President Donald Trump recently released a mandate to hire 5,000 new Border Patrol agents. Border Patrol is currently having a hard time meeting mandated minimum staffing levels, losing more agents per years than it employs.
CBP decided to award a $297 million contract to a division of Accenture, an international professional services corporation. The company will get paid $42.6 million in the first year as part of the five-year contract.
They’ll be responsible for managing “the full life cycle of the hiring process” from job-posting to processing new hires. They will also be in charge of the creation of a public education recruitment campaign promoting CBP law enforcement careers and opportunities.
If the contract runs its full course and is fully paid out, they’ll be spending an estimated $40,000 per hire. The private company will recruit 5,000 Border Patrol agents, 2,000 customs officers and 500 agents for the Office of Air and Marine Operations, which to skeptics seems a tad desperate.
CBP said the cost estimate is wrong, as it is not taking into account the start-up costs for recruiting and capturing applicants. The agency claims the amount of money stated in the contract reflects its well-documented current hiring woes such as generational values, the growing distrust towards law enforcement, and the legalization of marijuana, which makes hiring for CBP positions more difficult.
For every 133 applicants recruited, a single Border Patrol agent position gets filled, and retention is an outstanding issue. Between 2013 and 2016 around 523 agents were hired, while 904 left.
The high hiring goal and cost got criticized as many fear that these factors will result in the lowering of hiring standards which could contribute to a surge in corruption and misconduct cases.
This contract isn’t the first time Accenture works with the government, helping them meet hiring goals for the Transportation Security Agency in 2016. A company spokeswoman stated they´re confident in assisting CPB to reach its own hiring goals.
This article was inspired by THE SANDIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE // CBP has to hire 5,000 new Border Patrol agents. It’s paying a private company $297 million to help