Jammer, DIR’s chief people and culture officer, recently told Government Technology* magazine that “If you’re looking for an entrepreneurial opportunity, look no further than DIR.”
“Here’s the reality: We know from studies that Gen Z is looking for an entrepreneurial opportunity, and the really neat thing about working for the state and particularly working for DIR is we can offer that. When you get in, you’re not a specialist in one role. We provide opportunities for our employees to do stretch goals and stretch assignments that allow employees to experience different parts of the agency. So if you’re coming to DIR, make it your first career. Come in and expand your resume and your skill set, because upskilling and reskilling is right at the heart of what we do, but overall, it’s also a great culture and one that you can grow in.”
Her agency and others are actively courting people with nontraditional backgrounds.
Texas is working to revamp its job descriptions to try to expand candidate pools for tech positions, Jammer said.
Jammer and her team have tried to cut out traditional job posting verbiage — things like “must be competitive” that don’t even really mean anything, when you think about it — in favor of describing what a day on the job might be like.
In addition, Texas is partnering with universities in the state on experiential learning programs, including Angelo State University, the University of Houston and the University of Texas. The state is in the process of opening some regional security operations centers (RSOCs) in partnership with universities such as Angelo State. Those centers give the state another pipeline for tech talent recruitment.
Kris Lautenschlager is a current employee who had a career in public education. He taught high school math for 20 years, also coaching soccer and cross-country.
During COVID-19, he decided it was time for a change and enrolled in a training boot camp through the University of Texas. It spanned eight months, with 10 hours of school per week during nights and weekends, allowing him to keep his job.
That boot camp eventually resulted in a job with the state.
Texas requires all state employees to go through cybersecurity training, and now Lautenschlager — with his finely honed classroom skills — is one of the people conducting that training.
His official title is a cybersecurity sharing and analysis specialist with DIR. To date, he has helped certify 129 state employees in cybersecurity.
Lautenschlager’s background has also been very helpful in his new line of work, he says, giving him “a different lens to look through” when he approaches instruction, different from someone who has spent an entire career working in IT.
*Government Technology is a sister publication of Industry Insider — Texas.
This story is adapted from two articles in the July/August issue of Government Technology magazine. Click here to view the full digital edition online.
