Career Center Event to Highlight Federal Jobs Availability
Contact: Sherry Treworgy, 581-1356; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — In the next seven years, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management estimates that nearly half of the nation’s more than 2 million federal workers will retire or leave government careers for other jobs, creating a labor shortage that needs to be addressed now to prevent a crisis later.
Compounding that potential labor crisis is the number of new jobs the Obama Administration is creating through its economic stimulus package. The Reuters news service reports that the Heritage Foundation estimates that the $787 billion economic stimulus package signed into law last month could create at least 100,000 more government jobs next year and 120,000 by 2012.
To assist in addressing those needs, the University of Maine’s Career Center, working with the Annenberg Speakers Bureau of the Partnership for Public Service, is presenting a speaker on campus March 30, to explain to UMaine students and members of the public how many and what kinds of federal jobs and internships are and will be available.
Julie Saad, federal human resources specialist, is visiting UMaine to discuss job and internship opportunities, the application process and salaries and benefits in federal government careers. She is scheduled to speak at 3:30 p.m. in Minsky Recital Hall, Class of 1944 Hall. The event, made possible by the Partnership for Public Service, is free and open to the public.
Sherry Treworgy, associate director of the UMaine Career Center and co-organizer of the event, says students were keenly interested in a similar presentation last year.
“I think the program is going to be even more important to students this year with the challenging economic climate,” Treworgy says. “The federal government remains the largest employer in the U.S. and they are still trying to attract graduating college students in a multitude of career fields. In spite of rising unemployment, the federal government does have good jobs and internships.”
A website (www.makingthedifference.org) designed by the Partnership for Public Service can help educate students and others about federal careers, jobs and internships, and how to navigate the federal employment system and its application process.
According to information from the Partnership for Public Service:
– By 2016, 40 percent of all current federal employees are expected to have retired from the federal government, the nation’s largest employer;
– There are federal jobs suited to every interest and skill, from art history to zoology;
– Federal agencies may help pay back up to $10,000 a year in student loans, or pick up the tab if an employee decides to pursue a graduate degree;
– Nearly 85 percent of federal jobs are located outside of the greater metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, and more than 50,000 federal employees work abroad;
– Average government salaries are competitive for most professions, and federal benefits, including health insurance, retirement and vacation, are competitive with the private sector.
For more information, contact Sherry Treworgy, associate director of the UMaine Career Center at 581-1356.