RELATED February 22, 2024 Layered Leadership: Examining How Political Appointments Stack Up at Federal Agencies January 17, 2024 Max Stier's statement for the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing "Toward an AI-Ready Workforce" January 12, 2024 Max Stier's public comments on OPM's "Recruitment and Relocation Incentive Waivers" proposed rule Back to Reports Foreign Language Skills May 1, 2006 The U.S. government has a shortage of employees with foreign language skills that are critical to the ability to operate effectively in a global environment. Unfortunately, the shortages of skilled language personnel across these agencies are complicating government efforts in trade, peacekeeping, diplomacy, security and intelligence. These shortages stem from four major obstacles: limited talent pool, shortage of teachers of critical languages, security clearance requirements and procedures, and training. Priority should also be given to developing a government-wide assessment of needed language skills. Download (1m)