What is the purpose of the USDA Business Management Leaders Program for the NRCS?
First, its meant to help NRCS with succession planning in the face of the looming federal retirement wave. Our average employee is 44 years old and about one-third are eligible to retire, so NRCS must make a significant investment in our future workforce today. Second, the NRCS budget now exceeds $4 billion per year. Our Administrative and Management occupations; such as Financial Management, Human Resources, Contract Specialist and Administrative Specialist/Officers, are growing increasingly sophisticated and our contracts, grants, and agreements are becoming more complex. It is vital that NRCS create a corps of professionals who are experts in these areas. The USDA Business Management Leaders Program will help us address both issues.
