Workforce and People

The Mount Rushmore State’s chief technology officer of more than nine years will depart next month after almost three decades of service. The search for his successor is already in progress.

The county, the city of Niagara Falls and the town of Lockport will receive more than $130,000 via the State Homeland Security Program. The funding can be used, generally, to address coverage gaps and incident response.

The state’s DMV Transformation Effort, commenced in late 2021 with a gradual rollout of online service offerings, may not end on schedule. A lack of staff availability is requiring extended outside support.

The city’s chief technology and information security officer of six years will, for now, serve as chief information officer following the retirement Tuesday of CIO Bill Zielinski. The outgoing CIO will head to the private sector.

At the group’s recent Midyear Conference, state CIOs talked about a revision to the statement reflecting the changing role of public-sector technology leaders. The group also honored a state tech leader for his web modernization efforts.

Chief People and Culture Officer, Texas Department of Information Resources

CIO, Maryland Department of Human Services

The department is giving money to 16 colleges for programs that train or upskill students for work in fields such as advanced manufacturing, IT, and infrastructure-related sectors like transportation and renewable energy.

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming mainstream for public agencies. But as state tech leaders look toward the benefits of the technology in the coming years, they are also sounding cautionary notes.

The state endeavor will be among four new “workforce hubs” aimed at preparing workers for new manufacturing roles, the White House said Thursday. Centered on electric vehicles, the Michigan hub will help train or retrain workers.

Google's new “AI Opportunity Fund" aims to teach 1 million Americans AI skills by providing grants to partner organizations, which will cover a new AI course offered online through Coursera.

From Minnesota to California, technology workers are confronting a job market that, while long filled with opportunity, appears to now be oversaturated with candidates. The U.S. tech sector has shed more than 74,000 jobs so far this year.

A new tool from public safety tech supplier Axon can automatically transcribe audio from the company’s body cameras. Arriving as law enforcement nationwide confronts a hiring crisis, it could free up officers for other duties.

Bill Zielinski, who has led the Information and Technology Services department since 2020, will step down April 30. In recent years, he led the city’s response to a ransomware attack, and to the deletion of millions of police records.

Since it began in 2019, the program has been providing course training for three defined career pathways: aviation, aviation mechanics and drones. It does so by teaching aeronautical science and various FAA policies.

Artificial intelligence and data leaders from Georgia, Maryland and Vermont shared their perspectives on successful AI governance in a GOVChats panel discussion. The environment, they said, is still in development.

Technology companies must take more responsibility for designing systems that safeguard users’ information, a leading White House cybersecurity official said recently. He also urged students to think about joining the federal cyber workforce.

Gov. Jim Pillen has appointed Matthew J. McCarville to serve as Nebraska’s next CIO. He has considerable cross-sector experience, including having served as chief data officer for the state of Florida.