The Director shall issue undergraduate scholarships, including at community colleges, graduate fellowships and traineeships, postdoctoral awards, and, as appropriate, other awards, to address STEM workforce gaps, including for programs that recruit, retain, and advance students to a bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline concurrent with a secondary school diploma, such as through existing and new partnerships with State educational agencies.
The head of any Federal agency may appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of that title, a qualified candidate described in paragraph (2) directly to a position in the competitive service with the Federal agency for which the candidate meets Office of Personnel Management qualification standards.
The direct hire authority under this subsection shall be exercised with respect to a specific qualified candidate not later than 2 years after the date that the candidate completed the requirements related to the fellowship or temporary rotational posting described under this subsection.