Also, 10 of the 41 small agencies and independent entities expressed these concerns.These organizations’ concerns generally fall into the categories of difficulty in recruiting and retaining internal staff and in obtaining contractor support. Full Extent and Severity of Year 2000 Workforce Issue Is Unclear

Although a significant number of agencies are reporting concerns with the availability of qualified Year 2000 staff, it is not possible to determine the full extent or severity of personnel shortages from these concerns because they are often anecdotal. Executive Councils and OPM Have Begun to Respond to Reported Year 2000 Personnel Issues

OPM, the Conversion Council, and the CIO Council have various initiatives underway to address Year 2000 personnel issues: OPM has provided tools to assist agencies in dealing with Year 2000 workforce issues; the Conversion Council is identifying solutions to personnel shortages in both the government and the private sector; and the CIO Council has initiated a broad study of information technology workforce issues in the government and private sector. Recommendations

Given the likelihood that critical government operations will cease if key systems are not made Year 2000 compliant, we recommend that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, as part of the agency’s monitoring responsibilities for the government’s Year 2000 program, determine if recent OPM initiatives have satisfactorily addressed agencies’ reported personnel problems. Scope and Methodology

To determine the nature and extent of the Year 2000 personnel issues being reported by federal agencies, we reviewed and analyzed the Year 2000 progress reports submitted to OMB by 24 large agencies in February, May, and August 1998, by 40 of the 41 small agencies and entities in April and May 1998, and by 9 of those same small agencies and entities that were requested to report in August 1998. To identify what is being done to address personnel shortages related to the Year 2000 problem, we evaluated the Year 2000 personnel efforts of OPM, the Human Resources Technology Council, and the CIO Council’s Education and Training and Year 2000 Committees. We provided a draft of this report to the Chair of the President’s Council on Year 2000 Conversion, the Chair of the CIO Council, and OPM and OMB management and incorporated their comments as appropriate. The department reported that it continues to experience difficulties in finding and hiring qualified information technology personnel.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed workforce issues associated with the year 2000 computing crisis, focusing on: (1) the nature and extent of year 2000 personnel issues being reported by federal agencies; and (2) what is being done by the government to address reported federal personnel shortages related to the year 2000 problem.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) about half of the 24 large agencies and a quarter of the 41 small agencies and independent entities reporting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expressed concerns that the personnel needed to resolve the year 2000 problem would not be available; (2) generally, these concerns fall into the categories of difficulty in finding and keeping qualified government personnel, and difficulty in obtaining contractors; (3) while a significant number of agencies are raising these concerns, their comments are largely anecdotal and a comprehensive analytical assessment of the issue has not yet been made; (4) as a result, the full extent and severity of the year 2000 workforce issue across the government is not known; (5) the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion, the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have various initiatives under way to address reported year 2000 personnel issues; (6) for example, OPM has recently developed additional human resources management aids to assist agencies in dealing with year 2000 workforce issues; (7) while such initiatives have provided agencies with important options to help address reported year 2000 personnel problems, it is not yet clear that recent actions have enabled agencies to successfully resolve all perceived personnel issues; (8) accordingly, it is essential that OMB, as part of its monitoring responsibilities for the government's year 2000 program, continue to solicit from agencies whether they have any remaining year 2000 personnel problems and to help provide specific assistance to individual agencies; and (9) moreover, OMB should work with the CIO Council to expedite evaluations of the full extent and scope of information technology personnel issues to help formulate effective solutions.