Federal Manager's Daily Report

GAO has said that skills gaps in the federal workforce–IT in general and cybersecurity in particular are commonly used examples–are among the subjects needing priority attention in the Trump administration and Congress, although GAO did credit OPM for efforts already underway.

It said that OPM for example “has sought to strengthen the methodology for closing skills gaps by offering skills gap closure training to agency officials with respect to agency-specific skills gaps, and to interagency working groups with respect to government-wide skills gaps.” That training sought to help agencies discover the root causes of such gaps and make plans to address them, GAO added.

OPM, OMB, agencies and the CHCO Council need to ensure that such plans are carried out, GAO added.

It also recommended that OPM assist the federal agency skills team, to better identify government-wide skills gaps that are having an impact on programs and measure progress toward closing them. That should include setting targets that are clear and measurable, incorporating input from subject matter experts, and following best practices for project planning, GAO said.

OPM also should capture data to “bolster the ability of agencies to assess workforce competencies by sharing competency surveys, lessons learned, and other tools and resources.”