for these employees were undesirable.

One file room we

visited did not have enough chairs for all of the clerks. Some offices were dirty, crowded, noisy, drafty, and

poorly lighted.

The employees generally believe that personnel rules and regulations are used against them, but that there are

loopholes for the favored few. These rules cover the whole gamut of procedures, such as: time-in-grade and promotions,

training, leave and employee evaluations.

It should also be pointed out that minorities and women find themselves in dead-ended jobs not out of choice but

because of the necessity to work and because these are the Discriminatory practices that pre

only jobs available.

vail in the world of work have relegated them to their present positions. Leaving the Department, therefore, would not substantially improve their lot.

The observations expressed here illustrate the frustration and job dissatisfaction experienced by nonprofessionals. Their grievances, whether viewed as justified

or unjustified, must be accepted as a reality for them.

6.

Conclusion

The climate that presently exists in the Department

makes equal employment opportunity exceedingly difficult to achieve. The lack of sensitivity to the plight of the nonprofessionals must be overcome so that an atmosphere will exist that is conducive to the development and advancement of these employees. Top management and administrative personnel must bridge the credibility gap by showing real commitment to a policy by which all employees are given the opportunity to advance as far as their

abilities will take them.

B. Upward Mobility Recommendations

The specific recommendations described here are geared to a positive action approach to upward mobility.

Because minorities and women are concentrated in the lower

grades and have had fewer opportunities for growth and advancement, an intensive effort must be made to upgrade them. Goals must be established where by the effectiveness of the programs to be implemented can be measured and the means for accomplishing these goals can be determined.

The following recommendations are designed to achieve

these objectives.

1. There should be 300 trainees in upward mobility

programs over the two year period FY 1972-733/. This number

should be distributed throughout the Department on the

basis of the size of the nonprofessional workforce of each

A&O.

2. An application for the upward mobility programs (See Appendix B-2) should be used to identify the nonprofessional employees with the desire and potential for career advancement. This application should consist of a questionnaire designed to (1) elicit from the applicant any training or skills he may possess that are not being fully utilized in his present position and (2) inquire of the applicant his particular field of interest for career development. A listing of the types of positions with upgrading potential should accompany the application so that the employees would have some idea of the opportunities

available to them.

Supervisors, assisted by Personnel,

should be responsible for establishing these positions prior to the announcement of the programs. 4/

3/ This figure was arrived at as the result of reviewing the upgrading programs at DHEW and HUD and examining the past performance in this area in DOL. The goal of 300, which represents less than 5 percent per year of the clerical workforce, appears to be a reasonable objective.

4/

The programs designed by each A&O should be open to all employees throughout the Department.

The Directors of Personnel should convene panels of

5/

qualifications rating examiners to review the applications

and personnel records and also to interview each applicant. 6/

The applicants would then be notified and selected

in the usual manner and the chosen candidates would then

enter the training programs.

3. A career development plan must be established for each trainee to prepare him for work at a higher level. This plan would be based on the needs, potential and career objective of the trainee. It would consist of (a) on-the-job training, (b) college and technical training and (c) a training agreement. The training agreement makes it possible to substitute intensive accelerated training for a portion of the normal qualifications requirements and thus is an effective tool for upward mobility.

The Directors of Personnel must assign a trained counselor to assist and guide the trainee throughout the

5/See DLS Appendix A, FPM 335, T.S. No. 90, January

1971, p. 34.

6/The area of consideration should be limited to the applicants for upward mobility.

program. In addition, the counselor together with the

supervisor and trainee should participate in mapping out

the plan.

Consideration should be given to establishing workstudy programs such as the one recently developed in the Office of Program Review and Analysis in OASA, and those

in DHEW and HUD.

4.

Job restructuring and occupational analysis are required to facilitate easier entry of lower grade employees into professional positions.

Through these processes, the trainee slots would be established by the supervisors with the cooperation of the personnel offices. The positions thus created would serve as bridge positions to higher level career ladders. They would consist of technician, paraprofessional and professional trainee categories. These positions must include career ladders and provide for progressively responsible

work.

The sample career system (see Appendix B-3) illustrates this concept quite graphically.

Further, funds must be allocated to implement the