Federal agencies across all areas of government have been contemplating workforce challenges for several years now. Prior to 2025, concerns for federal employees chiefly included maintaining an appropriate number of personnel with many aging out and retiring from the workforce, in addition to obtaining and retaining new talent that fit the ever-increasing technological needs of advanced and emerging IT given the competitive salary requirements for some of the field’s best and brightest.

Late last year, the government’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity published a detailed report, at President Obama’s request, to provide short- and long-term recommendations to strengthen cybersecurity in the public and private sector (you can read the full report on the NIST website).