The Learning Curve: How Training Supports Recruiting and Retaining Cleared Talent
It requires a specific kind of employee to pursue security clearance work. These individuals must embrace pressure and want to make a difference in national security. The constrained talent pool of cleared employees shows how unique this population is, and, on top of that, cybersecurity and technology roles in the intelligence community and government agencies require extremely specific skill sets. The rapid advancement of AI is accelerating this trend even further.
“The recent Executive Order on AI adoption is just the latest driver of talent demand in the security-cleared space,” says Andy Gill, strategic talent acquisitions lead with MetroStar, a northern Virginia-based digital services and IT modernization company focused on Federal, Department of Defense (DoD) and national security customers at the highest security levels. “The need for technical skills and security clearances means it’s more important than ever to not only find the right candidates but also to retain the cleared folks you already have and ensure talent mobility,” he adds.
How can staffing firms and HR professionals manage talent acquisition (TA) with this employee population and keep key positions filled? By emphasizing learning and development (L&D) opportunities, recruiters and TA teams can address both sides of this coin — recruiting qualified candidates and retaining valuable employees.
Use L&D to build a robust pipeline
As recruiters in the cleared space know, the process of obtaining new security clearances for employees entering this talent pool is a long, costly process. At the same time, finding candidates with cutting-edge technical skills is highly competitive, and locating candidates with both clearances and skills can feel like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack.
To overcome this, firms can consider bringing these qualifications together in a feeder or training program. “A feeder program is a recruiting process or program designed to satisfy multiple contracts,” Gill explains. Recruiters can start by evaluating their current contracts and openings, and then seeking out cleared talent that may need upskilling on the latest technologies. These employees already understand the cleared world, and eligible candidates have a polygraph clearance, whether counterintelligence, lifestyle or both.
In a feeder program, these employees would gain technical certifications and training to close any gaps in their cybersecurity and technological skills. “Let’s say you have a human intelligence analyst who’s cleared — move that person to a program where they can learn engineering and upskill that candidate,” Gill says. “We’ve seen instances of a 16-month training program plus rotations, and now you’ve got a pipeline of people ready for various contracts.”
This process also works for candidates with technical skills but no security clearances. New graduates or existing employees from the tech world can participate in training programs while their clearances work their way through the system. This keeps candidates in your pipeline and connected to your organization while setting them up for success in filling open roles.
Gill notes that this approach takes effort, but it results in long-term benefits for hiring organizations as well as candidates. “Don’t walk away from the data you have as a recruiter,” he says. “Show your value to your organization by identifying the gaps that are keeping you from filling roles, and partner with your internal stakeholders to overcome those gaps.”
Provide ongoing L&D opportunities for employee growth
Once you’ve developed a robust pipeline and talent bench, how do you retain these employees?
Career development currently ranks as a top driver of retention across industries, and it’s particularly important to cleared talent and those in technical roles. Why? Because employees in the cleared space know that different roles require specific certifications and skills, and they will stay with organizations that foster their development and mobility.
“Folks in this employee population know that their future roles depend on specific certifications and experiences, so you have to show them how you’ll get them to that next level,” Gill says. Hiring organizations can explore a variety of L&D opportunities to keep cleared talent engaged — these could be continuing education (CE) certifications or courses in specific skill areas, or they could be as simple as ensuring employees attend certain conferences each year.
Offer financial support to make this possible for employees, whether it’s tuition reimbursement or a flat stipend. Covering conference fees and travel expenses is another way to ensure employees can access CE opportunities. The amount of resources put towards L&D will differ based on each hiring organization, but any financial support will boost employee participation and engagement.
Another way to bolster your organization’s L&D opportunities is to identify candidates for promotion and put them on a path to close any skill gaps they may have. Hiring organizations can use personality assessments, such as those from Pearson Assessments, to determine which employees have the traits appropriate for leadership roles. Your organization can then offer any training needed to qualify them for more advanced responsibilities.
These types of benefits and investments in your employee population tangibly demonstrate your commitment to their career growth and encourage cleared employees to stay with your organization, even if they move to different roles or contracts.
Continuous growth matters to top talent
The high-pressure, high-security world of government and intelligence agencies attracts a particular type of employee. These employees — either with clearances, tech skills or both — are eager to continually hone their skills and challenge themselves.
By moving interested and motivated candidates into a pipeline with training opportunities, recruiters can upskill recruits and build long-term success. Keeping those employees at the top of their game with CE means key positions will be filled, and hiring organizations will meet their contracts.
“These folks crave mission-critical work, and if your company can get them there and help them feel they’re making a difference, you’re going to build loyalty and success,” Gill says. That success benefits cleared employees themselves, the TA teams working with them and, ultimately, the public agencies responsible for local and national security.
Contact Pearson to learn more about assessments for recruiting high-security employees.
For more insights on recruiting and retaining high-security employees, watch our webinar.