Emphasis on Training Planned

The budget also seeks better coordination among agencies of training programs, sharing of best training practices, and increasing leadership development opportunities for employees. Initiation and ongoing training programs for the SES in particular will be emphasized, with a focus on “diversity and the changing needs of a 21st Century workforce,” and demonstration projects will be started to “identify promising practices in recruiting, hiring, onboarding and deploying talent across agencies. The goal of these projects is to increase diversity, reduce skills gaps, and improve organizational outcomes.” The budget doesn’t specify whether more money would be available for training—one of the hardest-hit areas of agency overhead budgets during the recent tight fiscal times—and if so, how much. There may be more detail to come: the budget release did not include a section that traditionally provides details on management initiatives, some of which affect federal personnel policy. That section is to be released next week.