Chief learning officers are trying to tackle some of government’s biggest skills gaps

Skills gaps in the federal workforce remain a significant barrier to reaching better end results in agencies’ work. But across government, chief learning officers are taking on some of the challenging, long-term work to try to close those gaps.

Generally, skills gaps arise when agencies either don’t have the right skills on staff — or simply don’t have enough employees in the first place — to effectively implement federal programs. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office reported that more than half of the government’s biggest problem areas stem directly from mission-critical skills gaps.

Agency chief learning officers (CLOs), often behind the scenes, try to ensure an agency’s workforce has the skills it needs, particularly in mission-critical areas, such as data analytics, IT and cybersecurity. The senior-level CLO position is tasked with helping agencies first identify skills gaps, and then create a talent development strategy to try to improve those skills — including through offering training opportunities for current employees.