Attracting "Cutting-Edge" Skills Through Reserve Component Participation
ResearchPublished 2003
ResearchPublished 2003
People with complex, hard-to-train skills, such as information technology specialists, linguists, or scientists, are difficult for the military services to attract and retain, especially because there may not be a constant need or career path for them in the military. This report examines five new ideas for attracting such people into the Reserve Component (RC): (1) a Civilian Skills Database; (2) an expanded Individual Ready Reserve program; (3) a tailored version of the Employer Support to Guard and Reserve program; (4) an RC-focused program modeled on the Army's Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) program; and (5) a Critical University Talent Program. The authors discuss the five programs in detail and suggest ways in which they could be pilot-tested.
The research described in this report was sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted in RAND's National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center supported by the OSD, the Joint Staff, the unified commands, and the defense agencies.
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