By U.S. Army Operational Test Command Public Affairs

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Two on-the-spot tentative job offers were made under the Army’s Expedited Hiring Authority (EHA) during the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) National Conference here Oct. 18-20.

The SWE meetup is the world’s largest conference for women engineers with over 13,000 conference participants and 360 exhibitors, according to Rachel Hoskins, program analyst, civilian personnel division, at the U.S. Army Operational Test Command’s (OTC) personnel directorate.

At the Minneapolis Convention Center were 31 Army Civilian employees from OTC and its higher headquarters, the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Md.

Hoskins said their focus was to hire top Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) talent.

Two APG Civilian Personnel Advisory Center employees were on hand to support ATEC during the event’s two-day Career Fair.

Hoskins explained how USAOTC was successful in marketing ATEC as a viable employer, while continuing to diversify its workforce.

“This was ATEC’s first attempt at utilizing the Department of the Army’s Expedited Hiring Authority to execute a bundling recruitment effort of such magnitude,” she said.

“It (SWE) was an outstanding opportunity to meet and hire new STEM talent, and also to learn what’s going on in industry with hiring,” said Bonnie McIlrath, director of USAOTC’s Test Technology Directorate and 2018 SWE attendee.

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About the U.S. Army Operational Test Command:

The U.S. Army Operational Test Command is based at West Fort Hood (Now designated Fort Cavazos), Texas and its mission is about making sure that systems developed are effective in a Soldier’s hands and suitable for the environments in which Soldiers train and fight. Test units and their Soldiers offer their feedback, which influences the future by offering input to improve upon existing and future systems that Soldiers will ultimately use to train and fight with.