Page 3 - Federal Computer Week, March/April 2019

Trending 29 years after landing on GAO’s High Risk List, DOD’s supply chain management
was removed in March
Cyber reskilling pilot program attracts 1,500 feds
A new initiative to retrain federal work- ers for cybersecurity jobs received more than 1,500 applications, accord- ing to the government’s top IT official.
On March 1, U.S. CIO Suzette Kent tweeted statistics related to the first round of applicants for the govern- ment’s new Federal Cyber Reskilling Academy. Among the findings: Nearly half of the 1,500 applicants were lower- level feds between GS-5 and GS-11 on the government pay scale. The appli- cants completed aptitude assessments, and the Office of Management and Budget planned to select finalists for the first 25-person cohort by April 1 before kicking off a three-month cur- riculum starting April 15.
The program is envisioned as a vehi- cle for transitioning parts of the federal workforce into high-level cybersecurity work, which is greatly needed in the federal government, and countering the looming prospect that automation could lead to the elimination of lower- level, manually oriented data entry and analysis positions.
Jeffrey Neal, senior vice president of ICF and a former federal chief human capital officer, said employees who are lower on the GS scale are the right peo- ple to target for a program that seeks to convert non-IT professionals into cybersecurity specialists. The initial cohort of 25 candidates will likely serve as a proof of concept for the program, with the ability for “a more rapid scale- up if the demand is there,” he added.
A senior Trump administration offi- cial told FCW that OMB was not aim- ing for a specific demographic for the academy, adding that the only require- ment was that the applicant be a cur- rent federal employee who does not work in the IT field.
Kent seemed to suggest that the level of interest in the program was higher than expected, tweeting that the fact that 1,500 people applied “shows there’s a great desire” for the program among federal workers.
OMB previously said it is planning a second cohort of students this year that will be open to IT professionals and
Suzette Kent
non-IT professionals alike. Neal said that although the program is almost certainly capable of scaling up, it is likely that agency interest will drive its longevity and success over the long term.
“The best measure of success is going to be demand,” he said. “If agen- cies want to use the program or rep- licate it themselves, it is successful. If not, then we learn something and adapt.”
— Derek B. Johnson
FCW CALENDAR
4/3 Automation
GAO Chief Scientist Timothy Persons and DHS Data Analytics
Technology Center Director Stephen Dennis are among the speakers at FCW’s workshop on preparing agencies for AI and automation.
Washington, D.C.
FCW.com/ai
5/7 Cloud
“Disrupting Digital Business” author and Silicon Valley consultant
Ray Wang will complement a slate of government speakers at the 2019 BMC Federal Exchange.
Washington, D.C. FCW.com/bmcexchange
5/15 Analytics
DOD Chief Data Officer Michael Conlin is the keynote speaker
at FCW’s 2019 Data and Analytics Summit, which will focus on leveraging data to boost mission effectiveness.
Washington, D.C. FCW.com/DataAnalytics
March/April 2019 FCW.COM 3