Navigating career advancement as a federal employee can often feel like a complex maze. The rapid pace of technological innovation continues to reshape the professional landscape, with automation impacting traditional roles and creating demand for new skills. In today’s evolving “knowledge economy,” federal professionals need to proactively develop and refine their expertise to remain competitive and advance their careers.
Recognizing this challenge, the CFO Council has taken a significant step to empower the Federal Financial Management workforce by introducing a government-wide Career Planning and Training Tool (CPTT). This innovative platform is meticulously designed to streamline and enhance career path planning, while simultaneously providing direct access to essential training resources. The CPTT aims to equip federal employees with the necessary knowledge and skills to thrive amidst evolving professional demands.
This CPTT initiative represents a forward-thinking proof of concept, uniquely blending public and private sector frameworks to create a more agile and centralized system for federal career planning, training, and professional development. As an initial prototype, the CPTT’s core functionality is intentionally user-friendly and accessible. Increased engagement, demand, and active utilization by federal employees will be crucial in securing further funding to expand the CPTT’s features, functionality, and broader application across various sectors of the federal workforce in the future.
Your participation in this pilot program is vital. By embracing the CPTT, you become an integral part of a critical effort to revolutionize federal career planning and development. If you believe in the value of such resources and wish to see continued development and expansion of services like this, you can demonstrate your support by: (1) utilizing the CPTT to explore and enroll in courses offered by partner vendors, (2) sharing this valuable resource with colleagues and management, and (3) providing constructive feedback on your user experience and suggesting areas for improvement. Your insights on accessibility, usability, functionality, and outreach are highly valued and can be directed to: [email protected].
The primary objective of this initial CPTT version is to offer an intuitive and accessible tool for foundational career path planning and to simplify the process of accessing relevant, timely, and cost-effective training opportunities.
Initially, this proof of concept tool focuses on the four most prevalent job series within the financial management community. To begin utilizing the CPTT, simply select your Job Series and GS Level using the provided filters. The system will then generate virtual “cards” in the center of your screen, and below, providing tailored career guidance.
Each virtual card is designed to highlight a specific, highly relevant “competency.” Within each card, you will find a comprehensive description of the competency, associated behaviors, and expected proficiency levels. The information presented on these cards reflects the CFO Council’s expert consensus on the essential knowledge and skills required at each GS-Level stage within each job series. Crucially, these cards also feature embedded links directing you to vendor-provided courses specifically designed to help you master each competency. Our trusted partner vendors offer a diverse range of course types and learning modalities, including online, on-site, hybrid, micro-learning, cohort-style, and many more. These valuable courses are readily available for purchase using government purchase cards (note that government purchase card transactions are typically limited to $10,000, and most courses are priced well below this threshold). By simply clicking on the embedded links to the vendor websites, you can explore their extensive and varied training offerings.
In total, the CPTT encompasses up to 54 competency variations (cards) applicable to each job series. The virtual card information dynamically adjusts within the CPTT based on your selected filters. The chosen GS-Level directly influences the proficiency and behavioral career path planning and training guidance presented on the cards. For instance, users selecting entry-level GS Levels (e.g., GS 7-9) will see foundational information, while those selecting more senior levels (e.g., GS 14-15) will access advanced, specialized guidance.
Federal employees can leverage this career path planning tool in numerous ways. After applying filters for their current job series and GS-level, employees can utilize the competency information on the cards as a comprehensive checklist to assess their current knowledge and identify areas for development. Furthermore, the tool empowers employees to research recommended knowledge and skills necessary for proficiency in different job series or GS levels, facilitating informed decisions regarding lateral career transitions or upward mobility. Supervisors can also effectively utilize the CPTT to pinpoint critical experience and training needs for their team members’ professional growth.
Once a user identifies a specific knowledge gap, they can seamlessly utilize the embedded web links to explore available external training options. When selecting a course to pursue, it’s important to adhere to your respective agency’s policies regarding training purchases.
Click here to access additional information about this initiative.
Within this CPTT initiative, we have partnered with a select group of training course providers (listed below). These providers offer vetted, competitively-selected courses that directly align with specific CPTT career competencies. As you navigate the tool and explore the courses, you will discover more about their offerings. Below are document links containing helpful information about each provider, typically summarizing their course offerings, detailing their purchasing processes, and providing other relevant information to support your purchase decisions.
For any feedback, questions, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
