{"id":19784,"date":"2018-04-02T16:38:43","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T16:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/02\/opm-defines-critical-needs-for-federal-cyber-workforce\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:54:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:54:58","slug":"opm-defines-critical-needs-for-federal-cyber-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/cyber\/2018\/04\/02\/opm-defines-critical-needs-for-federal-cyber-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"OPM defines \u2018critical needs\u2019 for federal cyber workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Office of Personnel Management released new guidance as part of an effort to fill the most crucial cybersecurity positions within the federal government. The classification tool establishes information technology work roles of \u201ccritical need\u201d as those with the greatest staffing shortages and that are the most mission-critical, helping agencies identify and fill those skills gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guidance, released April 2, 2018, follows a series of actions required by the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act of 2015 to recode cybersecurity positions in the federal government and establish agency plans for filling workforce shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2017, OPM issued guidance<\/a> instructing agencies to use the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education coding structure<\/a> for all cybersecurity-related positions. The NICE framework differs from previous federal workforce coding structures by enabling agencies to assign multiple codes to a single work role,<\/a> to better represent the diverse work done by many cyber employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agencies were required to implement the NICE framework<\/a> by April 2018, and will now turn to determining which roles represent a critical need for the agency and developing plans to respond to that need.<\/p>\n\n\n\t