The Department of Energy’s National Labs are the beating heart of the U.S.’s leadership in scientific research and innovation. Spread across the country, these institutions provide vital scientific resources to researchers and produce much of the technological progress that make our country’s growth possible. However, to achieve that lofty mission, the Labs need highly skilled people. Not just scientists, but technicians, support staff, and leaders too.
While the Labs have a strong workforce, they also face challenges that make it difficult to recruit and retain the people they need to continue leading the world’s scientific research. This memo outlines challenges, successful strategies, and policy recommendations to ensure that the workforce of the National Labs thrives. It was developed through discussions and interviews with staff and former staff of seven of DOE’s national Labs, as well as representatives from Lab operators, tech transfer recruitment agencies, members of the science academies and basic science advocacy community, and more.
Major Challenges
Lack of awareness of Lab career opportunities
Interviewees reported that there were a few major challenges to recruitment, including the struggle to compete with industry salaries and context-specific location issues like high costs of housing or remote areas. However, many interviewees reported that some of these challenges could be overcome by the unique opportunity that working at a national lab offers: critical, exciting scientific research, flexibility to pursue interests, opportunities to take entrepreneurial leave and come back to the Lab, stable employment, and receiving and providing mentorship.
However, leaders found that talent pools of undergraduates and graduate students were often not aware of the opportunities available at Labs – including employment, research projects, internships and educational programs.
Resources for recruitment and hiring
One of the challenges cited most often was the lack of resources: for quick hiring, for outreach and education programs, for internships and development programs, and for targeted recruitment. Labs noted that funding is not keeping up with need – they lack the staff and financing to conduct large workforce development initiatives at the pace the Labs are growing.
For targeted recruitment, HR professionals in Labs lack funding for emerging technologies (like quantum tech, AI, and fusion). Many also noted that there was a lack of funding for non-scientist positions like technicians – there are not enough resources for training and development for these roles.
Interviewees underscored the importance of K-12 and community outreach programs in educating the community about opportunities at the lab, as well as the importance of internship and development programs like the Office of Science’s Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) and Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) in building a talent pipeline of early career scientists.
Weaker pensions and potentially benefits depending on contractor
Overlapping concerns around competitive pensions, benefits, and salaries abounded. Many interviewees described the Labs as a happy medium between industry and government – more competitive salaries than government, but better work-life balance and more security than the private sector. However, some of the most appealing benefits like a strong pension have been diluted in the past decade. Changes in how the Labs negotiate contracts with operators led to weakened pensions across the board. Some Labs still offer pensions, but the reduction of those resources removed an incentive for employees to stay long-term and not jump between opportunities.
Lab employees often receive specific training not found anywhere else in the scientific research ecosystem – which means retaining them is important. Earlier-career employees have some desire to experience different positions across industry and government. Entrepreneurial leave programs, combined with long-term security and benefits detailed below could be a winning combination for retention.
Successful Strategies
Of course, DOE’s Labs have proved innovative and tactical to address these challenges. They have developed and used these successful strategies to strengthen their recruitment and retention infrastructure.
Internships/opportunities to build relationships with prospective employees/outreach
Lab teams rely heavily on internships – both graduate and undergraduate – and outreach opportunities to build relationships with prospective employees. Many Labs start recruitment early, and their workforce development doubles as community outreach. Labs have programs that connect their work to their immediate communities, from tabling at state and county fairs to hosting school tours to offering teachers rotational programs within the Labs.
Labs focus on opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to not only learn about careers and life at the Labs, but also gain unique training and build skills that sets them up for jobs later on. Internships, especially those with permanent, guaranteed funding like the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship, were explicitly lauded by Labs for how useful they are in building a talent pipeline. Summer internships, relationships with universities, and offering research funding are all ways Labs keep involved with the community.
Creative and/or non-monetary benefits
Without reliable pensions or the ability to offer salary in line with private sector levels, Labs are getting creative with benefits. Some Labs are located in areas with high costs of living and offer housing stipends for short periods of time. Other Labs offer stipends or benefits for family and elder care, or even relocation allowances for higher-level or hard-to-fill positions. Labs’ relationship with their contracting organization can allow for more creativity when it comes to benefits.
