OMB is looking to internship programs to rebuild the federal government’s lagging early career talent pipeline. Image: Bulgn/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe Biden administration has told agencies to increase their use of internships, fellowships, apprenticeships, and other student and early career programs while increasing the share of those that are paid versus unpaid.
“The federal government offers unparalleled opportunities for dedicated, mission-driven people who want to make a positive impact in service to their country, both here and around the world. As the largest employer in the country, we aspire to be a model employer, and agencies can help achieve that goal by having a talent pipeline that begins with exceptional internship programs,” says a joint memo from OPM and OMB.
However, it adds that “The number of interns in the federal government has decreased significantly over the past 10 years. One of the most impactful ways to rebuild the federal government’s lagging early career talent pipeline is to revive Federal internship programs.”
In addition to increasing the overall numbers of such opportunities, especially those that are paid, agencies are to “better coordinate and fund strategic federal internship, fellowship, and early career hiring programs” and are to “focus on the strategic development and implementation of federal internship, fellowship, and early career hiring programs – while holding senior leaders accountable to using these programs to build an inclusive and diverse federal workforce talent pipeline.”
The Biden White House’s order on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the federal workforce had instructed the two central agencies to issue guidance for increasing on agencies to increase the use of paid internships.
“For many, an internship that does not offer any form of compensation (e.g., housing stipends, recruitment incentives, or financial arrangements with third-party organizations) is the illusion of opportunity, further complicated by the practical needs of having a paying job while not enrolled in traditional coursework,” the memo says.
It adds that “other than a few agency-specific statutes, agencies are generally not subject to caps on the number of full-time equivalents they may hire. Agencies are expected to meet the hiring projections they set for paid internships and student volunteer programs. At the same time, intern hiring is expected to be a supplement to, not a replacement for, competitive hiring.”
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