AF continues to build diversity with Workforce Recruitment Program

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS -- The headquarters staff at the Air Force Equal Opportunity Office at the Pentagon is boosting efforts to build Air Force participation in the Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities as part of an Air Force goal to increase the representation of people with disabilities in the workforce.

Air Force officials met their goal of placing 25 disabled students to summer internships through the WRP in 2008. This year the staff at the Air Force EO Office is working to increase that number to 40.

"The Workforce Recruitment Program is one way the Air Force is developing its workforce and ensuring opportunities are available for all," said Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Personnel, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. "Not only is the WRP an opportunity for the participating students, but it also allows supervisors to gain experience leading a diverse group of people."

WRP is a joint program between the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor that funds disabled students to fill positions with the Air Force for either 14 weeks or through September 30, whichever comes first.

The Air Force has used the WRP to hire qualified disabled employees into temporary and permanent positions since the program began 13 years ago.

As part of the program, managers (with the assistance of the Air Force WRP Administrator) select qualified disabled students to fill positions on a temporary basis from a database available to all participating agencies. The students, in turn, provide free labor to the organization and gain valuable job experience. At the end of the student's degree program, the manager has the option of hiring the student into a permanent, full-time, federal position.

"Our staff is trying to help managers focus on the idea that the WRP is a developmental program that should be looked at as a pathway to a career," said Liz Stowers, former Deputy to Personnel Management, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington D.C. "The WRP is a way for individuals to work in a federal setting to see if it would be a good fit after they have graduated."

Having met their 2008 goal, the headquarters staff is focused on building participation for 2009 and beyond.

"The number of authorizations we get each year for the WRP depends on our success in filling them the previous year. While the 25 students we had working in 2008 is significantly better than the 17 the previous year, it is simply not enough," Ms. Stowers said. "We hope to get 40 or more authorizations in 2009 and our goal is to fill every one."

Ms. Stowers, who led the WRP in 2007, added that part of the problem is many managers do not really know about the program and the opportunities it grants.

The Air Force EO Office is focused on determining the reasons managers are not using the program and clearing up any misperceptions they may have. Their goal is to teach managers why their organizations should be using the WRP to fill permanent positions.

"The WRP benefits the Air Force in many ways," Ms. Stowers continued. "The program provides the Air Force with a pool of eager and driven candidates to place to work for free for the summer. If these students do well, employers have the opportunity to hire the student to a full-time position. This fills a needed position for the employer and gives the Air Force another career-oriented employee able to establish strong continuity and civilian support."

The Air Force EO Office plans to establish base-level support by working with bases individually. The staff is working with all the different Air Force Major Commands and base organizations like the Special Emphasis Program Managers and Civilian Personnel Flights to raise awareness of the WRP among managers and hiring officials.

"We hope students who participate in the WRP in the summer will realize the opportunities available to them as a career and will come back as full-time employees once they have finished their degree programs." Ms. Stowers said.

For information about the WRP, visit the Web site, www.wrp.gov.