Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The U.S. Department of the Air Force has approximately 200,000 civilian employees working in 600 different occupations and professions. This includes approximately 170,000 appropriated fund civilians and more than 16,000 civilian employees who work in specialized research facilities and laboratories in 22 different locations across the United States.A critical tool in recruiting and retaining top-tier civilian talent is the compensation and benefits package offered. However, a recent study by the Congressional Budget Office found that the competitiveness of federal wages in general varies widely depending on educational attainment. The Air Force Directorate of Civilian Force Management asked Project AIR FORCE to conduct a study to help address concerns regarding the Air Force's ability to compete with private-sector compensation and benefits, particularly for hard-to-fill and mission critical occupations (MCOs). This report documents the constraints the Air Force must operate under in comparison with compensation and benefit structures found in other federal agencies and the private sector. It provides recommendations to improve the competitiveness of Air Force compensation and benefits packages to better recruit and retain top-tier civilian talent. Given the large number of civilian occupations within the Air Force, the authors focus specifically on five occupational fields identified as priorities because they are either designated as mission critical or are particularly hard to fill: Aircraft Operations, Air Traffic Control, Human Resources Management, Information Technology Management (Cyber), and Aircraft Mechanic.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

As demand for technical talent is expected to increase across the U.S. workforce over the next decade, the Department of the Air Force (DAF) wants to ensure that it is competitive in attracting top-tier talent (e.g., highly skilled experts and promising new graduates). The authors of this report assessed the DAF's ability to attract and employ top civilian talent in six occupational series: Computer Science, Operations Research, Electronics Engineer, Engineering Technician, Airfield Manager, and Nurse. For each occupational series, the authors highlight key recruiting and employment challenges, the use of available hiring authorities and flexibilities, and how current DAF pay compares with pay in the sister services, other federal agencies, and the private sector. They also describe findings from interviews with university career services offices and private-sector recruiting experts regarding the factors potential job candidates consider when making employment decisions, as well as findings from interviews with recruiting and hiring representatives from the sister services and other federal agencies regarding alternative employment options and practices that other federal organizations have found effective. The authors conclude by providing recommendations on actions the DAF can take to better compete for top-tier civilian technical talent.