IT Training Programs and Workforce Management
Program Overview
HHS' mission and diversity of services make it imperative that the Department maintain a well trained IT workforce that exhibits technical knowledge and expertise. The HHS OCIO is working diligently to meet the rapidly growing training needs of the Department’s IT Workforce. In order to meet these needs, the OCIO uses the following guidelines to assess its IT Workforce:
- Assess the established OCIO knowledge and skill training requirements for IT personnel and determine if the requirements are adequate.
- Assess the extent to which management levels of HHS meet the OCIO knowledge and skill requirements.
- Develop strategies for the hiring, training, and professional development of HHS personnel in the area of information technology (IT).
As a result of these assessments, the OCIO has already implemented Basic Project Officer’s training and Project Management training for its employees. The OCIO has plans to build upon its training curriculum by adding additional programs to meet the diverse needs of all HHS IT Workforce personnel.
The following information is available:
HHS OCIO IT Workforce Roadmap
The HHS OCIO follows the roadmap depicted graphically below to set agency direction in order to analyze, implement, monitor and evaluate the workforce plan. The roadmap is similar to those used by many other organizations for workforce planning and was derived from other models used in a variety of organizations.
What is IT Workforce Planning?
In its simplest terms workforce planning is getting "the right number of people with the right skills, experiences, and competencies in the right jobs at the right time." This shorthand definition covers a comprehensive process that provides managers with a framework for making staffing decisions based on an organization’s mission, strategic plan, budgetary resources, and a set of desired workforce competencies.
Many organizations, both public and private, have developed models for workforce planning. Putting aside variations in terminology, the processes are all very much alike. All rely on an analysis of present workforce competencies; an identification of competencies needed in the future; a comparison of the present workforce to future needs to identify competency gaps and surpluses; the preparation of plans for building the workforce needed in the future; and an evaluation process to assure that the workforce competency model remains valid and that objectives are being met.
Why is Workforce Planning Important?
The "why" of workforce planning is grounded in the benefits to managers. Workforce planning provides managers with a strategic basis for making human resource decisions. It allows managers to anticipate change rather than being surprised by events, as well as providing strategic methods for addressing present and anticipated workforce issues.
Some components of workforce planning, such as workforce demographics, retirement projections, and succession planning, are familiar to managers. Workforce planning provides focus to these components, providing more refined information on changes to be anticipated, the competencies that retirements and other uncontrollable actions will take from the workforce, and key positions that may need to be filled. This in turn allows managers to plan replacements and changes in workforce competencies.
Organizational success depends on having the right employees with the right competencies at the right time. Workforce planning provides managers the means of identifying the competencies needed in the workforce, not only in the present but also in the future, and then selecting and developing that workforce.
One such issue is age and growing retirement eligibility. The HHS workforce is universally aging and is slightly older than the government average. However, age and retirement eligibility in the various Operating Divisions varies greatly. Nearly one-third of the permanent civilian employees of HHS are eligible for either voluntary or early retirement. But the percentages vary by Operating Division from a low of 23 percent to a whopping 72 percent in another. Workforce planning allows organizations to project, at least statistically, retirement rates and to make plans for replacing lost competencies.
IT Workforce Committee
The is a community of the Federal CIO Council, comprised of representatives from nearly every federal department and agency. Committee members meet the first Thursday of each month to discuss issues and topics that affect the IT workforce community. Staff from the OCIO actively participate on the IT Workforce Committee. Participation ensures that OCIO IT managers and employees throughout HHS are kept informed of the latest events and developments that influence the IT Workforce Community on a Federal level. IT Workforce Policy
The OCIO has drafted a HHS IT Project Management Certification Policy. When the policy is approved it will be available here.
Contact Us
For additional information contact the OCIO .
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