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mapped out by the employee with the assistance of the training officer and does not have to be approved by the supervisor. Unlike the programs described above, no job is guaranteed at the end of the training period, but the employee is qualified to compete for the target positions that are announced through merit staffing. So far sixtyone employees out of a total of 783 have been given counseling and 23 are currently in the program. The fact that this program was not very well publicized accounts for the low number of responses.

OASA has identified a number of career ladder positions in its organization which can be used for upward This upgrading activity is currently

mobility purposes.

in the process of further development.

ESA established 138 technician positions through occupational analysis and job restructuring to promote clerical employees. The positions thus created prepare the incumbents for greater responsibility and can serve as bridges to higher level jobs.

BLS recently upgraded 12 positions in the Office of

Data Collection and Survey Operations.

All but one of

these positions were filled by employees currently working

in that office.

The Bureau of Employees Compensation uses a modular appraoch to upgrading in its district offices. Employees in Grades 3-9 throughout the Department can compete for any newly announced position in this office for which they are qualified. The duties and responsibilities at each grade level prepare the employees for the next higher level and provide for cross mobility among the different Conceivably, a GS-3 clerk-typist could progress all the way up to a GS-11 supervisory claims examiner. There are no career ladders associated with

units in BEC.

these positions so that each promotion is competitive. However, by encouraging promotion from within the organization, BEC has created an atmosphere in which the employees have some hope for career advancement.

These upgrading activities represent very limited attempts to provide upward mobility for lower grade employees. There is no assurance that some of these newly established positions will not also become dead-ended. Nevertheless, the need to continue these activities is

evident in view of the fact that virtually nothing has been accomplished in this area in the past. It should also be recognized that in the long-run these efforts could result in a real breakthrough for nonprofessionals by demonstrating the extent to which these employees are being underutilized in the Department.

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Administrative personnel seemed to realize that there should be more concern for the plight of the nonprofessionals, but they stated that there are many problems associated with upward mobility programs.

Top-level management and first-line supervisors

appeared not to place the necessary priority on upgrading activities. This is evidenced by the lack of training opportunities available to the nonprofessionals in addition to the small number of supervisors willing to assume the task of establishing training slots in their offices.

In only one A&O did we find that the lack of training funds posed a problem.

While we could not ascertain the

exact percentage of training funds allocated to the clerical staff, we did learn that it was a disproportionately small

amount. There appeared to be no problem, however, for professionals to obtain funds for their own self-advancement. For example, the Department has often financed graduate studies to enable professionals to attain their Master's or Doctorate degrees, even though training funds are not designated for this purpose.

Widespread job restructuring and occupational analysis require a considerable amount of work and staff time. Since top priority to upward mobility has not been forthcoming from management, little effort has been directed toward this activity. In addition, personnel offices have been generally unresponsive to the needs of both the nonprofessionals and those supervisors who are interested in upgrading their nonprofessional staff.

Little has been

done to make these supervisors aware of the resources which can be used for this purpose. Since supervisors are often unaware of the various methods by which upgrading can be accomplished, they are limited in what they

can achieve.

One problem that is being given consideration to a very limited degree is that artificial barriers often

impede the career advancement of nonprofessionals to pro

fessional positions. For example, a college degree is many

times not necessary to perform professional jobs in the

Department.

Except for highly technical fields, such as

economics, statistics, and accounting, experience in a

particular area is the primary qualification. This factor

employees.

is usually overlooked as a basis for promoting lower grade In addition, an effective method of upgrading is to place nonprofessional employees in positions in which they can gain the experience necessary for advancement.

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From the nonprofessional's point of view, an upward mobility policy in the Department of Labor appears to be practically nonexistent.

To be judged solely on the basis of one's merit is not a reality for the minorities and women who comprise 97 percent of the clerical workforce. To these employees, discriminatory practices still exist. They feel that they have no allies in administrative and managerial positions and, as a result, have no one to turn to for counsel and help. The absence of minorities and women in high level

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