Save Award 2010 Ideas

What of the idea of using the hundreds of millions of dollars utilized by agencies to create and maintain a "university" and instead use that money to send federal employees to REAL community colleges/universities to get an education that benefits both the empoyee & the agency ?

A significant number of employees are currently or will be retiring in the near future! We need bright, intelligent employees who are analytical/critical thinkers, responsible, and eager. It's time to change the adage and belief that government employees are indifferent and lazy. As a young federal employee, we need to tap into the resources at our fingertips - our colleges and universities! Outreach programs, student... more »

Encourage young people to work during summer holidays and university years and start been reponsible for their money. Create some 'youth investment bureau' and advice them on investing their money and finance in the state with bonds, charities...or privately with cars, homes, land, enviromnent... they should get advice from counsellors at a young age so they won't waste when they become adult.

I suggest we start a program to start teaching our children “at an early age” a second language. There are more and more companies hiring employees putting emphasis on someone who is bilingual before looking at someone who is perfectly qualified in every area except being bilingual. I don’t look at this as “forcing” a second language on a child, but giving that child a chance to excel beyond expectations. Children... more »

Instead of sending employees to centralized training (involves transportation, per diem, and often days away from the job), use video conferencing, disseminate a manual, or simply send a memo. If other federal agencies send their employees to remote conferences at the same rate as VA, I can imagine that the government could save an enormous amount of money while still educating the workforce and providing more service... more »

Stop the "Every Child Left Behind Act". This just makes teachers jobs harder as they teach to the test. There is no way this program can sustain itself over time as results will plateau. Give teachers back their independence and find another way to assess schools and education.

Help agencies expand student co-op programs and current Federal employee educational development through issuance of purchase cards tied to student-worker bank charge accounts. This would reduce paperwork, permit consolidation of various grants and loans in one account, reduce government payment for courses unsuccessfully completed, and provide a single accounting record for student grants, loans, and other reimbursements.... more »

Employees must have access to advanced education to do their jobs - particularly in project management, leadership/management, technology, and communication skills. Bring providers of education on site to help employees enhance their skills, be taught as a group, and further the mission more effectively.

Develop programs that provide a STRONG incentive for Federal inmates to educate themselves out of prison.

Set up a program that provides an education to all those serving prison sentences that would provide real and useful skills in the real world so those who finally are released have a financial incentive NOT to return to prison (because they MIGHT actually be able to find a job).

It would work something like... more »

If we implement a training program on wind erosion for the government, I believe most military bases and DoD facilities that are in open land (no land mass covering one side for miles of a region) should have a perimeter line of non-monoculture type trees (to reduce infections from diseases). I work in Tucson and while I would not want to call out anyone on this, I see government personnel spraying the dirt with large... more »

I suggest a stronger focus on train-the-trainer philosophy. Especially in IT. IT is constantly training and it is more cost effective to have a staff of teachers to go out and learn new technologies and come back and teach the work force. These teachers should be certified professionals and certified to instruct technology courses. An example cost savings, I am a Microsoft Certified Trainer, we are getting ready to... more »

Forgive Federal Education Loan Debt for public workers.

I suggest that every person who wants to go into a given health care career (EMT, nursing home care, nursing home administration, nursing of any kind, emergency room care, doctor, alzheimer's/dementia care unit, etc) find out before they get too deep into college/training if they have the empathy and caring to handle the rigors of the job they are getting into. How to do this? “Volunteer” and get student credit for... more »

What: After high school, graduates should serve their country for two years (AmeriCorps Vista, Army, Navy, etc…) Families will be able to choose the agency). After completion, they would either enter into a higher education institution, go into the workforce, or remain in the program. Majority of teens who enter into higher education after high school are not ready, disciplined and/or focus. The nation is spending billions... more »

I propose that the federal government bargain to receive a reduced tuition rate when a pre-determined amount of federal employees are enrolled at a College or University of Higher Education. This will allow the government to save money while educating and training federal civil servants to perform their duties better.