A total of eight cyber personnel have served in a program that began in 2022 to rotate workers between federal agencies to bolster the workforce, a watchdog report said Thursday.
Over the life of the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce program that effectively went away last year, 13 agencies offered 106 positions and received 634 applications, according to the Government Accountability Office. Eight workers won approval to participate.
The goal of the Office of Personnel Management-led program, established by bipartisan legislation, was that “participating employees develop knowledge and skills that they can bring back to their home agencies,” as the GAO noted.
A couple major factors account for the low participation, the study found. One was the sharp decline in eligible advertised positions: 75 in 2023, 31 in 2024 and none in 2025 or 2026.
As of December of last year, OPM said it planned to advertise positions on Connect.gov, but this year OPM said it didn’t do so and wouldn’t be advertising positions due to “budgetary constraints,” according to the report.
“OPM officials stated that they do not anticipate any agencies offering positions in 2026, and that OPM does not intend to invest resources in advertising and managing the program going forward,” the report reads. “As a result, OPM officials stated that the agency does not intend to post advertised positions in 2026.”
The other major factor was that even though there were 634 applications, OPM said there were issues with many of the applicants, including that they were underqualified, didn’t obtain necessary approval in advance of applying or were contractors who weren’t eligible.
Additionally, “It was often easier for agencies to allow employees to serve cyber rotations within their own agency,” OPM reported.
OPM evaluated possible shortcomings in implementing the program in late 2024 and developed plans for improving it, but never followed up on them, the GAO said. As of next summer the program will officially end, OPM said.
The program isn’t the only one that feds have tried to implement to address the persistent gap in cybersecurity skills and experience. Nor is it the only one to fall on hard times in President Donald Trump’s second term, as the administration slashed budgets at agencies and forced out cyber personnel.
Facts Only
* Eight cyber personnel served in a rotation program that began in 2022.
* Thirteen agencies offered 106 positions through the program.
* The program received 634 applications.
* Eight workers received approval to participate.
* The program was led by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
* The goal was for participating employees to develop knowledge and skills for their home agencies.
* Advertised positions declined from 75 in 2023 to 31 in 2024, with no advertisements planned for 2025 or 2026.
* OPM reported not advertising positions due to budgetary constraints in 2024.
* Many applicants had issues, including underqualification or lack of prior approval or contractor status.
* Agencies found it easier to allow employees to serve cyber rotations internally.
* OPM evaluated shortcomings and developed improvement plans but did not follow up on them before the program ended.
Executive Summary
An eight-person program designed to rotate cyber personnel between federal agencies to enhance the workforce concluded in 2024. The program involved 13 agencies offering 106 positions and received 634 applications, with eight workers ultimately receiving approval to participate. The stated goal of the program, overseen by the Office of Personnel Management, was for participating employees to gain knowledge and skills applicable to their home agencies.
Participation in the rotation saw low uptake due to several factors. A primary factor was a sharp decline in available advertised positions across the years, with 75 in 2023, 31 in 2024, and none advertised in 2025 or 2026. Furthermore, the Office of Personnel Management cited issues with some applicants, including underqualification or lack of prior approval, as well as the fact that agencies often preferred allowing employees to serve rotations internally. Despite 634 applications, OPM noted issues with the eligibility and qualifications of many applicants.
The program was officially discontinued in late 2024. Although OPM developed plans to improve the program based on evaluations, these plans were not followed up on. The program ended as scheduled in the summer following the completion of the rotation cycle. This effort occurred amid broader challenges faced by the federal administration regarding cybersecurity skills and personnel management.
Full Take
The failure of a workforce rotation initiative highlights a disconnect between programmatic intent and real-world implementation, especially when facing external constraints. The pattern emerging is one where complex institutional goals are undermined by administrative inertia and shifting resource allocation. The low participation rate, despite a substantial pool of applicants, suggests that the formal mechanism for skill transfer was insufficient or poorly connected to the operational realities of federal agency staffing and budgetary cycles.
The resistance observed—where agencies opted for internal rotations rather than external ones—points to an implicit institutional preference over the systemic benefit the program aimed to achieve. Furthermore, OPM’s failure to execute on proposed improvements reveals a systemic issue where analysis is separated from action, suggesting that the structure of accountability itself can become a barrier to necessary adaptation. This scenario reflects a broader theme where high-level goals regarding skill development are often attenuated by competing priorities like budgetary constraints and entrenched operational habits.
The ultimate implication is that simply establishing a mechanism for rotation is insufficient; successful implementation requires dynamic alignment between central administrative goals, agency operational needs, and administrative commitment over time. The context of simultaneous budget cuts and personnel shifts suggests that such programs are vulnerable when operating outside the immediate focus of executive priorities, becoming casualties of systemic drift rather than purely logistical failures. What factors would need to be in place for a skills-based rotation program to withstand inevitable budgetary or operational pressures?
Sentinel — Human
The text appears to be a standard journalistic report relying on cited government data to analyze the performance and limitations of a federal workforce program.