At a recent hearing before the House federal workforce subcommittee on airport security workforce issues, chairman Jon Porter, R-Nev., said the subcommittee would be looking into hiring, background screening, training, and deployment of federal and private sector employees working at airports in the hopes of resolving issues such as the difficulty retaining a part-time workforce, and to a less extent full-time employees.
The Government Accountability Office testified that the Transportation Security Administration also faces challenges related to oversight and performance management, though it noted that the agency has made progress managing, deploying and training a federalized aviation security workforce.
That’s a lengthy process, according to an account of the workforce vetting process given by TSA deputy administrator Robert Jamison, and lengthy background checks make the challenge of high turnover greater.
According to the administration’s fiscal 2007 budget, screener turnover is one in five, and over half of part-time screeners have left their jobs, a rate of attrition that has led the agency to request $10 million in fiscal 2007 to fund retention incentives.
GAO cited other difficulties at the hearing, including outdated and unclear FSD guidance — FSDs are the lead authority at U.S. airports — particularly regarding when FSDs must coordinate with other stakeholders when there are security incidents.
Porter listed over a dozen incidents from airports around the country this year ranging from threatening graffiti in the hull of an aircraft, an automobile driving through a checkpoint and onto a runway, and ongoing luggage theft, to highlight some of the ongoing workforce challenges in addition to retaining workers.
FSDs also have reported that a TSA screening allocation model to determine screener-staffing levels at airports needs to better address the retention of part-time workers. GAO noted that while TSA has expanded training opportunities for screeners, retention problems prevent them from taking advantage of those opportunities.
