The CIO Council is hosting a governmentwide cybersecurity hiring event Nov. 6-7.
The Tech and Cyber Hiring and Recruitment Event will be held at the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring, Md. The Federal government is seeking information technology and cybersecurity professionals to fill hundreds of positions needed to modernize legacy IT and strengthen the cybersecurity of Federal networks and critical infrastructure.
More than 20 Federal agencies will attend in order to recruit, interview, and hire candidates on the spot. The event will also feature free training seminars that will cover resume writing, interviewing, and applying to Federal positions.
The Federal government has had difficulty hiring technical talent due to the lack of competitive salaries with private companies and the backlogged hiring process. The Modernizing Government Technology Act, which passed the Senate on Sept. 18, would create a centralized fund for agencies to use in order to modernize their IT systems. This process would free up some of the money that Federal agencies are forced to spend on maintaining legacy systems, and direct funds toward other necessities like recruitment and innovation.
The Office of Personnel Management created the National Background Investigations Bureau last year to streamline background checks, which used to be completed through a paper process.
Chris Cummiskey, CEO of Cummiskey Strategic Solutions, said that the Federal government’s recent policies will be helpful, but the government needs a Federal CIO and new hires in order to follow through on the technology goals that the administration has set in the May Cyber Executive Order.
“I kind of like where we’re going with the EO that came out in May but we’ve got to follow through,” said Greg Touhill, former Federal CISO and president of Cyxtera Federal Group. “We’ve got plenty of money budgeted in the budget but we’re not spending it well.”
