Digital Government
Tech Jobs to Boom In D.C.
Dice.com <a href="http://career-resources.dice.com/articles/content/entry/virtualization_security_expertise_needed_in">reports</a> that while there has been much speculation that technology jobs in the Washington, D.C., area would boom in the past year, mostly due to new federal health care regulations, overall unemployment in the location stands at 11.4 percent, up from 7.4 percent a year earlier.
Digital Government
Paid Parental Leave
The federal government could save an estimated $50 million in recruitment and retention costs by putting in place a paid parent leave benefit, according to a new <a href="http://iwpr.org/pdf/FEPPLAA141.pdf">study</a> by the Institute for Women's Policy Research.
Digital Government
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.
Digital Government
Managing in the Information Age
The looming retirement wave and subsequent efforts to replace retiring workers brings an opportunity for how organizations can function better, according to a new <a href="http://www.mspb.gov/netsearch/viewdocs.aspx?docnumber=457394&version=458606&application=ACROBAT">report</a> by the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Digital Government
Panel Approves Domestic Partner Benefits
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday passed legislation that would provide health care and other benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian federal employees. Approval of domestic partner benefits would bring the government in line with the majority of Fortune 100 companies, including several major technology companies. Alyssa Rosenberg has the complete details of the markup <a href="http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=44075&dcn=todaysnews">here</a>.
Digital Government
Scholarships for Federal IT Service
A bill introduced on Tuesday would create a scholarship program to fund education in mission-critical fields in exchange for a federal service commitment. The bill (S.2789), introduced by Sens. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., would create a civilian counterpart to the military's Reserve Officer Training Corps by offering scholarships in mission-critical fields like information technology, science, engineering, public health and law, in exchange for a commitment to work for the government.
Digital Government
Twittervention
The majority of Fortune 100 companies are not using Twitter effectively, according to a new <a href="http://www.webershandwick.com/resources/ws/flash/Twittervention_Study.pdf">study</a> released on Tuesday by public relations firm Weber Shandwick.
Digital Government
What Keeps You Up At Night?
Jonathan Breul and John Kamensky of the IBM Center for Business of Government tackle the top 10 challenges that keep public managers up at night. Among the issues is a divide in the way different generations in the federal workforce view work, information overload brought on by new technologies like instant messaging and Twitter, and a move towards less bureaucracy and more collaborative networking.
Digital Government
A Seat at the Telework Table
Seven federal labor unions sent a letter to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry on Nov. 10, requesting a seat at the table as the government develops new policies that would expand federal telework opportunities.
Digital Government
Tech Jobs on the Upswing
November's issue of the Dice Report suggests some subtle signs that jobs in the technology sector are on the upswing.
Digital Government
Profile of a Virtual Collaborator
Guided Insights has some <a href="http://www.guidedinsights.com/newsletter_detail.asp?PageID=9351">useful advice</a> on the characteristics that make for a successful virtual collaborator, and those that may cause problems for some remote workers. Virtual collaborators, for example, tend to be social butterflies in the office; have excellent organizational, time-management, listening and communication skills; show a willingness to use a variety of tech tools with ease; and have the ability to move ahead without a lot of direction or guidance, the article states.
Digital Government
Philanthropy 2.0
Want to contribute to the good government community while also giving something back to the community at large? The leaders at social networking site GovLoop on Thursday launched the <a href="http://govloop.uservoice.com/pages/6040-awesomegov">AwesomeGov Fund</a>, an effort to help raise awareness about government-related initiatives or people that aim to make government better.
Digital Government
Figuring Your Locality Pay
Congress has yet to pass a pay raise for federal employees in 2010, but <em>Government Executive</em>'s Alyssa Rosenberg <a href="http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1109/111009ar1.htm?rss=getoday&oref=rss">writes</a> that the Federal Salary Council has already made its recommendations for locality pay in 2011.
Digital Government
Seeking Security Certifications
Information technology professionals are looking to security-themed certifications as they plot their next career moves, according to a new study by trade group CompTIA.
Digital Government
Fitter Feds
As the debate over health care continues, one top technology company <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/28728.wss">announced</a> last week that it will begin providing employees with 100 percent primary health care coverage and a special wellness rebate. Beginning in 2010, IBM will become one of the first U.S. companies to cover primary care at 100 percent. The company also announced a new wellness incentive that provides a $150 healthy living rebate to all full-time employees who make lifestyle changes to improve their health and build energy.
Digital Government
Beefing Up Cybersecurity Training
A new <a href="http://webobjects.cdw.com/webobjects/media/pdf/Newsroom/2009-CDWG-Federal-Cybersecurity-Report-1109.pdf">report</a> by CDW-G calls for more training of federal employees as a means to confront and combat cybersecurity threats. The report, which is based on a survey of 150 federal civilian and 150 Defense Department information technology professionals, found that more than half of all federal agencies experience a cybersecurity incident at least weekly, with the number and severity of these incidents staying the same or increasing over the past year.
Digital Government
Rethinking Social Media
Current trends to restrict access to social networks like Facebook and Twitter at work need to be rethought in light of their business value, according to a new <a href="http://img.en25.com/Web/BusinessCom/BDC%202009%20Social%20Media%20Benchmark.pdf">survey</a> by Business.com.
Digital Government
Bridging the Generation Gap
The New York Times has some <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/07/your-money/07shortcuts.html?pagewanted=1">advice</a> on how to bridge the generation gap at work, mostly by encouraging older workers to get up to speed, whether technologically or in other ways. The key, the article states, is not to try to look young or even to act it, but to be open to the fact that times have changed.
Digital Government
Federal Benefits on Facebook
The Office of Personnel Management has created a new page on Facebook to keep participants in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program informed of news and updates during the annual Open Season, which runs Nov. 9 through Dec. 14. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/fedbenefits#/fedbenefits?v=wall">Click here</a> to become a fan, or visit <a href="http://www.opm.gov/insure/openseason/">OPM's Open Season Web site</a> for more information on 2010 plan offerings and changes.
Digital Government
The Future of Collaboration
NetworkWorld <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/110209-collaboration-tools.html?page=1">tackles an interesting question</a> on whether the younger generation's tendencies to use technology to collaborate will actually increase the amount of collaboration in the workplace. The writers contend that tools such as text messaging, instant messaging and Twitter facilitate collaboration, but only low level forms of it, especially given that the younger generation often prefers such methods over face-to-face communication.
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