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February 4, 2008
A new hiring preference for military spouses could be a boon for a federal work force confronting mass retirements, experts say.
President Bush called for the creation of the hiring preference in his State of the Union address last week. Military spouses today only receive hiring preferences for Defense Department jobs, said Kathleen Ott, an official in Defense’s Office of Civilian Personnel Policy.
“What we are looking to see is if we can extend the preference to all the federal agencies — not just limit it to the Department of Defense — and to also facilitate their entry into the federal service for the first time,” Ott said.
Ott said the application process for federal jobs can be daunting. And since military spouses are often on the move and without jobs that can move with them, they could use help finding employment, Ott said.
Federal employees and hiring experts cautiously welcomed Bush’s proposal.
Hatsie Charbonneau, human resources director for the Federal Maritime Commission, said adding another preference alongside those already in place for veterans and people with disabilities, among others, shouldn’t present much trouble for hiring managers. But Charbonneau said the Office of Personnel Management’s guidelines would have to clearly spell out how the preference would work.
“With clear regulations, it should only add to our ability to enhance employment opportunities for those who deserve to be employed,” Charbonneau said.
Jim Mahlmann, national vice president for the Federal Managers Association, said the hiring preference could help the government deal with the large number of retiring baby boomers.
“We’re looking at a brain drain,” Mahlmann said. “If it can entice more and better qualified people to put in for government jobs, this could be a good thing.”
Military spouses would be able to stay at federal agencies for only a handful of years before being transferred again. But John Palguta, vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service, doesn’t see that as much of a problem.
“If you know going in that you’ve only got them for two or three years, you have a bit of an advantage because you can plan accordingly,” Palguta said. “You won’t send them to a six-month leadership development program because you know they won’t be there for long.”
And many current employees — especially those in their 20s and 30s — already shift jobs frequently, Palguta said.
“They’re more mobile than the boomers, and if [managers] can get them to stay in a job for three years, they’re feeling pretty good about it,” Palguta said. “It goes with the territory.”
The executive branch employs about 2.6 million employees and hires about 30,000 new employees each month. Given the worldwide locations of those jobs, Ott said, “it makes a prime opportunity for job placement for our spouses.”
The program would cover only General Schedule jobs, and would probably require Congress to pass a law extending the hiring preference, Ott said.
Sens. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said they would review the proposal.
Ott said the program is a priority for the Pentagon but could not predict how long it might take to implement.
Charbonneau of the Federal Maritime Commission said she and other federal managers would like to help service members and their families.
“We do a lot already in the federal government, but you can always do more,” Charbonneau said.
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