The Foreign Service Journal, May 2006

M A Y 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 41 he Office Management Specialist skill code is steadily changing as a result of the increasing demand and rapidly changing requirements for information management throughout the Depart- ment of State. So far, however, this change is taking place unofficially at the operational level and, in my view, in a form that is sometimes to the disadvantage of the OMS corps (formerly known as Foreign Service secretaries). Information management has emerged over the past decade as a separate professional discipline that has become increasingly stratified, with sub-specializations and different levels of expertise. The Foreign Service has a tremendous demand for IT professionals with skills at both higher and lower levels, but doesn’t have the budget to hire both. As a result, lower-level tasks that would be done in the private sector by hiring extra entry-level information technicians are being trans- ferred to OMSs here at State, so that the department can concentrate on recruitment of higher-level IT pro- fessionals. The real truth is that federal resources are not sufficient to match salary rates the private sector pays IT professionals. Given this reality, a shift of some of these responsibilities to the OMS portfolio repre- sents an efficient use of human resources. However, this adjustment of the OMS skill code — which now requires certification in four out of five of the programs within the Microsoft Office Suite as one of the mandatory requirements in the new Career Development Program for promotion to the FP-4 level — constitutes an unfunded mandate. Here is my perception of the problem, and some possible solu- tions. Where’s the Incentive? Today, OMSs are being asked to do more IT-related work, particularly with the added responsibility of main- taining the SIPR-Net via the Portal-X Program. Some folks like this, but some of us who have a longer institu- tional memory are dissatisfied with how the implemen- tation is taking place, particularly with regard to the ability to get training. This doesn’t reflect resistance to F O C U S O N S P E C I A L I S T C A R E E R D E V E L O P M E N T T AKING OMS T RAINING S ERIOUSLY I NFORMATION MANAGEMENT TRAINING IS INTEGRAL TO THE EVOLVING OMS SKILL CODE , BUT ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT IT . B Y E LIZEBETH E. V EGHTE T