Navy forms work force strategy

The Navy is drafting a work force strategic plan to help recruit, retain

and develop employees, including information management and information

technology workers.

The strategic plan, which the Navy hopes to compete by the end of the year,

will help the service assess its current work force and formulate a plan

for how it will meet future requirements, said Karen Danis, program leader

for information management/information technology (IM/IT) competency management

in the Navy's Office of the Chief Information Officer.

The plan also will address training and education needs, Danis said at the

Information Technology Association of America's IT Workforce Convocation

in Chicago this week.

The Navy's goal this year and next is to build IM/IT competencies to shape

the work force of the future, she said. As part of its strategy, the Navy

plans to ensure that its IT infrastructure will support distributed learning

and plans to establish IM/IT competency guidelines for the rest of the work

force.