In training

A task force directed by President Clinton to make recommendations on using

technology to train federal workers is preparing its final report.

John Sepulveda, deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management,

described some of the potential recommendations during a Senate subcommittee

hearing this month. They include:

* Establishing a training technology steering committee.

* Creating a training technology resource center that would serve

as a one-stop shop for information about learning technology.

The task force already recommended that agencies pilot the concept of

individual learning accounts for each federal worker. So far, 13 agencies

have begun pilots.

Under this approach, managers put money, hours or both into an account

that an employee can apply to training classes, Sepulveda said. Some of

the programs target specific workgroups, including the welfare-to-work population

or the IT work force, while others cover an agency's entire work force,

allotting official time for learning to every employee.