In line with the Department of the Air Force's (DAF's) objective of enhancing technical capabilities across its civilian workforce, the authors of this report address challenges in determining DAF's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent needs for this workforce, such as tracking the supply of such talent and identifying potential gaps in technical competencies.

Assessing Needs for Civilian STEM Talent in the Department of the Air Force

Navigating the Complexities of Workforce Demand and Supply

Sean Robson, Lisa M. Harrington, Kelly Atkinson, Alvin Moon, Nathan Thompson, Jonah Kushner, Grace Falgoust, Alice Nguyen, Barbara Bicksler, Joanna Zakzewski

ResearchPublished Mar 13, 2025

Bolstering technical capabilities throughout the Department of the Air Force (DAF) — both its military and civilian — is a current goal of the department. Although the DAF has many tools to address needs for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) talent within its military workforce, many barriers inhibit its ability to assess similar needs in its civilian workforce. The authors of this report thus examine how the DAF can identify potential gaps in technical competencies in its civilian workforce and describe options for closing technical skill gaps.

Because of the size and complexity of the DAF civilian workforce, their analysis centered on three case studies: the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Digital Directorate; the Deputy Chief of Staff, Air Force Futures; and Headquarters, Pacific Air Forces. The authors reviewed manpower and personnel data, conducted interviews with subject-matter experts (SMEs) in the case study organizations, analyzed relevant job announcement information, developed and fielded two surveys, and conducted a literature scan of training and development opportunities — all of which inform their proposed strategies to better track the supply of and demand for STEM talent in the DAF civilian workforce.

Key Findings

  • Regarding demand for technical talent, existing DAF data systems and personnel practices are incomplete and may provide misleading signals of demand for technical talent.
  • In addition, DAF organizations have distinct mission sets, organizational histories, and sizes, all of which shape civilian billet structures and STEM talent needs.
  • Regarding the supply of technical talent, knowledge of the supply of civilian personnel with specific skills is localized with few methods for tracking them, and the level of expertise of a particular skill set is often self-reported or not reported at all.
  • Gaps in technical talent arise from various causes, including personnel being moved from one program to another, unfunded positions, delays and barriers due to the civilian hiring system, and short-term needs requiring specific expertise.
  • The DAF addresses gaps in technical talent through multiple talent pools and diverse functional development opportunities.
  • Additional challenges arise from the fact that information about the civilian workforce — the demands for and the supply of technical talent — is largely decentralized to local, individual organizations and work units, the term STEM has multiple definitions and may not be the right unit of analysis for estimating needs for the current and future workforce, and the civilian personnel system creates barriers to hiring STEM talent.

Recommendations

  • Focus resources and support at the local level through strategic engagement, including communicating the purpose of tracking technical skills to supervisors and assisting local organizations and work units in identifying critical technical skills.
  • Identify and evaluate mechanisms to close specific technical skill gaps by encouraging local levels to identify and define their most critical technical competencies.
  • Consider investing in the building blocks of a talent management system, which would include identifying which technical skills that need to be developed and assessing whether the necessary training is available; enhancing data collection about the civilian workforce; developing a broad DAF-wide competency framework for technical skills; and conducting periodic workforce surveys to identify supply, demand, and technical skills gaps.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2025
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 124
  • Paperback Price: $49.95
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 1-9774-1503-2
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA3170-1
  • Document Number: RR-A3170-1

Citation

RAND Style Manual

Robson, Sean, Lisa M. Harrington, Kelly Atkinson, Alvin Moon, Nathan Thompson, Jonah Kushner, Grace Falgoust, Alice Nguyen, Barbara Bicksler, and Joanna Zakzewski, Assessing Needs for Civilian STEM Talent in the Department of the Air Force: Navigating the Complexities of Workforce Demand and Supply, RAND Corporation, RR-A3170-1, 2025. As of April 8, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3170-1.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Robson, Sean, Lisa M. Harrington, Kelly Atkinson, Alvin Moon, Nathan Thompson, Jonah Kushner, Grace Falgoust, Alice Nguyen, Barbara Bicksler, and Joanna Zakzewski, Assessing Needs for Civilian STEM Talent in the Department of the Air Force: Navigating the Complexities of Workforce Demand and Supply. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3170-1.html. Also available in print form.
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The research reported here was commissioned by the Air Force Chief Scientist and conducted within the Workforce, Development, and Health Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE.

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