Washington – Attendance at sessions of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council Training Academy more than tripled during fiscal year 2007, announced U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Linda M. Springer.

The OPM Director, who chairs the Chief Human Capital Officers Council, indicated more than 300 attendees - including Chief Human Capital Officers and their designated associates - attended the Academy's bimonthly series of training sessions this year, compared with attendance of less than 100 the previous fiscal year. Springer credited the boost in attendance to last year's decision to allow each Council member to send up to three representatives to Academy sessions, which previously had been limited to Chief Human Capital Officers only.

"As a result of that decision, the Chief Human Capital Officers Council Training Academy is having a greater impact in the education of Federal human resource professionals, helping them to improve their skills, gain optimal guidance and share best practices as they confront today's major challenges and opportunities in human capital management," said John Salamone, Executive Director of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council.

Academy sessions this year covered such topics as "Best Practices in Telework", "Return on Investment for Training", "Most Efficient Organizations" and the most recent session on a Senior Executive Service Performance Appraisal Assessment Tool (SES-PAAT), designed to improve the appraisal process for SES certification and currently under development by OPM.

"The forum the Academy provides for sharing and disseminating cutting-edge information and best practices is one of the major successes of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council," said Salamone. "Now it's filtering down into the appropriate human capital staff within the agencies. We definitely intend to keep this up when the Academy resumes a new year of sessions in October," he concluded.

Our mission is to ensure the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce. OPM supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.