FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 25, 1998

CONTACT: Ivonne Cuñarro (202) 606-1800 iccunarr@opm.gov

OPM Director Unveils Electronic Job Information Kiosk To Improve Hispanic Representation in Federal Workforce

Kiosk Will Provide Information on Federal Job Vacancies

BRONX, N.Y., Sept. 25 -- As part of U.S. Office of Personnel Managements (OPM) efforts to improve the representation of Hispanics in the federal workforce, OPM Director Janice R. Lachance today presented Ricardo Fernández, President of Lehman College, with an electronic federal job information kiosk. The announcement was made during a press conference at Lehman College, the Bronx.

The computer-based kiosk is part of OPMs Hispanic Employment Initiative. Lehman Colleges kiosk is the third to be placed at a Hispanic-serving institution in New York City, and one of 25 kiosks placed at such campuses across the nation. Two other N.Y. City kiosks are located at City College of New York and John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

According to 1998 OPM statistics, Hispanics represent 6.2 percent of the federal workforce, but they comprise 11 percent of the civilian labor force. The Hispanic underrepresentation in the federal government led Director Lachance to call upon all federal agencies to implement the Hispanic Employment Initiative.

The electronic job information kiosk will allow federal human resources personnel to reach out to the brightest students from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, and to provide them with information on job opportunities and internships in the federal government, Lachance said.

The kiosk, which uses touch screen technology, will provide students, faculty and visitors with up-to-date information on federal job vacancies across the nation and the world. Users may access complete job vacancies, applications and forms. The kiosk also will provide information on the Presidential Management Intern Program, Outstanding Scholar Program, Student Educational Employment Program, and Summer Employment, among other programs.

President Fernández said: We are pleased to have been selected as a site for the placement of the electronic federal job information kiosk. We hope that they represent the opportunity for Lehman College students to enter the federal workforce.

Hispanic Employment Initiative is in support of President Clinton's commitment to have a government that is fully representative of America's diversity, and in support of Presidential Executive Order 12900 on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we reaffirm our commitment to ensure that the federal government is representative of the peoples of this nation and that we provide equal employment opportunities for all, said Lachance.

The Hispanic Employment Initiative will make it possible for the federal government to fulfill President Clintons vision of a government that looks like America in the 21st century, she added.

The Hispanic Employment Initiative includes the following nine points:

• OPM will work with federal agencies and educational institutions in identifying job opportunities to support the White House initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.

• We will increase federal job vacancy information to students, faculty and the Hispanic community.

• We will expand the use of the Presidential Management Intern Program to recruit and hire more Hispanic college graduates.

• OPM will assist the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities by coordinating placement of interns across federal agencies.

• We will work with agencies to use the Student Employment Program to identify job opportunities for Hispanic students.

• OPM will help agencies develop mentoring programs to encourage young Hispanics to enter federal careers.

• We will promote the participation of Hispanics in leadership development programs.

• We will seek to ensure Hispanic Employment Program Managers are integral members of their agencys management team.

• Finally, we will emphasize our successes in OPMs Annual Report to Congress on the Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program.

OPM is the human resources agency of the federal government. The agency ensures that the nations civil service remains free of political influence, and that federal employees are selected and treated fairly on the basis of merit.

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