Human Capital Services Center

Investing in VA’s Greatest Asset, Our Employees.

Established under the Office of Human Resources and Administration/Operations Security and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) and the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), the Human Capital Services Center (HCSC) supports professional and leadership development for nearly 630,000 VA employees, contractors, volunteers, and academic affiliates.

HCSC products and services reduce costs, streamline processes, and save VA employees time so they can focus on delivering the best care and service to Veterans and their families. They include:

  • Leadership Development
  • Learning Platforms and Technology
  • Internship and Hiring Programs
  • Employee Safety and Accountability
VA Seal

Michael Byrd

Acting Executive Director/Acting Chief Learning Officer

Mission

HCSC will provide a delightful customer experience to engage VA employees with products and services that will enable them to become role models in serving Veterans and their families.

Vision

We believe engaged and developed VA employees will change the lives of Veterans and their families for the better.

To best serve the Veterans and families who rely on VA, we need engaged and developed employees. HCSC believes in an employee development approach that fosters a culture of continuous learning, including coaching, mentoring, individual, team, networking, and on-the-job learning.

Our Expertise

Human Capital Services Center Executive Director (ED) and VA Chief Learning Officer (CLO)

As HCSC’s Acting ED and VA’s Acting CLO, Mr. Michael Byrd sets the strategic direction for organizational learning at VA. He plays a pivotal role in aligning the Department’s learning strategy and people development with goals outlined in the VA strategic plan and President’s Management Agenda.

The role of the CLO:

  • Serves as policy advisor for leadership development to meet the needs of our multi-generational workforce.
  • Concentrates on capabilities rooted in the Office of Personnel Management’s executive core qualifications and the VA Leadership Development Framework (LDF).
  • Cultivates innovation and a continuous learning mindset to ensure on-the-job learning accelerates employee development and job performance.
  • Collaborates with other learning leaders through the VA Talent Development Council.

HCSC provides services to VA and other Government agencies on a fee-for-service basis through the VA franchise fund. To learn more, visit the VA franchise fund webpage.

Talent Development Solutions (TDS) for Training and Learning

Jeffrey L. Henry, Division Director

TDS creates and manages tools, capabilities, and services HCSC offers in support of all VA employees and their professional development. This support includes:

  • The Talent Management System (TMS 2.0): Providing VA employees with a full suite of learning and development tools to plan their careers and develop skills to achieve their goals.
  • My Development Plan (MDP): Part of TMS 2.0 is an action plan VA employees use to identify individual goals and achievement milestones throughout their careers at VA.
  • The TMS 2.0 team also supports TMS 2.0 administrators with the creation and maintenance of learning items, career planning, and Federal Government reporting requirements.

Human Capital Systems (HCS)

Shannon E. Jones, Division Director

At VA, the safety of our teams, contractors, affiliates, patients, and visitors come first. HCSC manages the alerting and accountability tools needed in an emergency or disaster through the VA Emergency Alerting and Accountability System (VA EAAS).

  • VA Emergency Alerting and Accountability System (VA EAAS): Providing a tool for VA emergency management teams to send critical mass emergency and safety notifications via emails, texts, desktop pop-ups, and phone calls within minutes of an event.
    Registration is required.

    • EAAS fulfills the National Continuity Policy’s (NSPD-51/HSPD-20) mandate for all Federal agencies to have a personnel accountability system.

Learning and Development Services (LDS) for Professional and Leadership Development and Internship Programs

Michael A. Armstead, Division Director

LDS works to simplify workforce advancement and strengthen employee performance by providing engaging and helpful training opportunities.

Learning support includes:

  • LinkedIn Learning: HCSC offers access to more than 16,000+ online instructor-led courses through a partnership with LinkedIn.
  • Leadership VA (LVA): Allowing VA to cultivate leaders from within via a 13-month program dedicated to hands-on learning and problem-solving experiences.
  • Senior Executive Candidate Development Program (SESCDP): Supporting aspiring Senior Executive Servicemembers (SES) with training opportunities to prepare them for senior leadership roles.
  • Senior Executive Strategic Leadership Course II (SLC II): VA’s SLC II is a five-day course providing world-class executive training to the Department’s Senior Executive Servicemembers. The program is designed to enhance the ability to make strategic decisions, think critically, and lead organizational change in an immersive, collaborative environment.
  • Skillsoft: Enhancing both LinkedIn Learning and TMS 2.0 offerings. HCSC offers an integrated Skillsoft online library with more than 50,000 on-demand learning materials from experts in a variety of fields.
  • Supervisor University (SuperU): Bringing together people, resources, courses, trainings, and workshops around the essential skills for VA supervisors.
    • SuperU for New Supervisors (SUNS) is required training for all new supervisors to ensure they are prepared to meet the challenges of their new roles.
    • Supervisor/Manager Refresher (SMR) provides periodic training to ensure all supervisors are adhering to best practices as established by VA.
    • Supervisor Community of Operational Practice (SCoOP) is an online community full of curated content and interactive resources for supervisor learning and professional development.
  • VA Coaching Program (VACP): Helping VA employees build the skills, mindsets, and behaviors needed to perform at their peaks with the support of one-to-one professional engagement.
  • Virtual Aspiring Supervisor Program (vASP): Supporting leadership development skills of highly motivated VA employees and helps them explore supervisory roles and responsibilities within VA.
  • The National Diversity Internship Program (NDIP): Presenting VA employees with the opportunity to host and mentor a graduate or undergraduate intern from culturally diverse backgrounds. This program aims to ensure our employees are representative of the Veteran populations we serve.
  • The Pathways Program: Granting recruitment opportunities to ensure we continue to prioritize VA’s greatest asset: our people.
    • Pathways Internship Program provides high school, college, and graduate students with opportunities to join VA in career positions while emphasizing long-term training and development.
    • Pathways Recent Graduates Program prioritizes placing recent graduates in positions with specialized training and development.
    • The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program is a leadership development program for advanced degree candidates at the entry level points of their careers.
  • Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP): Connecting VA teams with highly qualified students and recent graduates with disabilities available for hire, while aiming to increase the representation of individuals with disabilities in the federal workforce.