OPM Issues Skills-based Guide to Recruitment for Federal Agencies
In a memo last Thursday, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) outlined more detailed skills-based hiring guidance for federal agencies to overcome persistent federal recruitment challenges. In the guidance, OPM instructs agencies to decrease reliance on educational achievements and self-assessments to assess candidates per former President Donald Trump’s executive order (E.O. 13932).
Federal hiring historically relied on education and candidate self-assessments to determine a potential employee’s capability to perform the job. In lieu of evaluating job applicants based on their degree, the guidance encourages agencies to examine the candidate’s knowledge. In addition to the guidance, OPM supplied an updated qualifications manual and occupational questionnaires for the General Schedule (GS), as well as assessment and hiring instructions.
“By focusing on what an applicant can do—and not where they learned to do it—skills-based hiring will expand talent pools by making it easier for applicants without a bachelor’s degree to demonstrate their skills and will help remove barriers to employment for historically under-represented groups. By drawing from the diversity of this country, agencies can be better equipped to tackle the challenges before us,” stated OPM Director Kiran Ahuja.
As stated in the guidance, the Biden Administration is committed to expanding skills-based hiring for federal jobs as it ensures that hiring managers focus on candidates’ skills, not where the candidate acquired the skills. OPM further noted that with a booming market for talent, the federal government must position itself to compete with other sectors, and a skills-based approach to hiring promotes this objective.
In the press release accompanying the guidance and new materials, U. S. Digital Service (USDS) Administrator Mina Hsiang revealed the agency’s skill-based hiring process promotes diversity and inclusion.
“At U.S. Digital Service, we have from the beginning used the skills-based hiring approach to identify and hire talent, as it has become the standard approach in the technology sector, based on its ability to hire skilled professionals no matter their formal background,” said Administrator Hsiang. “This hiring practice will also expand the government’s reach with diverse and historically unrepresented candidates, as well as increase the number of individuals with the right skills and experience to do the important work.”
As part of the Federal Assessment Strategy Initiative, OPM plans to offer sessions and additional guidance and tools for other agencies, including hands-on support for implementing human resource solutions. OPM officials are also working with agencies to develop job positions and measure progress on hiring goals.