A Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) internal memo laid out what the VA plans on doing, in part, over the next couple of months. Specifically, they plan on hiring 705 “high priority” positions in their information technology (IT) department by April 22, 2011. The memo described the VA’s need to hire for these positions as “critical,” and then referred to their race to fill these new positions as the “race to 705.” It is very possible this will only be the first stepping stone in the VA’s hiring for their IT staff.
The VA is hiring from the top down, meaning they are filling high priority positions first. If, however, individuals best suited for lower level positions are discovered in the hiring process, the VA will identify the best of those people, and put them into those lower level positions. They did not, however, specify what positions they were looking to fill. If all goes according to plan, the VA will work through the entire hiring process over two highly accelerated weeks. At the end of last fiscal year, the VA employed 7,580 people in their IT department.
The VA’s budget is $145 million less than what they requested. Accordingly, like all other federal agencies, they have to do as much as they can with what they are given.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
