OPM Extends Deadline on Hiring Guidance for Agencies
A May 7, 2021 memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) extends the deadline for agency heads to develop agency assessment strategies that rely on more than just educational qualifications and applicant self-assessments when making hiring decisions. The memo from Acting Director Kathleen M. McGettigan explains provisions of on an executive order signed by President Trump on June 26, 2020 that required agencies to create competency based assessments for employment for positions that do not legally require a degree.
OPM guidance that was later issued in September of 2020 expanded, “developing competency-based assessments will benefit the Federal workforce by generating larger pools of highly skilled job candidates from which agencies may choose their employees, thereby enabling highly skilled workers with non-traditional educational paths to serve the American public.”
The heads of executive departments and agencies are being instructed to develop assessments that can be alternatives to educational certifications and in the process diversify the group of people that enter the federal workforce. Agencies must also assess their current hiring processes to see if there is room for overall improvement.
Furthermore, OPM is currently finalizing the General Schedule Qualifications Policy which would change employment requirements so that educational qualifications are not a requirement unless there is a legal obligation to be certified.
Agencies now have until December 31, 2021 to implement the provisions on competency assessments. If there are any questions about the strategies detailed above, please contact Kimberly Holden at kimberly.holden@opm.gov or email Fedclass@opm.gov.
