Washington, D.C. - At today's governmentwide hiring symposium, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) senior staff trained 161 federal human resource officials and program managers from 51 agencies and sub-agencies on how to make better use of the available staffing flexibilities to improve the federal hiring process. Due to the high demand for and full capacity at the OPM June hiring symposium, Director Kay Coles James called for an additional training session in August.

"These training opportunities help ensure agency hiring officials are both aware of the many flexibilities they have available and how to use them," said James. "But what agency hiring officials do after they leave the training is critical to achieving results - they must use the tools and flexibilities discussed to bring on new talent."

The one-day symposium featured sessions led by OPM Associate Director Ronald Sanders, senior officials and other agency representatives on the various hiring flexibilities, including sessions on veteran hiring and student and excepted service employment authorities. The training provided agency leaders and managers with instructions on how to implement existing hiring flexibilities to make public service more attractive to jobseekers who have been discouraged by the federal hiring process.

During this past year, James initiated a training campaign to support and assist agencies in their efforts to implement HR flexibilities to quickly hire veterans, students and other qualified individuals. The hiring symposiums give agencies, as well as human resources professionals, another opportunity to learn and ultimately take responsibility for the critical role they play in the hiring process at federal agencies.

James added, "The record numbers of HR officials attending these training symposiums illustrate the increased governmentwide attention to fixing the federal hiring process and streamlining recruitment and hiring practices."

List of Participating Agencies and Sub-Agencies: