OPM Pushes New Assessment Tools for Critical Skills

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is partnering with agencies to increase use of assessments to determine which employees can be reskilled to meet changing workforce needs. The assessments are also being used within agencies to streamline the selection process for employees with skills to meet critical skills gaps.

Currently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is preparing the selection process for future explorers under the Artemis lunar program. The goal of the program is to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024 in preparation for a trip to Mars. To select the right teams for this mission, NASA partnered with OPM to develop new online assessment tools to streamline the astronaut selection process.

According to an OPM release, the agency has worked closely with NASA’s human resource personnel and current astronauts to design the application process and assessment tools to meet the agency’s hiring needs. The new competency-based online assessment battery will be delivered through the USA Hire platform, also developed by OPM.

“We are looking for more Artemis Generation explorers to be NASA astronauts.  With OPM’s support putting these new tools in place for the application process, we will be able to efficiently identify the top candidates who may someday explore the Moon and Mars,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

This announcement comes as OPM places additional focus on cybersecurity workforce assessments to assist agencies in closing the cyber skills gap.

In a memo released to agency leaders last week, OPM Director Dale Cabaniss encouraged agencies to utilize new assessments designed for reskilling current employees or to recruit and hire new talent. The memo explains that assessments ensure “the right talent is in the right place at the right time.”

The creation of cybersecurity assessments was directed through an executive order signed in May of 2019 calling for the creation and sustainment of a “strong federal cybersecurity workforce.”

The executive order directed OPM, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (DOC) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to identify and deliver a list of cybersecurity aptitude assessments for agencies to use in identifying current employees with the potential to acquire cybersecurity skills.

Based on the findings of an interagency working group, OPM released information in the memo regarding the purpose and types of assessments available to agencies.  The memo also detailed the results of a data call to agencies determining which aptitude assessments are being used or could be used.  Finally, the memo included recommendations for utilizing the assessments within agencies.