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Cause for Concern: STEM Workforce in U.S. Government

Cause for Concern: STEM Workforce in U.S. Government

October 2024

Of Interest to the Information Community

October 23, 2024

As of October 23, 2024, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released a letter recommending critical actions to strengthen the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce in the federal government. These recommendations aim to ensure that the federal government has the STEM expertise necessary to drive innovation, advance service delivery, and prepare for a brighter, more secure America.

The opening paragraphs to that 15 page letter appear below:

Our discussions with stakeholders, reinforced by PCAST’s experiences across most of our study topics, indicate that the federal government is facing a critical shortage of personnel in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, jeopardizing its ability to accomplish its mission across a broad range of essential sectors. PCAST supports recent actions by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to improve the federal hiring experience. For the federal workforce writ large, and for the federal STEM workforce in particular, it is urgent that these reforms to hiring practices be adopted and that additional improvements be implemented to ensure that the federal government has the personnel it needs to deliver services now and prepare for America’s future needs. 

Rapid advances in technology dictate that expertise within the federal STEM workforce must be constantly refreshed in order to have the state-of-the-art capabilities needed to support America’s innovation ecosystem and serve the public efficiently. Strengthening the federal STEM workforce is equally critical to ensuring the nation's security and economic prosperity. STEM professionals are required in every government agency in order for all sectors of the U.S. to remain at the cutting edge in a science- and technology-driven world. A highly capable federal STEM workforce enhances public services, enables more effective policymaking, and drives research and development, all of which are essential for addressing complex and urgent challenges such as climate change, cyber-physical security, and public health crises.

Among other things, the letter recommends:

  • Adopt and expand pilot initiatives, including the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) processes for the AI talent surge, and maximize the use of existing hiring flexibilities at scale across the federal government.
  • Expand and maximize the use of existing programs in several agencies, such as the Pathways Program, that offer expedited hiring paths to pre-qualified candidate pools and students.
  • Designate a senior or executive point person at each agency to incentivize STEM recruitment, seek and support hiring paths outside of the norm, and proactively address barriers to federal STEM hiring progress in partnership with human resources, OPM, and other stakeholders.
  • Support the creation of a repository to facilitate continued sharing of successful initiatives and investigate best practices to strengthen the technical STEM capabilities across the government.

The full text of the letter appears here.

The full text of the White House PCAST announcement of the released letter appears here.

From July 2024; A PCAST slide presentation regarding concerns appears here.