An Office of Personnel Management report says federal agencies have hired 35,364 employees since 2012 through the Pathways Programs that aim to provide students and graduates access to federal internships and career opportunities in the federal government.Beth Cobert, acting OPM director, said in a statement released Tuesday the Pathways Programs seek to help federal agencies increase their civil service ranks as more employees approach retirement.
“The report shows that retention rates among Pathways participants [have] been high so far,â€Â added Cobert, an inductee into Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 for 2016.
The Pathways Programs include the Presidential Management Fellows Program, Internship Program and the Recent Graduates Program.
The report also noted that 93 percent of surveyed students and graduates appointed through the recruitment initiatives said they plan to stay at their agencies.
OPM also offered recommendations such as the need for agencies to educate human resources personnel and supervisors on how to leverage the Pathways Programs to recruit students and recent graduates as well as build up their workforce planning efforts to facilitate use of such programs, according to the study.
OPM said it has started to host a webinar series to inform federal hiring managers on how to implement the Pathways Programs at their agencies, launched the Hiring Excellence Campaign in support of the Obama administration’s Management Agenda and released new tools to help recruitment professionals hire graduates and students.
Those Pathways Programs resources include a toolkit for supervisors and hiring managers and a handbook for HR specialists.
