Supporting the Future of Work: BIG's First National Training Institute
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The prompt for this round of the FEDforum is: How are you supporting the return to work and the future of work? This week, hear from Blacks In Government (BIG).
Public servants have always risen to the challenge. But we have doubly done so as we helped our agencies respond to the needs of the American public when they needed government the most. And, we have done so amidst our own health concerns, childcare concerns, and technology stretched thin as it accommodated home offices and home classrooms.
As the 15th National President of Blacks In Government (BIG), I am so proud to be leading an organization that remains committed to serving the needs of those public servants even in the midst of the pandemic. And, we have done so because the concerns our organization was created to address surely still remain – ensuring a level playing field for all government employees and ensuring all government employees have the tools they need to succeed.
That’s why it was so very important that we not let another year pass without hosting our annual National Training Institute (NTI). And, while we could not in good conscience host an in person event due to the continuation of COVID-19 and its variants, we very proudly and very successfully hosted our first virtual NTI. With 715 government employees attending our 4 day training and 180 students attending our 1 day Future Leaders in America’s Government (FLAG) Summit, we delivered on our promise to provide a premier training event with a variety of learning objectives. The event included sessions discussing Senior Executive Service (SES) Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), political activities by government employees, preparing individual development plans (IDPs), retirement seminars, health seminars, benefits for military veterans, a leadership certificate program in conjunction with Management Concepts, and our longstanding Equal Employment Opportunity Institute. Dynamic government speakers were featured during our opening and closing plenary sessions as well as our Legislative Forum, State and Local Forum, and our Fed Forum.
Importantly, this annual event is not the end. We will continue to take advantage of this virtual environment hosting events at our individual agencies, hosting events regionally, and hosting national events. So, whether the future of government work is in person, remote or more than likely a hybrid that builds upon the lessons we’ve learned from just how successful telework truly can be, BIG will be doing its part to prepare government employees to lead and to serve.
The column from BIG 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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