Another strategy to strengthen the federal IT workforce has not gotten off the ground however. The IT exchange program, authorized under the 2002 act has failed to produce a single worker exchange between the private sector and federal government.
Just three agencies have approved plans to participate in the program, but GAO has said financial disclosure rules cause some companies to shy away while others fear losing eligibility for winning contracts if they are seen to have ties to an agency through the program. Also, companies are themselves competing for the workers who’d participate in such an exchange. When DHS tried to implement an exchange recently, it couldn’t get the company to agree to the terms.
