Workforce 2025: DISA's investment to meet 'pacing challenges'

News provided by

Jun 01, 2023, 07:00 ET

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md., June 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As countries, including China, pose increasingly sophisticated IT and cyber threats against the United States, the Defense Information Systems Agency must attract and maintain an agile, skilled and diverse workforce that adapts to the ever-changing landscape of IT and cyberspace.

Lori Ramirez, former director of the Defense Information Systems Agency's Workforce Services & Development Directorate, explains the thought process behind one of the agency's newest initiatives, DISA Workforce 2025.

Because DISA’s mission continues to evolve, the workforce must too. DISA Workforce 2025 will establish a culture of continuous development that enables and empowers employees to make decisions at their level, rapidly adapt to technological advances and mission adjustments – all to ensure the agency delivers relevant, cutting-edge IT and cyber solutions that meet the needs of our warfighters, and quickly. — Lori Ramirez, former director of the Defense Information Systems Agency's Workforce Services & Development Directorate, explains the thought process behind one of the agency's newest initiatives, DISA Workforce 2025. Because DISA’s mission continues to evolve, the workforce must too. DISA Workforce 2025 will establish a culture of continuous development that enables and empowers employees to make decisions at their level, rapidly adapt to technological advances and mission adjustments – all to ensure the agency delivers relevant, cutting-edge IT and cyber solutions that meet the needs of our warfighters, and quickly.

In support of the 2022 National Defense Strategy workforce requirements and to achieve its mission of connecting and protecting the warfighter in cyberspace, DISA announces a new initiative called Workforce 2025, fundamentally shifting the agency's training, recruiting and retention efforts.

Workforce 2025 provides the framework to rapidly adapt to inevitable technological advances and the evolving global security landscape to ensure the agency delivers relevant, cutting-edge capabilities that are resilient and agile, enabling warfighters to maintain an operational and competitive edge.

"Of all the cyber threats the United States and its allies face, those emanating from China are at the top of the list," said Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, DISA director and Joint Forces Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network commander. "If we focus solely on the technology required to do this and forget about the people who operate it, we will become stagnant and outpaced."

Workforce 2025 is divided into four lines of effort to meet the NDS' call to attract, train and promote a workforce that is equipped with the knowledge and decision-making abilities to creatively solve national security challenges in a complex global environment.

"Workforce 2025 is, at its heart, a strategy designed to enhance the skills and talents of current employees while ensuring DISA onboards new talent and invests in the professional development of both throughout their careers. The goal of the strategy is to lay a foundation for employee success that sets the standard for excellence for years to come," Skinner said.

For more information about Workforce 2025, including the four LOEs, click here.

SOURCE Defense Information Systems Agency