A recent study has revealed that, on average, roughly half of federal government employees consider workforce training and development to be the most critical element in achieving information technology modernization at their respective agencies.
The study, which was conducted by the American Council for Technology-Industry Advisory Council in partnership with news organization MeriTalk, surveyed finance, IT and procurement decision-makers from federal civilian and defense agencies concerning a variety of issues related to IT modernization.
The study defines IT modernization as “building a more modern and secure architecture for Federal IT systems to improve citizen-facing services, make better use of emerging technologies, and improve security across the Federal enterprise.â€
According to the survey, 53 percent of IT respondents said that providing workers with the necessary training was key to achieving IT modernization, while 50 percent of procurement respondents and 49 percent of finance respondents held the same opinion.
Nevertheless, only 28 percent of respondents, on average, felt confident about the efforts their agencies have taken to equip employees with the requisite knowledge and skills.
Subsequently, the study recommended that agency chiefs work with their respective human resource departments to “effectively prepare employees for the future of government IT.â€
