My colleague Bob Brewin has an update on the Pentagon's announcement last week that it plans to launch its long-awaited information technology exchange program. The program will allow Defense to exchange with the private sector up to 10 federal IT employees to enhance training, development and the sharing of best practices, particularly in cybersecurity.
Last year, the Obama administration released a cybersecurity report that proposed engaging federal IT workers in shared training and rotational assignments across agencies and potentially with the private sector. At the time, Norm Lorentz, a director in the global public sector practice at Grant Thornton and former chief technology officer at the Office of Management and Budget, said that for such a goal to be possible, the government would have to first ensure consistency in IT job descriptions, continually update training and have consistency in procurement.
What are your thoughts on Defense's new exchange pilot program? Would you welcome such a program at your agency? And what private sector organization do you think would provide the most benefit to both you and government?
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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