Workforce Modernization

The current focus of the Working Group includes four key initiatives:

• Workforce Modernization Strategy: A 10-year initiative, the Workforce Modernization Strategy focuses on seven important areas to be addressed in a phased approach over the next 10 years. These key areas are:
  • Leveraging Data as Strategic Asset
  • Supporting the Current Workforce
  • Recruiting the Future Workforce
  • Adapting to Technology
  • Planning for Succession
  • Facilitating Culture Change
  • Building Lasting Partnerships

The Strategy also identifies 10 skills that federal financial management employees will need to succeed and advance in their careers such as data management, robotic process automation, and virtual engagement.

• Data Analytics Training: The Working Group is aware of an urgent need for data analytics training in the federal financial management workforce. The Working Group, in partnership with the Chief Data Officers Council, is exploring different options to provide short term data analytics training to a pilot cohort of federal employees. The cohorts would test different curriculum approaches (university courses, micro-learning, etc.) to measure the impact of concentrated upskilling in a key functional need area.
  
  The Working Group is in the planning phase of the pilot initiative

• Centralized Recruiting Pilot: The Centralized Recruiting Pilot aims to make the federal hiring process more efficient and competitive by creating a centralized pool of pre-screened, placement-ready accounting candidates from which the federal financial management community can directly hire
  
  The pilot was successfully tested for three government-wide accounting positions at the GS-07 - 13. The Working Group is currently documenting lessons learned to determine next steps for this initiative.

• Career Planning & Training Initiative: The Working Group recognizes a need for a comprehensive career planning tool for federal financial management employees as well as vastly increased access to training pathways.
  
  As envisioned, the career planning tool will provide detailed career advancement guidance to the federal financial management workforce, helping them identify skills gaps and pointing users to best-in-class training content, provided by the private sector for purchase, to help them advance their skills.
  
  The Working Group and CFO Council, in partnership with the Office of Management and Budget, U.S. Department of Treasury, and General Services Administration are currently seeking to form partnerships with a select group of education providers or online universities to partner on this initiative and provide tailored course content directly to the 140,000+ member financial management workforce.
  
  Interested training provider vendors can respond to the CFO Council’s Application Announcement. Please click here for more information. The opportunity is open for applications until Feb 25, 2022.

The Workforce Modernization Working Group leads include:

• Steve Kunze, Working Group Chair & Deputy CFO at Department of Commerce
• Evan Farley, Working Group Co-Lead & Deputy CFO at General Services Administration
• Mike Wetklow, Working Group Co-Lead & Deputy CFO at National Science Foundation
• Ben Ficks, Working Group Co-Lead & Deputy CFO at Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Stephen Kunze

Evan-Farley

Ben Ficks

Mike Wetklow

Are you interested in getting involved in the Workforce Modernization Initiative?

Do you have expertise you can share? Contact CFOC.support@gsa.gov.