US government enters the race for AI talent

CompTIA, for example, lists AI as the most in-demand skill in the IT industry for 2024, and Foundry’s State of the CIO Survey ranks AI as the No. 1 most difficult skill set to find, according to IT leader respondents. Pay premiums for a range of AI skills rank at the top of the latest Foote Partners’ IT Skills Demand and Pay Trends Report as well, suggesting that those behind on hiring for AI talent will need to pay even more to catch up.

“Given the emerging nature of this skill set, there is definitely a shortage of talent in this space. This is one of the main reasons that we have granted additional hiring authorities,” Russ says.

Still, federal officers are optimistic about the government’s ability to bring on talent.

Russ says the government’s “unique value proposition” whose mission-driven work has an “impact both on an immediate level and also on a more systemic level” is a draw for many. So are the competitive benefits and job security that come with federal positions.

Olivia Zhu, a senior policy advisor with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, says the government’s recruitment efforts are yielding strong results.

“Since October, we’ve seen unprecedented levels of interest in joining the federal government to work on AI. We’re excited about all those who will be embarking on a journey of public service and helping support our ambitious mission to harness the benefits and mitigate the risks of AI,” she says in an emailed statement.

Penugonde says the White House AI Executive Order “has sparked interest nationwide in government AI roles.” For example, a recent government-wide career fair yielded 3,000-plus applicants for product manager, designer, and engineer roles at GSA, as well as more than 800 applications for individual technologist roles, he says.

“We’re finding that more and more candidates are drawn to public service — the purpose, the mission of the agency, and the opportunity to work on meaningful projects with public impact,” Penugonde says.

Federal agencies are also working to upskill existing staffers on AI skills. For example, TTS is home to the government’s AI Center of Excellence and its AI Community of Practice, where federal employees can build and support AI talent and learning.

States follow suit

The federal government’s focus on adding AI skills appears to be delivering returns: The US Treasury Department on Feb. 28 announced that its use of AI for enhanced fraud detection recovered more than $375 million since the technology’s implementation.

And state governments are following suit, says Amy Glasscock, program director for innovation and emerging issues at the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO).

“Much of the state legislation and executive orders we are seeing right now involve the directive to create an AI task force,” Glasscock explains, adding that states may also task agencies with appointing chief AI officers in the future.

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee on Feb. 29 issued an executive order mandating that the state create of a AI Center of Excellence, implement AI-related training, and identify opportunities to use AI to improve services.

But states will likely have a harder time hiring AI talent than the federal government, Glasscock says.

“Over the last few years state CIOs have cited lack of necessary staff skills as a barrier to AI adoption, so while they may have a need to hire AI talent, state governments are really facing a lot of workforce challenges in general,” she explains, noting that “it’s tough for governments to compete with the salaries of the private sector.”

Reskilling efforts and private-sector partnerships may be states’ initial approaches to addressing these challenges, she says.

Bridge to the future

Such assessments aren’t deterring State of Alaska CIO Bill Smith.

“Our governor has encouraged use of AI to improve services and also to compensate for the vacancies we have in state government, so, in other words, using AI to help our current workforce do more with less,” Smith says.

Smith acknowledges that he will be challenged to compete for AI experts, as demand is sky-high. “Very highly skilled AI thought leaders aren’t available for state employment. There aren’t enough of them out there for the big vendors let alone for state government,” he says.

To compensate for that reality, Smith plans to boost his state government’s AI chops by instructing his IT team to maximize use of intelligence tools increasingly baked into products and services in the state’s tech stack. The goal, he says, is “to focus on where we can use AI today to make a difference.”

He’s also leaning on providers to upskill his staffers, while looking for AI skills in new IT hires to further bolster the state’s reserves of AI talent.

Such strategies, Smith says, will allow him to ramp up the AI talent he needs to eventually create an AI center of excellence — a goal he believes will be a reality when, in the upcoming years, the availability of AI talent better matches the demand for it.