House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., on Wednesday introduced legislation that would help the Homeland Security Department better address cybersecurity threats. A major part of such efforts must be addressing cybersecurity workforce concerns, however, and the bill includes some provisions to help improve the recruitment and retention of cyber pros.
For example, the bill would require DHS to develop a strategic cybersecurity workforce plan. It also would grant limited direct-hire authority for the agency to hire up to an additional 500 cybersecurity professionals, and would authorize retention bonuses for cyber professionals that would otherwise leave DHS.
In August, Jeffrey Neal, chief human capital officer at DHS, told Wired Workplace that the agency was standing up a special task force to look at cyber workforce issues, including current and future personnel needs, hiring and training. "It's significant enough that we have a small team of people devoted full-time to nothing but working this issue right now," he said.
How would the provisions in Thompson's legislation help improve the cyber workforce at DHS, if at all? Do the provisions go far enough to help DHS recruit and retain such critical skills?
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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