Last week the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a guide to help agencies bridge the gap between emerging technologies and the workforce of the future. The guide focused on reskilling and reshaping the workforce, as well as providing guidance for managing the changing federal workforce.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that a Forest Service-run Job Corps program will be transferred to the Department of Labor. As part of the move, nine of the 25 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers will be closed. The plan could eliminate up to 1,100 jobs from the Forest Service.

Last week the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Acting Director Margaret Weichert and Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Acting Director Russ Vought released the legislative proposal and business case for transferring much of OPM’s duties to the General Services Administration (GSA) and OMB. While some elements of the plan received praise, criticisms have also arisen ahead of today’s hearing in the House Subcommittee on Government Operations within the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

The US Postal Service has begun a two-week trial of self-driving carrier trucks in three southwestern states. The pilot partnership with San Diego based startup TuSimple would use autonomous vehicles to move mail between Phoenix and Dallas in an effort to improve delivery times and costs.

The Federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council has launched a new effort to attract top information technology (IT) talent to the federal government. The Council’s coding challenge builds upon a common private sector hiring technique to allow potential government employees to showcase their coding skills while facing real world tech challenges.

The Federal Executive Board (FEB) National Network has produced an annual report detailing the groups’ achievements during FY 2018. The Boards connect strategic partners across federal, state, and local government to facilitate cooperation on various initiatives. This year’s report focused on three primary issue areas: emergency preparedness, employee safety, and security; workforce development and support; and strategic partnerships.

On Monday the White House announced recipients of the Gears of Government Award, intended to highlight dedicated public servants in the federal workforce. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) honored 24 federal employees at seven federal agencies with President’s Awards.

In a rule released on April 29, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) clarified how agencies should handle religious holidays and compensation for employees when the holidays do not coincide with a federal holiday. Under the rule, federal employees will be able to take paid time off for religious holidays as long as they work overtime at their normal pay rate to compensate for the time missed.

In an executive order signed on April 24, President Trump moved all background investigations for security clearances to the Department of Defense (DOD), a long-anticipated action. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 (NDAA), the DOD was given expanded control over the security clearance process. Rather than having the process remain split between the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the DOD, this executive order transfers the entire process to one agency.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released a six-year plan to improve information technology systems and services to taxpayers. The plan includes four “modernization pillars” that the agency plans to expand upon over time based on emerging needs, priorities, and partnerships with the tax community. Ultimately though, the plan depends on Congressional funding.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking steps to combat the digital divide with a $20 billion rural broadband fund. Over the next ten years, this fund will be used to assist rural communities in bringing high speed internet access to their areas.

Fear has loomed for quite some time regarding the impact of automation on the U.S. workforce, and a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report only raises more questions. While the GAO was able to gather some information regarding the impact of advanced technologies on employment trends, lacunae persist. To fill these data gaps, the GAO requests that the Department of Labor (DOL) use existing or new data collection methods to better track how the workforce is impacted by new technologies.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced 18 “potentially revolutionary” technology concepts selected for funding through the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. These concepts include a range of technologies that could transform human and robotic exploration outside Earth.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats has issued an Intelligence Community (IC) Policy Guidance calling for greater focus on hiring, retaining, and promoting individuals with disabilities. This directive builds upon a previous IC Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Enterprise Strategy which established goals for increasing inclusion within the IC from 2015 to 2020.

A newly released RAND Corporation study finds that the Coast Guard struggles to retain and advance women due to an array of gender related issues. The study used focus group analysis, statistical data, and relevant previous studies to identify the root causes for attrition of women in the Coast Guard and to develop recommendations to “help mitigate identified barriers to retaining women.” The U.S. Coast Guard Office of Diversity and Inclusion requested the study.

Last week President Trump codified the average 1.9 percent pay raise for federal employees with an executive order. This move comes over a month after Congress appropriated the funds in 2019 appropriations legislation. This executive order effectively voids the president’s previous executive order calling for a pay freeze for all federal employees.

This week the Department of Energy announced up to $26.1 million in funding “to drive innovative industry-led technology solutions to advance the marine and hydrokinetics industry and increase hydropower’s ability to serve as a flexible grid resource.” The news comes during Waterpower Week in Washington, a time when the National Hydropower Association and the International Marine Renewable Energy Conference meet in the nation’s capital to discuss ways to better use energy from water.