ML21319A130

Enclosure 1 - Fy 2021 NRC Dvaap Accomplishment Report

ML21319A130
Person / Time
Issue date:	11/30/2021
From:	Lamary M Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer
To:
K. English
Shared Package
ML21319A065	List: ML21319A130 ML21335A059 ML21335A062
References
200500367
Download: ML21319A130 (9)

Text

Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP) Accomplishment Report

1. Agency U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 2. FY 2021

3. POC Name Tamla Ransford 4. Phone (301) 415-3559

5. Methods used to recruit and employ disabled veterans, especially those who are 30 percent or more disabled (Attach supporting addendums if needed)

During fiscal year (FY) 2021, the NRC continued to restructure the workforce to more effectively and efficiently support its safety and security mission. The NRCs workforce has a high percentage of people eligible to retire in the next 5-years and the agency continues to believe that it is important to focus on providing employment opportunities to veterans, especially disabled veterans, whenever possible. The agency made 133 permanent hires during FY 2021, of which 34 were veterans. Of the 34 veterans, 14 were veterans with a 30% or more disability.

The NRC participated in one veteran-focused outreach event during FY 2021 with the Navy Nuclear Power Officer Career Conference (NUPOCC). The agency also participated in the Equal Opportunity Publications, Inc.

CAREERS & the disABLED magazine's Virtual Career Fair which brought industry and government together with people with disabilities, including wounded warriors.

The NRC also continued veteran outreach by posting online advertisements and/or vacancies with Corporate Gray Online, which is a military-niche employment Web site connecting transitioning and former military with employers. In addition to posting with Corporate Gray Online, the NRC was featured in July 2021 edition of the Corporate Gray e-newsletter as a Featured Employer and highlighted the following vacancies under the Hot Jobs & Opportunities: Senior Technical Advisor for Probabilistic Risk Assessment, Reactor Systems Engineer-NRR, Reliability and Risk Analyst; and Deputy Inspector General.

The NRCs Temporary Summer Student Program for 2021 included six veterans. There were internship offers made to additional veterans, but they were declined for a variety of reasons.

The pilot program for the Nuclear Regulator Apprenticeship Network (NRAN) program came on board in June of 2020 and the18-month training program continued through all of FY 2021. The NRAN cohort had 23 members, of which three are veterans. The NRAN Program evaluation concluded that NRC needed to recruit for a second cohort. As a result, during the Fall of 2021, the NRC focused on recruiting for the next NRAN cohort set to begin in July of 2022.

Continued on Addendum.

6. OPM DVAAP Manager Official Use Only: Is there an explanation of the recruitment and employment methods they have used?

Yes Somewhat No Page 1

NRC DVAAP Report Addendum

5. Methods used to recruit and employ disabled veterans, especially those who are 30 percent or more disabled.

The NRC may also use Office of Personnel Managements (OPM) established, government-wide Direct Hire Authority (DHA) (under Title 5 U.S.C. 3304) to recruit for certain hard to fill positions like competitive service agencies. The DHA allows the NRC to appoint candidates directly, without use of standard hiring procedures (rating and ranking and veterans preference).

The DHA limits the authority to only approved positions which have been identified as a critical need and/or severe shortage. The NRC has posted public notice vacancies for Engineering/

Physical Science disciplines; Information Technology Information Security; Acquisitions; and Cybersecurity. These vacancies will serve as a resume database. Additionally, the DHA appointments will be used for Veterans who may not qualify for non-competitive appointments as a result of their veterans status. In short, the NRC is committed to hiring Veterans who apply via this DHA.

The NRCs Veterans Employment Resource Group (VERG) provided advice and recommendations to the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) and the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) regarding factors that impacted the recruitment, selection, development, retention, and well-being of veteran employees.

The NRC's Veteran's Employment Coordinator (VEC) assisted veterans in securing federal employment by providing personal assistance for veterans on a variety of issues related to federal employment. Those tasks included screening inquiries from the fedshirevets.gov portal, explaining special hiring authorities, reviewing resumes, and counseling veterans regarding their qualifications for federal positions. In addition, the VEC helped veterans navigate the USAJOBS vacancy announcement system to include helping them set up vacancy searches, setting up employment notifications, and applying for vacant positions. The VEC referred 63 individuals whose resumes are on file in the veterans resume database to a variety of vacancies during the fiscal year.

The NRC also works with Operation Warfighter Program (OWF), a Department of Defense internship program that matches qualified wounded, ill, and injured Service members with non-funded federal internships in order for them to gain valuable work experience during their recovery and rehabilitation. This process assists with the Service members reintegration to duty, or transition into the civilian work environment where they are able to employ their newly acquired skills in a non-military work setting. The NRC brought on one OWF intern from November 2020 through April 2021.

