partnership with the e-Training Initiative
Team to identify agency needs in the area of available IT training.
Agencies will also use the Roadmap to identify and address current and
projected competency gaps. This partnership would include agencies funding
their employees' participation in the Roadmap and articulating agency
training requirements to the e-Training Initiative Team. Additionally
agencies will be expected to encourage their IT workforces to enroll
in the Roadmap, develop IDPs, conduct competency assessments, and perform
gap analysis. In return, the Roadmap will provide agencies with data
to use in their workforce planning efforts. Figure 1.3 illustrates the
individual IT worker's relationship with the Roadmap.
Figure 1.3. The Individual IT Worker's Relationship to the Roadmap.
For the individual Federal IT worker, the Roadmap should be just that,
a map to the myriad of training and development opportunities available
in the Federal Government. Federal IT workers currently have the ability
to use the Roadmap to guide their personal career development and to
identify training opportunities housed within the GoLearn system. This
Governmentwide IT training framework will provide expanded training
and development opportunities for both Federal IT workers and the agencies
they serve.
Cost of Recommendation
Because the IT Workforce Development Roadmap has only been recently
launched, we do not currently know what the yearly maintenance and update
costs will be. The costs of GoLearn fee-for-service coursework could
be comparable or less, due to economies of scale, than the amount agencies
currently spend on IT training. The costs to the Federal CIO Council
are dependent on availability of Council members and need to use contractors
to perform the duties associated with the Council's role as Executive
Advisor. There is no cost to employees and currently no cost to agencies
associated with the use of the IT Roadmap to conduct competency assessments,
conduct skill gap analyses, create IDPs, create career progression plans,
or identify and map to sources of training and development. However,
agencies will incur costs to close competency gaps, whether through
the use of fee-based GoLearn courses or other Roadmap identified sources.
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