IT Talent Crunch Hits Federal Government

Members of Congress and IT leaders on Tuesday reported that half of the federal government's IT workforce will be eligible for retirement within five years, creating a severe shortage of talented technology specialists Congressmen James Moran (D-Va.) and Tom Davis (R-Va.) told attendees of the Fortune 1 Business conference that the impending retirement of many Baby Boomers from the federal government will soon leave numerous agencies scrambling for talent and young recruits from the IT industry.

Moran estimates that 34 percent of federal employees will be eligible for retirement in five years, with much of them coming from the government's IT workforce, which would be cut in half if all those eligible choose to retire.

"It's very important that we come up with innovative ways to address what truly will be a crisis," Moran says.

Davis recently introduced a bill that would allow IT professionals from the private sector to work for the federal government for up to two years. In turn, federal employees will be outsourced to private companies in what Moran calls an "exchange program."

"We will undoubtedly get some high-level people coming into the government for at least a short period of time," Moran says. "Federal employees, too, will gain a better appreciation of what the private technology sector is accomplishing."

In addition, both congressmen say the federal government will begin to rely more heavily on private sector technology companies for solutions rather than agencies doing the work in-house.

Kevin Plexico, executive vice president of INPUT's public sector group, also says the talent shortage in the government may create more opportunities for private IT firms.

"The government is almost certainly going to have to outsource a lot of IT functions and projects," Plexico says.