Federal agencies and major industry players are adopting creative new hiring practices and considering applicants without computer science backgrounds as they build robust cyber workforces, executives said Thursday.
“Working with our [Chief Human Capital Officer Angela Bailey,] we are trying to design a system that is more cognizant of the skill sets that people bring to the table and measuring that to make sure you capture the right persons,” Homeland Security Department’s Chief Information Officer John Zangardi said at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit in Washington. “I’ll mention that my [chief information security officer’s] degree is in psychology. I’m more concerned about the experiences and skills he brings to the table than his [bachelor degree] and we have to be willing to look at that.”
America’s present federal hiring system dates back to the era of Calvin Coolidge, Zangardi said, so he and his team are reforming their approach to the security talent pipeline and the entire working environment. On top of establishing the cyber talent management system and opening the doors to people with more diverse backgrounds, he said it’s critical that the government makes it easier for people to swing back and forth between federal and industry positions—and offer salaries that are more comparable to those given by their private-sector competitors.
“These are the aspects we are looking at: It’s about flexibility, it’s about using technology and it’s about creating an environment where people want to be able to move back and forth,” Zangardi said.
Emery Csulak, chief information security officer and deputy CIO for cybersecurity at the Energy Department, said his agency is looking at new options to recruit people who might not be the most qualified for specific roles but have invigorating potentia ..
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