(RoyalPatriot.com )- The CIA is working to improve its employment procedures, and two of its main objectives are cutting wait times and diversifying candidate pools.
However, the lengthy security clearance procedure used by the organization is a barrier to improving recruitment, according to Juliane Gallina, associate deputy director of the CIA’s Directorate of Digital Innovation.
Although some aspects of the hiring process cannot be altered, the agency is attempting to widen the door for, say, more diverse candidates while simultaneously moving the process through as quickly as possible.
Gallina remarked on September 20 at an Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) gathering that they’re going to figure out how to get folks completely employed in a much shorter time. “We’re talking orders of magnitude.”
But because they really want their employees to have enormous duties to look after highly sensitive data and missions, as well as to care for one other, they have to believe that the security process and background checks are also appropriately completed and that “we haven’t taken shortcuts.”
The growing importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility is factored into the equation for federal hiring, as it is for many other agencies. That calls on the CIA to adopt a more practical strategy.
To broaden its applicant pool, the CIA increased connections with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), organizations that serve minorities, and other affinity groups last year. The government will shorten the time between submitting a job application and acquiring a security clearance from 600 days to 180 days.
According to CIA Director Bill Burns, applicants from historically underrepresented groups are discouraged from applying since they may not have the resources to wait for a security clearance.
The proportion of minorities in the IC civilian workforce went from 26.5% to 27% between 2019 and 2020. While the proportion of women stayed at 39.3% throughout the same period, the percentage of people with disabilities climbed slightly.
For instance, the CIA’s technological fellows programs allow employees from the commercial sector to work there. Within weeks of the Pandemic’s start, the agency relocated thousands of contractors to secure off-site locations such as SCIFs (sensitive compartmented information facilities) or unclassified environments.
The agency’s Transnational and Technology Mission Center has concentrated on better understanding the function of technology in the national security ecosystem.
