ITS Miller defends plan to hire 250 contract employees
State Office of Information Technology Services Director Margaret Miller said Tuesday that a state budget proposal to hire 250 contract employees under a state program that would allow them to stay for up to five years is necessary because “we desperately need an injection of experience into the middle layers and into the more senior layers of the organization.”
Eventual permanent roles would be made available to both the contractors, who must pass a civil service exam to be eligible for permanent gigs, and permanent staff, who have preference for hiring.
Miller’s comments, made at a joint legislative budget hearing in Albany, follow comments made by Lola Brabham, acting head of the state Civil Service Department, that “the state workforce doesn’t always have the cutting edge skills … or the talent’’ required for some specialized information technology tasks. She said that in justification of ITS’ practice of using private contractors in some instances.
In her testimony, Miller tried to drive home the point that ITS is facing future challenges in experience and skill given that a large chunk of its workforce is on the verge of retirement.
Read more: http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/271796/its-miller-defends-plan-to-hire-250-contract-employees/