Akaka's bill would require that new supervisors receiving training in how to communicate with and manage employees. The training would come in their first 12 months on the job, with mandatory re-training every three years, the senator said. Current managers would have three years to obtain training to brush up their employee management skills.

"Meaningful training matters," Akaka said. "Training should not be discretionary for agencies."

Akaka's introduction of the legislation last week comes as several recent reports indicate civil servants want and need more training.

Surveys conducted by the Office of Personnel Management that show less than half of the federal work force has a high level of respect for senior leaders in their agencies.

Meanwhile, data collected by the Merit Systems Protection Board showed that 63 percent of federal employees believe they have received enough training to perform basic and acceptable work in their jobs. But when it comes to stepping up to a higher level of performance, 48 percent believe they need more training.

The finding comes from a recent report released by the merit board, summarizing responses of 36,926 federal employees who participated in a 2005 survey. Some of their responses, such as their views on training, also were collected in 1992, 1996 and 2000.

Trends in the data show an increase in the percentage of survey participants who think they receive enough training and in the percentage who believe they need more training. For example, 32 percent of survey respondents in 1992 said they needed more training, compared to the 48 percent in 2005.

For the most recent survey, the board asked federal employees whether their supervisors served as coaches and offered training opportunities. Only 47 percent said they viewed their supervisors as a source of opportunities to improve their skills and performance.

While the overall survey response suggested a gap in the extent to which employees believe their supervisors providing training, the board's report pointed out that some supervisors may not have the money to provide training and others may have to limit training because of funding shortfalls. And of course, supervisors also may disagree with employees on whether they need additional training, the report added.

In the 2005 survey, employees said they wanted to fine-tune their skills in an area of personal strength (72 percent), overcome weaknesses in their skills (66 percent) and try again to learn something they had not been able to master (28 percent).