Task force calls for more computer-based training

Agencies need to use technology to help employees acquire new job skills, according to an interagency task force report released this week.

The President's Task Force on Federal Training Technology released its report earlier this week on using technology in federal agencies to train employees. The task force, made up of senior managers from 25 federal agencies and four interagency councils, said technology-based training enables employees to learn new tasks at their own pace and according to their own schedules.

The recommendations, which President Clinton approved, directed the White House and the Office of Personnel Management to:

• Create a steering committee responsible for monitoring federal efforts to use technology.
• Coordinate a technology resource center to assist agencies in technology-based training.
• Require agencies to make training a priority in their annual performance plans under the Government Performance and Results Act.
• Develop a fund, managed by OPM, to assist agencies with the research and start-up costs of using technology-based training.

The report, "Technology: Transforming Federal Training", is available on OPM's Web site.