7. Methods used to provide or improve internal advancement opportunities for disabled veterans (Attach supporting addendums if needed)

The NRC encourages all employees, including disabled veterans, to take advantage of the multiple tools available to improve their career advancement. Some of the tools are mentoring, preparation of an Individual Development Plan (IDP), and continuing education for technical and professional or leadership courses through virtual instructor-led, instructor-led traditional, and online self-study.

The NRCs mentoring program offers employees an opportunity to either serve as a mentor or mentee. It empowers employees that participate by providing an opportunity to set and achieve professional goals as they grow personally and professionally through the knowledge exchange. In FY 2021, 53 veterans participated in the program, 39 as mentors and 15 as mentees. Some employees participated in both capacities.

The VERG helps promote services available to the agencys veteran population to support their career development, upward mobility and retention with the agency. They continually assist agency management and staff in gaining a thorough understanding of the responsibilities and considerations necessary to support the NRC veteran population.

The NRCs Career Enhancement and Employee Journey tools are available to all employees, including disabled veterans, and provide opportunities for career planning and development and future job opportunities.

All NRC employees, including disabled veterans, have access to a series of certificate programs and curriculums, targeted to specific needs, such as the Data Sciences (Big Data, Data Visualization, and Data Driven Decision making), the NRC Aspiring Leaders Certificate Program, the Leadership At All Levels Certificate Program, Career Enhancement, Administrative Assistant Qualification Program and Risk Informed Thinking Certificate Program.

8. OPM DVAAP Manager Official Use Only: Does agency explain the career advancement methods they have used?

Yes Somewhat No Page 2

9. A description of how the activities of major operating components and field installations were monitored, reviewed, and evaluated (Attach supporting addendums if needed)

The agency monitors the results of all NRC hiring actions and other agency human capital activities on a quarterly basis through the Quarterly Performance Review (QPR). The QPR is a process used by the NRC to monitor progress and to address challenge areas, including veteran hiring, as appropriate. This information is compiled at the end of the fiscal year in one comprehensive report, which is presented to the agency's senior management. This effort is coordinated for the agency through headquarters, as the NRC regional offices are too small to have separate DVAAP plans. In addition, the VEC works closely with the human resources specialists at headquarters and the regional offices to ensure a sound understanding and appropriate use of various special appointing authorities for veterans.

NRC supervisors and hiring managers are required to participate in the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) training which allows them to gain greater awareness of laws and resources available to veterans including disabled veterans.

The agencys SBCR has delegated authority to administer NRCs civil rights programs including the Affirmative Employment Diversity Management (AEDM) Program. The AEDM Program has oversight for ensuring NRC-wide compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) as amended, and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act), which mandate that all federal personnel decisions be made free of discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and retaliation for engaging in protected Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) activity in the workplace. These regulations require that agencies establish a program of EEO for all federal employees and job applicants.

The NRC follows Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions (EEOC) MD-715 guidance on the Title VII and Rehabilitation Act program management and accountability model, which calls for effective coordination between the agencys EEO programs and related human resource programs. This includes the efforts related to the Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP), the Selective Placement Programs and the DVAAP. To this end, both SBCR and OCHCO work collaboratively to ensure that regular internal audits are conducted on at least an annual basis, to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the Title VII and Rehabilitation Act programs (including provisions for disabled veterans), and to ascertain whether NRC has made a good faith effort to identify and remove barriers to equal opportunity in the workplace. This information is reported to NRC officials and affected management, and to OPM and EEOC through performance reports.

The NRC continues to monitor the agency Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) which includes adoption of the goal of having a 12% representation rate for people with disabilities, both at the GG-11 level and above (including Senior Executive Service (SES)) and at the GG-10 level and below. The AAP also includes adoption of the goal of having a 2% representation rate for people with targeted/severe disabilities, both at the GG-11 level and above (including SES) and at the GG-10 level and below. Disabled veterans are covered under the AAP.

Continued on Addendum

10. OPM DVAAP Manager Official Use Only: Does agency describe how they monitored, reviewed and evaluated their DVAAP Activities? (If applicable as well as for major operating components and field installations)

Yes Somewhat No Page 3

NRC DVAAP Report Addendum

9. A description of how the activities of major operating components and field installations were monitored, reviewed, and evaluated.

The NRC has a diversity and inclusion (D&I) element in the performance plans of SES managers and supervisors. The NRC has an Inclusive Diversity Strategic Plan (IDSP) to demonstrate its commitment to making diversity management a priority for all NRC executives, managers, and employees, which is aligned to the agencys mission strategy. To further advance agency objectives at the management level, the NRC continues to have a Diversity Management and Inclusion Council (DMIC) to provide oversight and leadership for the agencys IDSP. The DMIC focuses on implementation of the IDSP with support from OCHCO and SBCR. Each Regional office has a Diversity Management Advisory Committee that assists the Regional Administrators create open and collaborative environments. The NRCs eight EEO Advisory Committees provide input to enhance opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment through advice and recommendations made to SBCRs Director regarding factors that impact recruitment outreach, selection, promotion, placement, training and development, and upward mobility. All NRC offices are required to submit bi-annual IDSP reports related to their performance progress.

