“Unprecedented” Interest in Federal AI Jobs; AI Competency Model Released

The federal government’s effort to hire more artificial intelligence (AI) workers is off to a tremendous start, according to the White House’s AI and Tech Talent Task Force.

The task force released a status report, six months after President Biden’s Executive Order on AI called for an AI talent surge into the federal workforce.

In the report’s opening letter to President Biden, the task force said, “Thousands of AI professionals, driven by mission, have applied to work on AI in roles across the Federal Government” and that the level of interest was “unprecedented.”

Hiring Details

According to the report, agencies have directly hired more than 150 people into AI and AI-enabling roles between October 30, 2023, and March 31, 2024, with another 94 on track to be hired by the summer. 

Over 15 agencies have onboarded at least one new AI employee.

Agencies want to hire at least 500 additional AI workers expected by the end of fiscal year (FY) 2025, although an additional 350 will be needed to hit hiring goals. That does not include AI hires in the Department of Defense (DOD). DOD expects to hire 2,500 AI professionals this year and more than 9,000 next year.

New hires are already writing policy for AI use, helping efforts to use AI to improve electrical grid resilience and to expedite permitting, and working with international partners to align AI policies. 

“The message is clear: the public is ready and motivated to join the Federal Government to work on AI priorities,” stated the report.

Other Hiring Avenues

The task force said demand is also robust for tech talent programs like the Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) and the U.S. Digital Corps (USDC). The average number of AI-related program applications rose 288 percent since the end of October, with some programs seeing an increase of 2,000 percent in applications.

The task force also cited the success of cross-government career fairs, known as Tech to Gov. The report noted the events have “mobilized thousands of technologists to explore public sector careers at the Federal, state, and local levels.” In fact, 800 prospective employees signed up for a Tech to Gov event in April.

It also highlighted a pilot program from the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Science Foundation (NSF) to train 500 new researchers by 2025.

Issues Remain

Despite this success, plus moves by OPM to fast-track AI hires, the task force warned that more work needs to be done to avoid a talent shortage.

It made several recommendations including increasing tech talent sourcing and hiring capacity, institutionalizing USDC and other tech talent programs, piloting skills-based hiring, granting additional pay authorities to agency heads, improving the candidate experience on USAJobs, and ensuring that funding is there for responsible AI innovation and training.  

Competency Model

The report comes on the heels of new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on hiring AI workers into the federal government.

In the memo titled, “Skills-Based Hiring Guidance and Competency Model for Artificial Intelligence Work” OPM aims to “assist agencies to identify key skills and competencies needed for AI professionals and increase access to these technical roles for individuals with nontraditional academic backgrounds.”

The competency model emphasizes skills-based hiring. It comes around the same time that the Biden Administration announced that it is transitioning nearly 100,000 federal IT jobs into skills-based hiring.

OPM writes that it is “crucial that agencies adopt this skills-based hiring approach” for new and/or rapidly evolving fields.

 “This ensures the Federal workforce can readily adapt to the changing landscape and integrate innovative skills that may not yet be captured in traditional education or certification frameworks,” stated the memo.

The model can be used in recruitment, assessment, hiring, workforce planning, training, and more.

OPM listed 43 general competencies and 14 technical competencies found to be important for performing AI work.

Additionally, OPM developed a comprehensive plan for training human resources specialists, hiring managers, and industrial organizational psychologists that will ensure that the new system is understood and effectively implemented.