Entrepreneurial Leave programs
One program in particular that offers huge potential for growth is the Entrepreneurial Leave program (ELP). The Labs that use this program speak highly of it – it offers benefits beyond just workforce development.
ELPs can offer a happy medium to employees that enjoy the stability and security of a career with the Labs but crave new professional experiences and challenges. ELP allows them to use their skills and knowledge to try out the private sector for a short time and then return to the Labs. Not only can this support retention, but returning employees bring back knowledge to support technology transfer, commercial partnerships, and further research.
Policy Recommendations
Overall, Labs want more resources for workforce development. Permanent, consistent funding for internship and outreach programs are at the top of that list.
In addition, formalizing and encouraging the use of entrepreneurial leave programs could help Labs stay competitive with the private sector. Congress can take the following steps to continue to support the Labs’ workforce.
Invest resources in workforce development and outreach programs
Congress should increase funding for the Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) programs – at least to the levels in DOE’s FY25 budget request, if not higher. These include undergraduate and graduate internships as well as educational opportunities for K-12 students and teachers and faculty. Funding has varied over the years – DOE’s FY25 budget request asked for an increase of just over $1 million across the programs. Maintaining and increasing funding for these programs is key for strengthening the talent pipeline of researchers across the country.
Labs rely on these programs to bring in new talent. Many interviewees emphasized that the lack of awareness of Lab jobs combined with the specific training required makes it difficult to onboard candidates using traditional recruitment. Programs like WDTS can help provide a pathway into the Labs for researchers of all backgrounds.
Workforce development programs can also help retain staff – including providing resources for mentorship programs or rotational programs to send researchers to different Labs for a tour of duty. But these need consistent funding through DOE rather than requiring Labs to set aside funding. Minimally, meeting DOE’s program funding requests across WDTS would help support the programs.
Similarly, in order to inform students about lab opportunities early, Congress should provide funding for community engagement and outreach initiatives. These can include partnerships with universities, hiring fairs, and camps for students.
Fund and standardize Entrepreneurial Leave programs across DOE Labs
Entrepreneurial leave programs can be a boon for Labs in retaining staff and offering developmental opportunities as well as spurring technology transfer and Lab partnerships – in turn driving economic growth and the development of intellectual property domestically. Their authorization in the CHIPS and Science Act was a significant win for the Labs. However, programs are inconsistently implemented across the Labs, making it difficult for those with fewer resources or knowledge to get the full benefit.
Congress should appropriate funds to stand up these programs at all Labs – to support DOE in providing guidance, technical assistance, and sharing best practices for EL programs across the Labs. Supporting entrepreneurial skills within the Labs is already embedded within the Office of Technology Transitions’ priorities.
Funding for strategic human capital initiatives
Labs may share certain challenges, but individual Labs face a range of unique challenges as well depending on location and research focus area. Overall funding for human capital could help Labs develop initiatives and direct resources where they need to go. More directed funding towards under-resourced or emerging initiatives (similar to this recently introduced bill) could also be helpful. Labs could stand up outreach programs, hiring fairs, or transition or mentorship programs, depending on need.
Some HR professionals at Labs reported having trouble keeping up with immigration policy changes and fully supporting international postdocs and students, or managing benefits negotiations with contractor operators. Additional funding for HR could help alleviate the pressures.
Develop innovative HR initiatives
Congress can support the development of innovative practices. Some Labs face high housing prices in their communities, making it difficult to attract competitive and diverse applicants. Congress could provide funding for housing stipends and potentially offer these stipends under national security authorities at certain Labs. Similarly, Congress could fund relocation assistance programs.
Congress could also authorize the use of the Direct Hire Authority for Labs to help them hire more quickly for targeted roles. Building off of the success of the Clean Energy Corps, the Labs could use the authority to take full advantage of outreach programs, especially at universities, and market the opportunity as a prestigious, exciting way to work at the forefront of scientific progress.
Overall, providing more resources to the Labs in the form of funding for retention and recruitment is what’s needed to continue to maintain a competitive, high-quality scientific workforce.
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