UMaine Career Center Program to Explore Federal Job Options

Contact: Sherry Treworgy, 581-1356; George Manlove, 581-3756

ORONO — The nation’s largest employer — the United States government, with a workforce of 1.8 million workers — is facing significant and immediate personnel reductions, as nearly a million people will be eligible to retire as soon as this year.

Recognizing an urgent need to fill 193,000 “mission-critical” jobs in the next two years, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the UMaine Career Center are teaming up to present a program April 15 at 4 p.m. in Minsky Recital Hall, Class of 1944 Hall, to encourage UMaine students to consider internships and careers with the federal government.

Federal jobs are available nationwide and abroad, with 50,000 federal employees working overseas and 85 percent of federal positions located outside the Washington, D.C. area, according to the Partnership for Public Service. Federal jobs are available for graduates from most academic disciplines, and the government also can provide loan repayment assistance for top candidates in certain fields, and has special scholarship programs that can pay for undergraduate- and graduate-level studies.

The federal government also has many federal internships it wants college students to know about.

On April 15, Julie Saad from the Office of Personnel Management will speak to students and answer questions about federal job opportunities, salaries and benefits. She’ll also explain how to conduct a federal job search and how to apply.

Sherry Treworgy of the UMaine Career Center says the prospect of so many federal employees approaching retirement age has increased the need to attract promising young people to federal employment.

The April 15 program is sponsored by the university Career Center and the Annenberg Speakers Bureau of the Partnership for Public Service.

For additional details, call the UMaine Career Center at (207) 581-1359. This public event is free.