TECHNOLOGY AND THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT
03/31/10 10:01 am ET
While providing a flexible and desirable working environment is necessary to attracting and retaining the younger, technology-oriented workforce, only 13 percent of state and local government agencies provide workers with laptop computers, according to a new study by Intel and IT consultant Wipro. >>
03/29/10 12:41 pm ET
Silicon Valley is losing its position as a top area for technology workers, particularly as some of the area's top companies announce layoffs and cuts to pay and benefits. Bloomberg.com reports that Silicon Valley has been hard hit by the recession, with unemployment above the national average and 90,000 jobs lost between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009. Further, companies are eliminating stock options, downsizing staff and instituting pay and benefits cuts, all while the cost of living in the area remains high. Instead, workers are jumping ship to areas like Huntsville, Ala., and Austin, Texas, where companies are tapping into a surge in federal government funding.>>
03/30/10 11:38 am ET
Federal agencies should beef up training and technical support to better equip their managers with the tools needed to effectively hire, retain and manage employees with disabilities, according to a new survey by the Federal Managers Association and Telework Exchange, an organization founded and operated by the public relations firm O'Keeffe & Company in Alexandria, Va., which has clients who sell telework equipment and services to government.>>
03/26/10 12:56 pm ET
Federal human resources professionals have long contended that the government will be challenged by the younger generation's unwillingness to stay put at a job. Labor Department figures, which estimate that millennials will hold an average of 10 jobs before they turn 38, have backed up this belief. >>
03/25/10 12:40 pm ET
Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry has appointed a task force to come up with data that shows that federal employees do not earn higher average salaries than their private sector counterparts. >>
03/25/10 10:21 am ET
A House subcommittee on Wednesday approved legislation that would make telework a statutory requirement for every federal agency.>>
03/24/10 12:28 pm ET
The Social Security Administration will need to boost its recruitment, hiring, training and retention efforts of information technology specialists in order to offset a wave of IT retirements over the next six years, Federal Computer Week reports. >>
03/23/10 01:22 pm ET
Managing and developing a top-notch IT workforce remains a key challenge for federal chief information officers, according to a new survey by TechAmerica and Grant Thornton. >>
03/22/10 04:38 pm ET
Over the weekend, a political blogger and the White House took aim at each other over charges that the Obama administration had sent some federal employees e-mails asking them to support health care reform. >>
03/19/10 02:21 pm ET
Monster.com's Unleash the Monster blog has an interesting post about how federal agencies can leverage social media to brand themselves to potential recruits. NASA, for example, has generated renewed interest in the agency through the use of Web 2.0 tools, in part by tweeting from space and utilizing Tweetups, or in-person meetings that allow the agency to interact face-to-face with the public. >>
03/18/10 02:32 pm ET
A bill introduced in the Senate on Wednesday would invest in the certification, training and hiring of the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. The bill, introduced by Sens. John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.V., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, is a revised version of a bill first proposed in 2009 and is designed to help the government address vulnerability to cyber crime and attacks. >>
03/18/10 01:29 pm ET
Government Executive's latest Burning Question feature tackles the issue of whether federal buildings should provide men and women equal access to restroom facilities. I know the issue isn't technology-related per se, but it could have some important implications for the IT workforce, especially if more women begin pursuing technology degrees and careers. >>
03/17/10 01:02 pm ET
The Office of Personnel Management is planning to unveil several performance management and hiring reforms, including eliminating from federal applications the lengthy essays known as knowledge, skills and abilities statements, Government Executive reports. >>
03/16/10 01:48 pm ET
Millenial social networking Web site Brazen Careerist last week rolled out a new tool that allows users to create social résumés. The tool enables users to showcase ideas, blog posts and other projects, all in addition to traditional résumé information, like work history and education. >>
03/15/10 12:54 pm ET
The Office of Personnel Management on Friday released the final draft of its 2010-2015 strategic plan, and it includes a few investments in information technology to help reform and improve the federal civil service.>>
03/12/10 12:44 pm ET
On Wednesday, I wrote about a new report by Accenture that found that 97 percent of Millennials (ages 14 to 27) in the United States at least partly agree that state-of-the-art technology and equipment will be essential when choosing an employer. Research by Deloitte released in January also found that 88 percent of teens use social networks every day, with more than half saying they would consider their ability to access them at work when weighing a job offer from a potential employer. >>
03/11/10 11:25 am ET
While the down economy has led to nearly flat salaries for many tech jobs, IT professionals are touting one important tool that helps them earn more money: professional certifications. According to the March issue of the Dice Report, IT professionals who obtain specific certifications are increasing their value to other companies and organizations, raising their value in the job market and signaling to their current management that they're worth holding on to. >>
03/10/10 01:04 pm ET
Forty-five percent of Millennials worldwide say they use social networking Web sites at work, regardless of whether their organization or company prohibits their use, according to a new survey by Accenture. >>
03/09/10 10:57 am ET
Federal agencies will need to fill more than 11,500 mission-critical information technology jobs during the next three years, and they must be prepared to meet the high demand for the talent, particularly given the increasing eligibility for retirement among federal workers and insufficient IT talent pipelines, according to a new report by the Partnership for Public Service.>>
03/08/10 10:17 am ET
Federal agencies paid more than $280 million in bonuses in 2008 to recruit, retain and relocate employees, according to a new report from the Office of Personnel Management. >>
03/05/10 04:06 pm ET
USA Today has an interesting article that claims that federal employees earn higher average salaries than private-sector workers in several occupations, including information technology. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, federal workers earned an average salary of $67,691 in 2008 for occupations that exist both in government and the private sector, while average pay for the same jobs in the private sector was $60,046 in 2008, the article states. >>
03/05/10 12:32 pm ET
Wired Workplace was in San Francisco on Thursday covering the RSA Conference. Given my interest in generational issues, I was particularly interested in a session titled "Security and the Generation Gap," conducted by Bruce Schneier, a technologist and leading author on security issues. I expected the session to focus on some of the research about how different generations, particularly Millennials, perceive information security and privacy. Instead, the session focused on the responsibilities that all generations currently hold to protect privacy and ensure individuals, not technological systems, have control. >>
03/05/10 11:28 am ET
Modernizing the federal government's retirement system, including moving from paper to electronic records, has long been a priority of the Office of Personnel Management. But as I reported back in 2008, modernizing the system has not been without its challenges. >>
03/04/10 03:47 pm ET
A new survey finds that even in the tough economy, the job outlook for information security professionals within the federal government remains strong, largely due to the Obama administration's focus on improving cybersecurity. >>
03/03/10 12:17 pm ET
The White House on Tuesday unveiled the unclassified version of its Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, the government's plan to secure public and private sector computer networks. Availability of the plan, which was announced by White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, consists of 12 major priorities, including building a top-notch cybersecurity workforce. >>
03/02/10 02:25 pm ET
The Defense Department on Friday unveiled its new policy allowing military members and civilians to access social media Web sites from the agency's unclassified network. Price B. Floyd, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs, said last week that the new policy is an attempt to change the culture at the department, particularly as young people, many of whom have grown up using social media sites like Facebook, join the military, the American Forces Press Service reports. >>
03/01/10 01:04 pm ET
A recent study by comScore provides new insights for federal agencies into how different generations are using social networking sites. Most notably, the study suggests that Twitter use is up significantly among the younger generation. For example, use of the microblogging Web site from December 2008 to December 2009 was up 6.2 percent among those under age 18, and up 7.9 percent among 18 to 24-year-olds, the study found. >>
