The Air Force is eliminating the use of civilian skill codes in its new hiring process.
Civilian skill codes, identified in Air Force Manual 36-505, have been the basis for determining applicant eligibility in the civilian hiring process. Because skill codes will not be used in the new hiring process, the manual was rescinded on Oct 3, 2012.
Eliminating civilian skill codes is one of the administrative actions the Air Force is taking to transform its processes and procedures for hiring civilian employees, determining civilian employee training and development requirements, and selecting employees for training. The goal of the hiring process transformation across the Department of Defense is to “reduce hiring time and standardize recruitment processes.”
The Air Force transition to a “single staffing process” began in 2010 and was completed earlier this year.
Under the old process, hiring officials reviewed resumes for external applicants and career briefs for internal candidates. This process was time consuming and internal candidates were limited to the skill codes identified in their career briefs. Now, hiring decisions are based on applicant resumes for all applicants.
All vacancy announcements are posted on the USAJobs website. Applicants for civilian vacancies are required to have a resume. The Air Force urges its civilian employees to become familiar with the USAJobs site, which contains tips on how to prepare a resume. Air Force civilian employees can update their resumes and get information on career opportunities on the myPers website.
