{"id":130480,"date":"2026-03-21T13:50:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/900912901"},"modified":"2026-03-21T13:50:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:50:38","slug":"tech-force-signals-shift-to-centralized-skills-based-federal-hiring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/21\/tech-force-signals-shift-to-centralized-skills-based-federal-hiring\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Force Signals Shift to Centralized, Skills-Based Federal Hiring"},"content":{"rendered":"
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OPM\u2019s new model connects technologists to agencies faster through shared certificates and streamlined assessments.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Office of Personnel Management is beginning to operationalize its Tech Force initiative<\/a>, placing its first cohort of technology hires as part of a broader push to modernize federal hiring and close persistent technical talent gaps.<\/p>\n

The effort marks a shift toward a more centralized, skills-based hiring model designed to move faster than traditional federal processes and better compete for technical talent.<\/p>\n

The program aims to bring 1,000 technologists into government service while reshaping how agencies recruit, assess and retain talent, particularly in areas critical to AI and emerging technologies. OPM Director Scott Kupor said at a federal workforce event last week<\/a> that Tech Force is designed to create a \u201cflywheel\u201d effect, building a sustainable pipeline of technical expertise across government.<\/p>\n

OPM plans to release its first shared certificate of candidates in March, with several hundred technologists expected in the initial cohort.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be releasing the first [of] what\u2019s called a shared certificate in government. So, the first, we won\u2019t have all 1,000 people, but we hope to have several hundred people,\u201d said Kupor.<\/p>\n

Once candidates complete a three-phase assessment process, they are placed on a shared certificate and made available to participating agencies. Agencies can then conduct interviews and extend offers based on mission needs, accelerating hiring timelines and reducing duplication across the federal workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited about where we are. I feel like we\u2019ve gotten a great set of folks. Now it\u2019s upon us to ultimately complete this process,\u201d Kupor said.<\/p>\n

The shared certificate model is intended to streamline hiring by allowing candidates to be considered across multiple agencies, rather than navigating separate application processes for each role. The two-year program also includes partnerships with private-sector organizations, allowing participants to gain experience across government and industry while accelerating delivery on priority technology initiatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey think in two-, three- or four-year increments, and they want to learn. They want to develop skills,\u201d said Kupor. <\/span>\u201cIf we can create an ethos where every young person, either coming out of high school or college or community college or trade school, feels like coming to the government to do great things \u2026 this will be a much better place. We will accomplish many great things as a country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Modernizing Hiring to Scale Technical Talent<\/h2>\n

Tech Force is part of a broader effort by OPM and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to promote merit-based hiring within federal government.<\/p>\n

A May 2025 OPM memo<\/a> outlines a governmentwide strategy focused on skills-based assessments, reducing reliance on degree requirements and self-assessment questionnaires, improving applicant communication and cutting time-to-hire to under 80 days.<\/p>\n

As part of that effort, agencies are submitting workforce headcount plans to OPM and OMB to establish a baseline of federal staffing and identify capability gaps, particularly in technical roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have a better sense of what are the big categories across agency hiring. It\u2019s not surprising that technical job openings are at almost every agency,\u201d said Kupor. \u201cThat\u2019s a perfect opportunity for the concept of shared certificates.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

OPM aims to expand the use of shared certificates across government, positioning the agency as a centralized entry point for technical talent and enabling faster placement into mission-critical roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my perfect world, any applicant with the relevant skill set can tell the federal government, \u2018I\u2019m a program manager and these are the skills I have,\u2019\u201d said Kupor. \u201cI would love applicants to come in at the top of the funnel and demonstrate their interest rather than go through and find which agency out of 50 different agencies might actually have an open job.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… its Tech<\/span> Force initiative, placing its first cohort of technology<\/span> hires … event last week that Tech<\/span> Force is designed to … accelerating delivery on priority technology<\/span> initiatives. \u00e2\u0080\u009cThey think in … great things as a country.\u00e2\u0080\u009d Tech<\/span> Force is part of a broader …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130480\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}