Description of Driving Event:
Workforce Downsizing Impacts on Critical Skills at Office of Space Flight (OSF) Centers
Lesson(s) Learned:
The continuing downsizing at Office of Space Flight Field Centers, coupled with the effects of the prior hiring freeze and unplanned departures, has produced critical skills deficits in some areas, growing workload pressure and stress levels, and a serious shortfall of younger S&Es.
Recommendation(s):
NASA concurs with the ASAP recommendation. As a result of the ASAP findings and recommendations, as well as other external and internal reviews of the workforce, NASA has terminated downsizing at the Office of Space Flight (OSF) Centers. All four OSF Centers-the Johnson Space Center (JSC), Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and the Stennis Space Center (SSC)-are in the midst of large-scale efforts to replace skill losses and increase the number of entry-level professionals. NASA has a plan in place to hire close to 600 new employees in fiscal year (FY) 2000 that will fill some of our most critical skill shortages and enable us to begin efforts to rebuild our cadre of future leaders. These new critical staff hires are designed to support program requirements for Space Shuttle Operations and Upgrades, Space Station Development and Operations, Expendable Launch Vehicles, Advanced Space Transportation Technology and other Center mission-related and administrative requirements. The hiring of these new employees is geared to alleviating stress impacts resulting from expanding workload pressures coupled with continuous downsizing; eliminating critical skill shortages across our programs and Centers; and pursuing fresh-out hires to revitalize our Science and Engineering (S&E) knowledge base for future program and project management responsibilities. In addition, NASA is seeking to refocus our workforce composition towards a future-oriented research and development base. Specific short-term scientific and engineering expertise or operations-oriented requirements will be satisfied by utilizing nonpermanent term appointments and Intergovernmental Personnel Act assignments. In addition, we anticipate the ability to replace upcoming losses on a one-for-one basis in the years to come. Our hiring capability has sparked renewed enthusiasm throughout JSC, KSC, and MSFC, and SSC. Employees and managers are eager to return to a time when NASA had a continuing influx of the best and brightest graduates in the engineering and science fields. We have carefully planned our recruiting strategy to ensure success in achieving this goal. To this end, we have identified critical skill shortages and made them our top hiring priorities. We have established a goal of hiring 50 to 70 percent of new personnel at the entry level in an effort to revitalize our workforce with high-caliber, recent graduates. NASA's recruiting efforts are aimed at some of the top engineering and business schools in the country, including minority universities. We have involved many NASA employees in our recruiting initiative by sending them to conduct on-campus interviews with potential candidates. The OSF Centers' rigorous screening process requires that potential employees possess degrees that are consistent with long-term needs, a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), outstanding references and other indicators of high achievement (e.g., extracurricular activities, honor society membership, community involvement, and awards). We are already seeing hiring results that are on track for meeting these goals. Finally, the contractor workforce will be enhanced, where appropriate, for maintaining safe and effective operations. An example of this is the United Space Alliance (USA) initiative to enhance work documentation with new technology and off-the-shelf products and still maintain increased flight-rate capability.
Evidence of Recurrence Control Effectiveness:
NASA must continue to address workforce problems aggressively and establish program priorities that ensure a workforce capable of achieving long-term safe and effective operations. Emphasis should be placed on eliminating critical skills shortfalls and recruiting younger S&Es who can develop into experienced and skilled future leaders.
Documents Related to Lesson:
N/A
Mission Directorate(s):
- Space Operations
- Exploration Systems
Additional Key Phrase(s):
- Administration/Organization
- Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel
- Human Resources & Education
- Policy & Planning
- Risk Management/Assessment
Additional Info:
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