Coming: New Cyber Job Models

The Office of Personnel Management is looking to create a new framework for classifying, selecting, developing and evaluating federal cybersecurity workers.

In a letter sent Friday to agency chief human capital officers, OPM Director John Berry noted that creating competency models for cybersecurity jobs has been deemed a high priority. As a result, OPM along with the National Security Council Interagency policy committee working group on cybersecurity education and workforce issues is planning to create new competency models to help agencies gauge the capabilities of the cybersecurity workforce and determine what areas need strengthening or realignment.

OPM also plans to survey the cybersecurity workforce in the late spring of 2010, Berry said.

"Because cybersecurity work is performed in many different positions and places throughout the federal government, it is not easy to identify them by looking solely at job titles or organization charts," Berry wrote.

Berry asked agency HR chiefs to provide OPM with documents such as position descriptions, vacancy announcements, crediting plans, training plans, performance management plans and any studies or current competency models for cybersecurity work, as well as any information on recruitment efforts, challenges and outcomes.