Tech Force Signals Shift to Centralized, Skills-Based Federal Hiring

The Office of Personnel Management is beginning to operationalize its Tech Force initiative, placing its first cohort of technology hires as part of a broader push to modernize federal hiring and close persistent technical talent gaps.

The effort marks a shift toward a more centralized, skills-based hiring model designed to move faster than traditional federal processes and better compete for technical talent.

The program aims to bring 1,000 technologists into government service while reshaping how agencies recruit, assess and retain talent, particularly in areas critical to AI and emerging technologies. OPM Director Scott Kupor said at a federal workforce event last week that Tech Force is designed to create a “flywheel” effect, building a sustainable pipeline of technical expertise across government.

OPM plans to release its first shared certificate of candidates in March, with several hundred technologists expected in the initial cohort.

“We will be releasing the first [of] what’s called a shared certificate in government. So, the first, we won’t have all 1,000 people, but we hope to have several hundred people,” said Kupor.

Once candidates complete a three-phase assessment process, they are placed on a shared certificate and made available to participating agencies. Agencies can then conduct interviews and extend offers based on mission needs, accelerating hiring timelines and reducing duplication across the federal workforce.

“I’m very excited about where we are. I feel like we’ve gotten a great set of folks. Now it’s upon us to ultimately complete this process,” Kupor said.

The shared certificate model is intended to streamline hiring by allowing candidates to be considered across multiple agencies, rather than navigating separate application processes for each role. The two-year program also includes partnerships with private-sector organizations, allowing participants to gain experience across government and industry while accelerating delivery on priority technology initiatives.

“They think in two-, three- or four-year increments, and they want to learn. They want to develop skills,” said Kupor. “If we can create an ethos where every young person, either coming out of high school or college or community college or trade school, feels like coming to the government to do great things … this will be a much better place. We will accomplish many great things as a country.”

Modernizing Hiring to Scale Technical Talent

Tech Force is part of a broader effort by OPM and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to promote merit-based hiring within federal government.

A May 2025 OPM memo outlines a governmentwide strategy focused on skills-based assessments, reducing reliance on degree requirements and self-assessment questionnaires, improving applicant communication and cutting time-to-hire to under 80 days.

As part of that effort, agencies are submitting workforce headcount plans to OPM and OMB to establish a baseline of federal staffing and identify capability gaps, particularly in technical roles.

“We now have a better sense of what are the big categories across agency hiring. It’s not surprising that technical job openings are at almost every agency,” said Kupor. “That’s a perfect opportunity for the concept of shared certificates.”

OPM aims to expand the use of shared certificates across government, positioning the agency as a centralized entry point for technical talent and enabling faster placement into mission-critical roles.

“In my perfect world, any applicant with the relevant skill set can tell the federal government, ‘I’m a program manager and these are the skills I have,’” said Kupor. “I would love applicants to come in at the top of the funnel and demonstrate their interest rather than go through and find which agency out of 50 different agencies might actually have an open job.”