Additionally, the NRC continues with its Diversity Dialogue Project (DDP) which was developed to create an environment for raising concerns and enabling enhanced personal growth and effectiveness through the process of listening, introspection, finding meaning, and building acceptance for differing perspectives. These mechanisms are used to guide individual behaviors, decisions, and set expectations in order to achieve D&I and EEO objectives.

11. An explanation of the agency's progress in implementing its affirmative action plan during the fiscal year. Where progress has not been shown, the report will cite reasons for the lack of progress, along with specific plans for overcoming cited obstacles to progress (Attach supporting addendums if needed)

During FY 2021, the NRC made progress in implementing its Disabled Veteran Affirmative Action Plan despite the ever-changing environment. NRC continued its outreach efforts to build and maintain partnerships with various veterans organizations and publications by attending outreach events and advertising in print and digital media. As of September 30, 2021, the NRC had 2,860 permanent employees on board of which 591 are veterans. Of the 591 veterans, 175 are disabled with 95 of the veterans identifying themselves as 30% or more disabled.

12. OPM DVAAP Manager Official Use Only: Does agency explain the progress in implementing DVAAP? If there was no progress, were there reasons for the lack of progress or challenges and specific plans for overcoming their challenges?

Yes Somewhat No Page 4

13. POCs Name, Email, and Phone Number of Operating Components and Field Installations (If Applicable)

Not Applicable.

Page 5

Agency Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program Accomplishment Report Electronic Reporting Instructions General Instructions:

1. Complete all items and questions in the forms field.

2. Electronic Requirements - Agency should only submit data for what they have accomplished the previous Fiscal Year in accordance with the minimal requirements of the accomplishment report content from Title 5 CFR Part 720 Subpart C, which is provided on this form.

3. Collection of accomplishment data requires a completed accomplishment report data element that has been recorded throughout the previous Fiscal Year. Accomplishment reports may vary from agency to agency. This form provides conformity and standardization for the minimal required core data. The forms have limited characters so agency may attach addendums when needed, if the form does not allow you to capture the data completely.

DVAAP Accomplishment Report Information

1. Agency - Provide the name of the agency.

2. FY - Provide the Fiscal Year of which the accomplishment report will be covered under.

Examples: 2016.

3. POC Name - Provide the name of the point of contact.

4. Phone - Provide the phone number of point of contact.

5. Methods used to recruit and employ disabled veterans, especially those who are 30 percent or more disabled - Provide methods used to recruit and employ disabled veterans, especially those who are 30 percent or more disabled. You may attach supporting addendums if the information provided pertains to the requirement.

6. Is there an explanation of the recruitment and employment methods they have used? - OPM DVAAP Manager should click on Yes, Somewhat or No to indicate if the agency provided an explanation of the recruitment and employment methods they have used.

7. Methods used to provide or improve internal advancement opportunities for disabled veterans - Provide methods used to offer or improve internal advancement opportunities for disabled veterans. You may attach supporting addendums if the information provided pertains to the requirement.

8. Does agency explain the career advancement methods they have used? - OPM DVAAP Manager should click on Yes, Somewhat or No to indicate if the agency explains the career advancement methods they have used.

9. A description of how the activities of major operating components and field installations were monitored, reviewed, and evaluated - Provide a description of how the activities of major operating components and field installations were monitored, Page 6

reviewed, and evaluated. You may attach supporting addendums if the information provided pertains to the requirement.

10. Does agency describe how they monitored, reviewed and evaluated their DVAAP Activities? - OPM DVAAP Manager should click on Yes, Somewhat or No to indicate if the agency provided a description of how they monitored, reviewed and evaluated their DVAAP Activities. If applicable, indicate as well for major operating components and field installations.

11. An explanation of the agency's progress in implementing its affirmative action plan during the fiscal year. Where progress has not been shown, the report will cite reasons for the lack of progress, along with specific plans for overcoming cited obstacles to progress - Provide an explanation of the agency's progress in implementing its affirmative action plan during the fiscal year. Where progress has not been shown, the report should cite reasons for the lack of progress, along with specific plans for overcoming cited obstacles to progress. You may attach supporting addendums if the information provided pertains to the requirement.

12. Did agency explain the progress in implementing DVAAP? If there was no progress, were there reasons for the lack of progress or challenges and specific plans for overcoming their challenges? - OPM DVAAP Manager should click on Yes, Somewhat or No to indicate if the agency explained the progress in implementing DVAAP. If there was no progress, were there reasons for the lack of progress or challenges and specific plans to overcoming their challenges?

13. POCs Name, Email, and Phone Number of Operating Components and Field Installations - If applicable provide Point of contacts name, email, and phone number of operating components and field installations.

Page 7