The US President issued an executive order on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the federal workforce. Government agencies and departments will be required to draw up quarterly action plans aimed at removing barriers to equal opportunity across all HR processes. Those in charge must report annually on the status of their efforts.

The Austrian civil service has set itself the challenge of making sure public job postings spark the interest of young applicants. Both the jobs website and the listings themselves will be completely redesigned to highlight areas of interest. And in response to a request, volunteer work will be considered as part of hiring for apprenticeships.

The UK Cabinet Office is looking into developing a “geographic capability map” in relation to its plan to relocate around 22,000 civil service jobs out of the Greater London Area as part of the Places for Growth programme. By pooling together data from multiple departments (talent profiles, training capabilities, future site locations), the idea is to form hubs in particular fields to realise economies of scale.