OPM’s Online Course for Employees Seems to be Successful

OPM has been taking some serious steps to boost the skills of federal workers. It seems to be working fine as about 1,800 people have benefitted from it in one year. A federal employee and a learning expert have shared their views on the matter and mostly favored the step taken by the agency.

The Aim of OPM’s Initiative

The aim of OPM’s partnership with Champlain College was to ensure that the skill gaps present in the key areas such as human resources, leadership, and cyber security are closed, according to OPM acting Director, Beth Cobert. The initial stages of this alliance are somewhat successful as nearly 1,800 feds and their families have enrolled in the program. The online coursework has gotten a huge discount. The most popular programs liked by the feds are M.S. or MBA in executive leadership and B.S. programs in cyber security and business management.

Losing Employees is Inevitable

Susan Camarena, a longtime public servant and a propagator of the program has admitted that though losing a few federal employees to the private sector is inevitable, she is sure that taking care of the employees also matters a lot. She says even the employees who switch to the private sector would have good things to say about the public sector after they have left their jobs. This may help the government sector get more employees from the private sector. Camarena also expressed hope that the federal employees who have left the job after acquiring new skills may not be gone for long and they may want to join the public sector again.

Learning the Necessary Skills

The Academic Dean of Champlain College’s Division of Continuing Professional Studies, Dr. Mika Nash says that she would make sure that feds don’t get to hear much about the private sector opportunities. She also added that most feds undergo the skill development courses so that they can apply the new skills in their own agencies.

Employee Development leads to Employee Retention

Camarena also thinks that ensuring employee skill development leads to ensuring better employee retention. She gave her own example and stated that she had been in public service since 1981 mainly because her superiors offered her chances to gain new skills and try different things.

Pushing Others

Camarena also hopes to push her colleagues into signing up for a course offered as a part of OPM’s initiative after she returns to her home agency in October this year. She works for the Transportation Department’s Federal Transit Administration. She will do so because she wants more people from her own department to make the most of this opportunity.