The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a final rule Thursday to expand opportunities for early career talent in the Federal government.
The new rule updates the Pathways Programs, including expanding skills-based hiring through qualified career programs, raising the ceiling for starting salaries for recent graduates, and easing the path for interns to be converted into permanent positions.
According to OPM, the final rule issued on April 11 is one of the most significant actions the Federal government has taken since the program’s inception 14 years ago.
“Early career programs are critical to recruit the next generation of government leaders,”?said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja.?“The updates to the Pathways Programs will increase opportunities and remove barriers to hire interns, fellows, apprentices, recent students and trainees which will help federal agencies boost their talent pipelines to serve the American people.”
Specifically, the final rule for the Pathways Program will expand applicant eligibility to include individuals who may or may not have college degrees, but who have completed qualified career or technical education programs.
It will also allow agencies to convert interns to a permanent Federal position after completing a minimum of 480 hours in their internship – instead of 640 hours previously – and give agencies additional time to convert interns into permanent positions – up to 180 days from the current 120 days.
Finally, the new rule will grant agencies the ability to hire recent graduates at a GS-11 starting salary instead of being limited to a GS-09 starting salary.
“This major revision of the Pathways Programs, the first in decades, will strengthen the federal government’s early career talent pipeline and ensure federal agencies have even greater access to diverse talent across the country,” said Jason Miller, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget. “Today’s announcement is yet another demonstration of the progress the Biden-Harris Administration is making in strengthening and empowering the federal workforce.”
Individuals who successfully complete one of the Pathways Programs may be eligible for a permanent job in the Federal civil service. There are three programs: interns, recent graduates, and presidential management fellows.
OPM also announced Thursday that it will soon release new web-based guidance, an updated Pathways Program Handbook, an updated Pathways Toolkit for Federal managers and supervisors, and will host a series of webinars and office hours targeted at HR professionals, hiring managers, educational institutions, and other key stakeholders.
“The federal government is facing a retirement tsunami, and yet we still have a long way to go toward ensuring we can recruit and retain the workforce of tomorrow,” Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., said in a statement. “I am thrilled that the Biden Administration is taking action today to significantly expand and improve the most prominent internship program in the federal government.”
“Pathways had more than 60,000 paid interns in 2010. By 2020, participation had tanked to just 4,000. That is an unsustainable decline, and yet it doesn’t even convey the full scale of the desperate recruitment situation the federal government finds itself in today. 70% of private sector interns are ultimately hired by the company they interned with. The same cannot be said of federal interns, who have a much tougher path to employment with the federal government after their internships are completed,” the lawmaker said.
“This is a problem that will only get worse without the significant intervention this rule provides,” Rep. Connolly said. “Today’s finalized rule brings us one step closer to embracing modern day recruiting and hiring strategies that will allow us to effectively build out the next generation of civil servants.”
