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You are here: Home / Government Contracting News / Acquisition workers as critical thinkers: A change that has to happen

November 17, 2014 By AMK

Acquisition workers as critical thinkers: A change that has to happen

The ever-evolving training regime for federal acquisition workers is no longer just about the hard skills of acquisition.

It’s not that knowing the policy, the regulations and the laws isn’t important. No one would argue that. But acquisition workers need to transform by using soft skills now more than ever to lead successful procurements.

This concept is most evident in version 3 of the Defense Department’s Better Buying Power initiative. One of the key tenets of the effort is the need for critical thinking among acquisition workers.

Contracting Specialists 1994-2014This is the idea of contracting officers, program managers and others asking the right questions at the right time. Then, they would take those answers to plan and oversee the contract throughout its entire lifecycle.

“We are trying not to teach people just process, but learn why things happen. Part of that is learning all the stakeholders, their different roles and all the processes they play,” said Jim Woolsey, president of the Defense Acquisition University.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/1332/3721904/Acquisition-workers-as-critical-thinkers-A-change-that-has-to-happen

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s special report, “Missing Pieces of Procurement Reform.”

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition training, acquisition workforce, Better Buying Power, critical function, DAU

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