OPM Updates Pathways Program to Increase Early Career Opportunities

The federal workforce is getting older, and government employers have been hard at work making outreach efforts to the early career talent it needs to lead the public sector in the future.

In January 2023, for example, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released guidance on how federal agencies can increase opportunities for paid internships, fellowships, apprenticeships and other programs designed to help students and early-career individuals pursue civil service careers.

In June of last year, OPM rolled out its Federal Intern Experience Program. OPM Director Kiran Ahuja urged government agency leaders to promote the initiative, which offers training, experiences, information and support in an effort to help early career individuals thrive in their internships while developing new skills to aid their advancement in their government careers.

OPM’s most recent effort on this front includes a number of steps designed to draw more young talent to civil service careers.

On April 11, OPM issued a final rule updating the Pathways Program, a key federal government tool for attracting and hiring would-be government workers early in their careers. In a statement detailing the updates, EEOC described the final rule as “one of the most significant actions the federal government has taken since the program’s inception 14 years ago.”

According to the same statement, updates to the program include expanding skills-based hiring through qualifying career programs, raising the ceiling for recent graduates’ starting salaries, and clearing a path for interns to be converted into permanent positions, by lowing the number of required hours for converting and increasing the amount of time agencies have to complete such a transition, for example.

Individuals who successfully complete one of the three Pathways Programs—Interns, Recent Graduates, Presidential Management Fellows—may be eligible for permanent jobs in the civil service, according to OPM, which says it will soon release new web-based guidance, an updated Pathways Program Handbook, a refreshed Pathways Toolkit for federal managers and supervisors.

The federal government’s chief HR agency will also host a series of webinars and office hours targeted at HR professionals, hiring managers, educational institutions, and other key stakeholders.

The final rule for the Pathways Programs will accomplish a number of goals, OPM said. For example, the final rule will:

⃰ Expand applicant eligibility for the Recent Graduates program to include individuals who may or may not have college degrees but have completed qualifying career or technical education programs

⃰ Provide a more direct route and greater flexibility for graduates and alumni of Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Job Corps, Peace Corps and AmeriCorps to apply for Recent Graduate positions

⃰ Allow agencies to convert interns to a federal position after completing a minimum of 480 hours in their internship, as opposed to 640 hours

⃰ Provide agencies with up to 180 days to convert interns into permanent positions—an increase of 60 days—to support broadened employment opportunities for applicants and agencies alike

“Early career programs are critical to recruit the next generation of government leaders,” said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja, in a statement, noting that these updates figure to increase opportunities for the federal government to hire interns, fellows, apprentices, recent students and trainees.

“No matter what your interests are,” Ahuja said, “the federal government offers opportunities in nearly every sector and every industry.”