Management intern program not creating future leaders, report finds

The Presidential Management Intern program is thriving in federal agencies, but most interns are not hired for their leadership potential, according to a new report from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

Of the federal supervisors surveyed for the report, 76 percent gave high marks to the Presidential Management Interns (PMIs) they hired, but only 15 percent of managers saw the PMI program as a way to recruit individuals with management potential. "We discovered that among the users of the program (federal agencies) and the manager of the program (Office of Personnel Management), a lack of focus on the program's purpose has the potential to endanger its effectiveness at a time when there is a critical need for a sound response to the civil service's looming leadership vacuum," said the report, "Growing Leaders: The Presidential Management Intern Program." An executive order created the prestigious PMI program in 1977 to attract individuals with "exceptional management potential who have received special training in planning and managing public programs and policies."

OPM administers the program and hires up to 400 interns each year. But the original purpose of the program is not being fulfilled because agencies are relying on it to quickly fill spaces with highly qualified individuals, according to MSPB. John Palguta, director of policy and evaluation at MSPB, said OPM should ensure that federal managers understand that the purpose of the PMI program is to help the government fulfill long-range management needs. "We need to go back to the basics with regard to the purpose of this program, and make sure agency leaders get the message that the PMI program is primarily designed to attract people with management and leadership potential," he said. OPM takes a more expansive view of the PMI program, saying it is not designed solely to attract only individuals with management potential. In a May letter to MSPB on its report, Steven R. Cohen, then-acting director of OPM, said the program should also be used to recruit people from a "wide variety of academic and social backgrounds who can do the critical analysis of policies and programs that is needed for government to serve its citizens."

Palguta acknowledged that the government needs to recruit highly skilled individuals for areas in government that do not involve management, but he suggested agencies use other hiring tools, such as the career intern program and delegated examining authority, to attract people for those positions.

"This [PMI program] is a very specialized program that only brings in 400 people a year," he said. "A lot of attention must be paid to the management and the leadership needs of the government." MSPB urged OPM to redirect the focus of the PMI program back to management, ensure that prospective candidates are well-informed about their assignments as interns and their potential for career advancement, and work with agencies to improve PMI training.

PMIs, who must be completing a master's or doctoral degree to qualify for the program, are hired at the GS-9 level and receive a two-year appointment in the government's excepted service. PMIs can be promoted to the GS-11 level after successfully completing their first year, but are not guaranteed a job with the government after their initial assignment ends.

Despite its philosophical differences on the purpose of the PMI program, MSPB praised OPM's stewardship of the program. The report credited OPM for revitalizing the program in the late 1990s, after government downsizing and restructuring had paralyzed it. The turnover rate for PMIs is comparable to that of other federal employees, according to the report. PMIs leave at an average rate of 7 percent a year during their first five years of employment, while non-PMIs leave government at a rate of 5 percent a year for the first three years, and 8 percent for the fourth and fifth years.