The importance of professional development for federal employees
The prompt for this round of the FEDforum is "The importance of professional development for federal employees". This week, hear from the National Academy of Public Administration.
As we celebrate Public Service Recognition Week, it is a great time to reflect on the importance of professional development for employees in the federal government. Recent National Academy of Public Administration* (the Academy) studies and activities have focused on professional development as an integral tool to bolster employees’ proficiency and confidence in their work and contributes to overall job satisfaction, employee performance, and to the climate of the organization.
Our study work has illustrated multiple examples of the efforts and benefits of professional development within our federal agencies and makes strong ties to achieving outcomes and driving improved customer experience and service to the American public. Our 2020 Office of Personnel Management report reframing their leadership imperative focused on the value of OPM enhancing the competencies and capabilities of the federal human capital workforce by prioritizing and accelerating its efforts to upgrade the human capital competency model; expand training offerings for human capital professionals; and exploring more cost-effective training options suitable to varying agency needs. This analysis is an expansion of a key focus from our No Time to Wait 2 study, Building a Public Service for the 21st Century that “The government’s human capital professionals will, after all, be the guides for the transformation government needs, and the arms and legs for driving it forward.”
And while the Academy’s 2021 report for the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency focused on building a cybersecurity workforce looked at professional development through a tighter lens of cybersecurity, it discussed a wide range of audiences who could benefit from strengthened training, education, and other activities that can support the creation of a national workforce development program. The Cybersecurity Defense Education and Training programs provide experience-based education, training, and skill development and provide opportunities to develop the competencies required in cybersecurity positions. These programs reach a broad audience that includes populations and communities that are underserved and underrepresented in the cybersecurity workforce, widening the aperture to begin skill development in kindergarten through twelfth grade curriculum and outreach.
The Academy’s recent report on Cultural Competence for the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) assessing its cultural competence, reviewed USCGA’s leadership competencies and noted that Coast Guard leaders understand that inclusive leadership and professional development is a life-long journey with many phases. Leaders at USCGA have identified the invaluable role of professional development to continue to develop effective cadets and eventually officers to mee the critical mission of the coast Guard. The USCGA’s Center for Inclusive Learning and Teaching (CILT)’s primary goal is to develop a community of educators and practitioners that fosters discussion and shared best practices for inclusive and evidence-based teaching practices. The CILT coordinated professional development brown bag lunches that featured faculty members’ work on facets of inclusive pedagogy, as a key facet if their diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda.
The Agile Government Center—a joint effort between the Academy and the IBM Center for the Business of Government—is a network of governments, non-profits, foundations, academic institutions and private sector partners to develop agile government principles and promote agility in public organizations. We have partnered with the Federal Executive Institute to provide agile learning programs for career executives, including a session on improving the customer experience. We are now working to develop a series of modules for additional learning programs to assist federal employees in using agile techniques to deliver public goods and services that fully meet customer needs and build public trust.
As governments are increasingly called upon to address complex and interconnected “wicked problems,” their need for leaders, managers, technical experts, and front-line workers with the right skills has never been greater. Our studies and activities demonstrate how professional development within our federal agencies can help professionals achieve outcomes and improve customer experience and service to the American public.
*The National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization established in 1967 to assist government leaders in building more effective, accountable, and transparent organizations. Chartered by Congress to provide nonpartisan expert advice, the Academy's unique feature is its nearly 1,000 Fellows—including former cabinet officers, Members of Congress, governors, mayors, and state legislators, as well as prominent scholars, business executives, and career public administrators. If you would like to find out more about how the Academy can support your organization, please visit us at www.napawash.org.
The column from the National Academy of Public Administration is part of the FEDforum, an initiative to unite voices across the federal community. The FEDforum is a space for federal employee groups to share their organizations’ initiatives and activities with the FEDmanager audience.
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