Navy HR Leaders’ Meeting Addresses Cyber and Community Needs

Photo By Mark Burrell | Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, the Honorable Franklin Parker, left, and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Civilian Human Resources, Tony TorresRamos, right, participates in the Department of Navy Human Resources Leaders' Meeting at the Washington Navy Yard May 24, 2016. (U.S. Navy photo by Mark Burrell)  

WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DC, UNITED STATES

05.24.2016

Story by Mark Burrell 

Office of Civilian Human Resources

WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, D.C. (June 28, 2016) - More than 150 civilian human resources leaders from around the Department of Navy community converged on Washington Navy Yard for the annual HR Leaders' Meeting from May 24-26.

The meeting focused on the state of DON human resources in the evolving operating environment and emerging talent management issues such as addressing the need for cyber capabilities.

“We’re adding value in a range of ongoing manpower discussions, such as the development of the cyber workforce,” said Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Franklin Parker. “These are uncharted waters for us in a lot of ways, but at the same time it’s a very significant operational need and it’s something that our HR community has really taken the lead on in defining that requirement and making sure we get the people in place.”
Since fiscal year 2010, the DON has seen a 16.4% growth in employees in Computer Science and IT Management. This growth reflects the DONs effort to hire the right people to defend and combat malicious cyber-attacks from around the world.
“We need to foster the conversations that encourage innovation, new technologies and approaches and better understand the drivers of the workforce so that we ensure our success, five, ten, 20 years down the road and beyond,” added Parker while addressing DON HR leadership during the meeting.
To better understand the unique capabilities needed and to create a central repository of HR best practices, recruiting sources and cyber recruiting expertise, a cyber-recruitment Center of Excellence has recently been established at the OCHR Norfolk Operations Center.
The fledgling center is developing broad-based cyber expertise and recruiting strategies. The initial focus is on a small number of positions within the Fleet Cyber Command. The COE is also committed to working with academic institutions to mine the best talent globally.
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Civilian Human Resources, Tony TorresRamos, recognized the hiring process cannot compete with the evolving complexities in the fight against cyber-attacks, making hiring the right talent in a timely manner even more important.
“It’s been another busy year, but we continue to charge and keep our community poised for the future – part of that positioning consists of making sure that we are doing the right things,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Civilian Human Resources Tony TorresRamos. “Cyber has become the next big thing - let’s make sure we give the level of effort that it requires - this is just as critical a capability as ship building.”
TorresRamos also focused on the importance of diversity, inclusion and recognizing the hard work that DON civilians do every day.
All major commands in the DON were represented at the event orchestrated by the DON Office of Civilian Human Resources.

• Date Taken: 05.24.2016
• Date Posted: 07.07.2016 11:07
• Story ID: 203298
• Location: WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DC, US