Exclusive Workforce

'Going to be a s***show': Parks, Interior struggle to hire temporary staff ahead of busy season

The department fell well short of its goals last year and is failing to keep pace with even that level of hiring.

Workforce

Feds wary of skills-based hiring survey after 15 months of attacks

The combination of a lack of outreach around a newly deployed survey of federal workers’ skillsets with the recent flood of layoffs, purges and reorganizations has made some reluctant to participate in the bipartisan initiative.

Tech

Growing agency talent is critical for modernization, Transportation’s IT head says

“When there is support and excitement, then you can do magic,” Pavan Pidugu, the Transportation Department’s chief digital and information officer, said about engaging personnel across the agency to drive meaningful IT modernization.

Workforce

FAA sets records in effort to hire gamers as air traffic controllers

The agency received over 12,000 applications in less than two days, making the effort “wildly successful,” according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Workforce

OPM cuts degree requirements for government tech jobs in new standards

The changes have been years in the making and represent a federal hiring apparatus more focused on applicable skills than specific backgrounds.

Workforce

OPM seeks cybersecurity talent to join Tech Force

"Through Tech Force, we’re recruiting highly skilled cybersecurity professionals to take on real challenges and strengthen the government’s defenses where it matters most,” OPM director Scott Kupor said in a statement.

Pay & Benefits

VA's failure to use its new authority to boost pay for doctors draws bipartisan criticism

Department officials, including those in the Trump administration, have long complained that legal pay caps are hurting retention and veteran care.

Tech

DOJ clears the way for government to hire technologists still connected to their private sector employers

Ethics experts and public sector lawyers told Nextgov/FCW that they are skeptical about the arrangement of private sector technologists joining the government on leaves of absence while retaining their deferred compensation packages.

Workforce

OPM finalizes Biden-era reg revamping federal hiring of college students

The Trump administration made only minor tweaks to a 2021 interim rule aimed at encouraging agencies to hire students still at school to part-time jobs and eventually convert them to permanent posts.

Management

OMB is hiring for a deputy federal chief information officer

“If you know how to run large systems, cut through noise, and turn strategy into execution across government scale, this is that job,” Federal CIO Gregory Barbaccia said about the search for his deputy.

Workforce

IRS tasks more staff without any tax experience to process tax returns

“This has the potential to be a disaster,” employees warn as the tax agency scrambles to prepare for the already underway filing season.

Tech

Agencies lost around 20,000 tech workers last year — and now the Trump admin is hiring

All six departments and agencies that lost the most IT talent currently have open job listings for such roles.

Updated Oversight

A thinning roster at Indian Affairs leaves tribes wondering who’s left to help, watchdog reports

Indian Affairs’ workforce has decreased by 11% since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Tech

Trump’s Tech Force hiring effort extends application deadline

Ethical questions remain about how managers from the approximately 30 industry partners involved in the program will work for the government without triggering conflicts of interest.

Workforce

ICE more than doubled its workforce in 2025

The Trump administration has reconfigured its onboarding and training process to quickly deploy agents into the field.

Tech

Want an AI job at Treasury? Write a 10-page analysis of ‘Great Gatsby’

While the application requirement may actually be a test on using artificial intelligence tools, an AI expert said that the skills being measured are not relevant to the job listed.

Workforce

Trump is using $70K bonuses for a hiring surge at one agency. Democrats want to stop him

The hiring of hundreds of new officers will allow Trump to centralize his power in Washington, senators say, though administration suggests the effort is boosting safety.