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OPA News Release: [07/16/2003]
Contact Name: Yvonne Ralsky
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676

Secretary of Labor Welcomes Second Class of MBA Fellows

Innovative Program Prepares Department for the 21^st Century

WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao welcomed the second class of 18 MBA Fellows to the Department’s workforce today. This second class of business school graduates embarks on an intensive two-year training and development program during which they will gain key management skills for future advancement within the Department’s mid- and senior-level ranks.

Secretary Chao launched The MBA Outreach program in June of 2002 to attract business school graduates from across the nation who can implement private sector approaches to managing Labor Department programs.

“These outstanding young men and women have been recruited as MBA Fellows by the U. S. Labor Department to advance President Bush’s vision of a results-orientated, citizen-centered, and free-enterprise-based government that benefits those who come in contact with our services,” said Secretary Elaine L. Chao. “The MBA Fellows program brings individuals with strong private sector training into the government to add to the diversity of our workforce and to help carry out the President’s Management agenda to bring more effective, efficient services to taxpayers and users. This program was also established to ensure that the Department continues to recruit the best and the brightest from all sectors of our society.”

The idea of creating a recruitment program for attracting MBAs to the federal government is new and shows the kind of creativity needed in government human resources management in the 21^st century. Through offering incentives such as recruitment bonuses, the Labor Department attracted candidates with key business skills who can implement a business approach to managing the department. Due to the number of federal government career executives entitled to retirement in the near future, these candidates will be available to potentially fill the anticipated gaps in mid- and senior-level management.

The program’s cornerstone is a thorough developmental program in which participants will rotate assignments among various agencies, create individual development plans and take advantage of mentors, networking and opportunities to “shadow” department leaders. Participants will be tasked with such projects as developing organizational studies, proposing new processes to maximize resource utilization, and assisting in fiscal planning.

The second class of MBA Fellows reported to the Department of Labor on July 14, 2003 to begin a one-week orientation prior to their first assignments. The first class of 12 Fellows reported in February of 2003 and participants are currently assigned to a cross-section of Departmental agencies, including the Employment and Training Administration, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Employment Standards Administration. A third class of Fellows will be filled in the Spring of 2004.

For additional information on the Department of Labor’s MBA Outreach Program you may visit www.jobs.dol.gov or e-mail MBA-Fellows@dol.gov

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