A new survey has found that 41 per cent of American youth have never even considered a career in the military or Public Service, a recent webinar hosted by the Brookings Institution was told.
A member of the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service (NCMNPS), Joseph Heck said the figures were well known, but disturbing when seen against other statistics.
“Just six per cent of the Federal workforce is 30 years of age or younger, while a sizeable amount are eligible for retirement, including 45 per cent to 55 per cent of Internal Revenue Service workers,” Mr Heck said.
“At the same time, we worry that recent events such as the 35-day Government shutdown over the winter of 2018-2019 have soured students on Civil Service careers,” he said.
Senior Brookings Fellow, Fiona Hill said there was a popular conception that the Federal Government “is this large apparatus, with lots of waste and bloat”.
Ms Hill cited a Pew Research Centre poll that showed only 17 per cent of respondents in 2019 trusted the Federal Government “always or most of the time”.
However, another participant in the webinar, Avril Haines said the Coronavirus pandemic may be engendering positive views of Public Servants.
She said a recent poll had shown 77 per of respondents had a positive view of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, while 70 per cent had a favourable view of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Both Agencies have been at the forefront in coordinating the Federal Government’s response to COVID-19.
Ms Haines said expanding the Public Service would require a serious revamp of current recruitment practices.
“It’s critical to have a more flexible personnel system that’s based on talent management, as opposed to the current structure we have,” Ms Haines said.
The NCMNPS published a report in March that included proposals designed to inspire “significantly more people … to answer the call to serve”.
It has a target of five million people occupying some military, civilian or other Public Service role by 2031.
Washington, 7 May 2020
