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Career Opportunity:
Working for America
The Federal government is undergoing an organizational renewal and winning the war
for top talent by recruiting a diverse work force to fill new skilled jobs.
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The Federal government, with a
work force of nearly 2 million
people, is the nation’s largest
employer—and one that continues to
be a top workplace for diverse talent.
This was recently confirmed in an
annual report released by the U.S.
Office of Personnel Management
(OPM), which details employment
trends in the Federal work force,
compared to the civilian labor force.
“The Federal government continues to be a leader in employing minorities,” the report states. Overall,
the representation of diverse employ-
ees working for Uncle Sam increased
to 31. 8 percent in 2005, compared to
27. 4 percent in the civilian labor force.
This is up from fiscal 2004’s figure of
31. 5 percent.
What’s attracting more women and
people of color to government service is clear: unparalleled career-development opportunities, especially in
the fields of national security. What’s
more, Federal agencies are making
concerted efforts to improve the quality of leadership, sustain a results-ori-ented performance culture and promote continuous work-force improve-
ment. In 2004, the OPM surveyed
nearly 150,000 full-time Federal employees at 29 major agencies. Among
the findings of the 88-question poll:
•
91 percent of the respondents believe the work they do is important;
•
83 percent like what they do;
•
71 percent get a sense of personal
accomplishment from their work;
•
71 percent do not plan to leave
their jobs within the next year;
•
64 percent would recommend their
organization as a good place to work.
One reason for the respondents’
high level of satisfaction: Federal work-
