News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 6, 2002

Contact: Michael Orenstein (202) 606-2402

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OPM Partners with Colleges to Form "Madison Avenue" Curriculum Promoting Public Service to Minority Students

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Office of Personnel Management and five colleges with large minority student populations have teamed to form a curriculum that will have students design and market Government recruitment programs aimed at their peers. The program will include an emphasis on marketing strategies in the Hispanic community, the only minority group that is underrepresented in the federal workplace.

Kay Coles James, OPM's Director, said the student marketing program, titled "Working for America: You Can Make a Difference," is open to students at California State University at Los Angeles; City University of New York-City College; Miami-Dade Community College; University of Texas at San Antonio; and, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus.

"The concept of having students develop a comprehensive recruitment campaign aimed at their peers is a sound way to give students some insight into the wonderful mix of careers the federal government has to offer," said James. "These campaigns also will help highlight the many ways Federal employees serve their country and the work they do for America."

The marketing and recruitment curriculum begins with the Spring 2003 semester. Students will conduct thorough marketing campaigns that include components in research, design, execution and evaluation. OPM will provide a project budget for students to implement their campaigns, and the agency will approve all marketing and recruiting strategies.

"This innovative program underscores President Bush's commitment to America's students and institutions of higher learning, as well as the Administration's overall commitment to have the federal work force reflect the nation's diversity," said James.

Over the past year OPM has implemented a number of pro-active initiatives to reach the Hispanic community. These include:

• Consultations with nearly two dozen leading Hispanic organizations to identify barriers to full employment and to help spread information about career opportunities in Federal public service.
• An aggressive strategy to reach out to Hispanic media outlets nationwide -including designing Public Service Announcements for placement on Spanish radio stations, placing ads in prominent Hispanic magazines and publications (e.g., the new Hispanic Yearbook and the March issue of Diversity Careers in Engineering and Technology), planned media buys in targeted cities, regular distribution of press releases and other information to key Hispanic organizations and news media, and offering profiles of Hispanics serving in government.
• Development of job-information fact sheets in Spanish to enhance our USAJOBS web site, as well as offering Spanish-language versions of retirement and other benefit materials.
• Active participation in the annual conferences of several Hispanic organizations - including the League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC), National Image, Inc., the National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives (NAHFE), and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).

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OPM oversees the federal work force and provides the American public with up-to-date employment information. OPM also 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.

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