The US Department of Defense (DoD) is having a tough time overcoming the IT talent gap. On Tuesday, DoD officials informed the US Congress that one of the problems their department faces, is that it can sometimes take almost a year to obtain a security clearance for a potential IT recruit. In addition, the DoD has not yet managed to fully reap the benefits of the Cyber Excepted Service, a special program intended to facilitate the recruitment of cyber talent.

The officials also indicated that some DoD divisions, including US Cyber Command and the Defense Information Systems Agency, are more successful in their IT recruitment efforts than other branches. One official emphasized that “[t]he department’s cyber workforce is critical to our mission success,” and said that the recruitment processes should be streamlined.

Read more: Security Clearance Delays Are Hurting the Pentagon’s Tech Workforce