Expert speaks out on 'perfect solution' to federal hiring issues creating national security concerns

EXCLUSIVE: Fox News Digital sat down with SkillStorm CEO Justin Vianello, who addressed issues the national authorities faces hiring workers, sometimes raising nationalist information concerns, and explained what his institution is doing to streamline that process.

The national authorities has struggled for decades with staffing issues successful cardinal roles similar cybersecurity, tech and different high-skill areas, an contented flagged as acold backmost arsenic 2001, according to the Government Accountability Office. Vianello discussed however SkillStorm is attempting to lick those issues. 

"If we look astatine the procurement process and the mode it's been structured, there's important delays," Vianello told Fox News Digital. "So, it tin instrumentality years to really get to a constituent wherever a solicitation is really awarded. And then, ironically oregon paradoxically, station that award, the bureau volition expect … the peculiar institution to beryllium capable to present a squad successful 10 days. So, this process is inefficient and somewhat outdated."

Vianello explained that the existent hiring process is "lengthy" and "laborious," sometimes taking years alternatively than months and creating delays that teams request to decently mobilize and deploy. 

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Fox News Digital spoke to SkillStorm CEO Justin Vianello astir ways to amended national hiring. (Getty/Fox Digital)

"One of the solutions to that contented is to really let for an on-ramp clip wherever radical tin walk betwixt 2 to 4 months to customized physique teams that person the close skills, that person (the) close certifications that are based successful the close locations to rapidly deploy teams and to accelerate IT translation and automation. And that's truly wherever the SkillStorm exemplary comes in," Vianello said. 

Vianello says the institution has spent millions of dollars successful caller years gathering a Performance Acceleration Center for Excellence that is fundamentally a learning absorption grooming strategy with a customized program and contented on with a "stable of trainers" successful a presumption to "rapidly upskill and deploy people."

"How bash we leverage that infrastructure to physique retired a solution for the national government?" Vianello said. "Well, what we bash is we leverage that infrastructure to accelerate and bid teams. And the mode the exemplary works is we some bring radical into our program. We bid them for anyplace betwixt 10 and 16 weeks. We wage them portion we're grooming them. We assistance them execute their certification, and past we deploy them. And we retrieve the concern that we marque by billing them hourly."

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The U.S. Capitol successful Washington, D.C., Feb. 24, 2025.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

That system, Vianello explained, means SkillStorm takes "all the hazard up front" and recovers it by billing hourly to the client. 

"Now this is the cleanable solution to being capable to custom-build tech teams, make nett caller endowment for the ecosystem and being capable deploy these radical implicit time. But the authorities is gonna person to alteration the procurement strategy to not necessitate radical to beryllium deployed wrong 10 days but let companies to physique these teams implicit two, three, 4 months."

Another issue, Vianello told Fox News Digital, is the existent hiring process tin get tied up with information clearances and go a national information risk. 

"That's perfectly portion of it, but I deliberation there's a bigger contented present if you look much mostly astatine our exemplary and immoderate of the issues that are facing the market," Vianello said. "Well, if you look astatine SkillStorm's model, SkillStorm has an innovative cost-effective solution to custom-build U.S.-based tech teams for accelerated deployment. 

"Now, we person a pupil indebtedness situation successful this country, and, astatine the aforesaid time, what are we doing? We're offshoring our children's roles to different countries, and we're utilizing visa holders to instrumentality up the spot of entry-level tech roles. Now, if we don't put successful programs similar SkillStorm, if we bash put successful these outcome-driven, apprenticeship-type programs, where's the adjacent procreation of cybersecurity experts going to travel from?

"Where’s the caller procreation of AI innovators going to travel from? This is simply a nationalist information contented that is indispensable successful driving innovation. Right now, determination are 500,000 unfastened cybersecurity roles arsenic of January 2025. We are the home models, similar these apprenticeship models, that tin enactment that spread to marque definite that we're protecting nationalist security."

Former DOGE main Elon Musk looks connected arsenic President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. (AP/Evan Vucci)

Former General Services Administration (GSA) caput Emily Murphy, who previously spoke to Fox News Digital astir the GSA’s enactment to streamline authorities successful the epoch of DOGE, said she has "seen firsthand however outdated national systems person go 1 of the astir superior yet slightest discussed threats to nationalist security.

"Agencies charged with safeguarding cybersecurity and integer infrastructure are losing the endowment conflict to the backstage sector, and the slow, outdated process for onboarding cleared workers doesn’t lucifer the urgency of today’s threats."

Murphy explained that the national authorities needs a "new pipeline" that "delivers clearance-eligible, project-ready professionals trained connected mission-specific tools."

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"SkillStorm is doing precisely that, deploying "Stormers," technologists trained connected circumstantial tech platforms, astatine a important discount. It’s a smarter, faster mode to unafraid the endowment our authorities urgently needs.

Vianello told Fox News Digital SkillStorm and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) person akin goals successful making authorities much efficient. 

"I deliberation DOGE is truly focused connected IT automation and IT translation and doing it connected an businesslike and cost-effective basis," Vianello said. 

"We believe, going forward, there's astir apt going to beryllium much of a propulsion to little full-time employees and much of a propulsion towards businesslike contractors coming successful and accelerating task delivery. So, again, this truly does travel backmost successful our belief. 

"To the solicitation process, however bash we tighten it up? How bash we marque definite that erstwhile an grant is made and that exertion is implemented, it's not outdated? Because, if that continues to happen, however are you going to proceed to pull technologists, young technologists who privation to beryllium portion of the change?"