The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech (The Academy) provides government contracting professional development and training services for Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) and their clients.
We provide PTACs with instructor-led, on-site training on several different aspects of government contracting. While designed with your clients in mind, we encourage PTAC counselors to attend as well. Each person trained – PTAC team members and clients alike – will be provided with expert instruction, a printed workbook, hand-outs, and a set of perpetual on-line resources.
Our training deliverables are based on research – conducted exclusively by The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech – of both successes and challenges faced by PTAC counselors as they counsel small, medium and large businesses interested in doing business with Government, particularly in the Federal sector.
An exclusive feature of our training workshops is the fact that each attendee is given perpetual access to an on-line student resource web page. It consists of an exclusive desktop toolkit containing – in electronic form – many of the resources used during the workshop.
Workshops Offered
The workshops listed below constitute the heart of the instructional series we’ve developed for PTACs. Any of these workshops also can be adapted to PTAC client, PTAC counselor, or combined client-counselor audiences.
- In our FAR Basics workshop, attendees will be guided through the organization, structure and interpretation of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
- Because a significant challenge for small and medium businesses is developing timely and successful proposals, our Proposal Writing workshop addresses important considerations for preparing a winning bid proposal.
- Construction Contracting workshop focuses on the special features and regulations that make construction contracting different from other forms of contracting. Participants develop the skills necessary to locate, cite, and interpret FAR policies and procedures relevant to construction acquisition.
- Contract Negotiations workshop examines, explains, and demonstrates all of the elements for successful negotiation. Students work in simulated government and contract negotiation teams and conclude with an analysis of their negotiation and communication skills.
- The Accounting for Government Contracts seminar defines the expectations of government when reviewing contract proposals and, later, monitoring contract invoices.
Details on each workshop are shown in the following table.
Workshops |
Content |
FAR Basics |
|
Proposal Writing |
|
Construction Contracting |
|
Contract Negotiations |
|
Accounting for Government Contracts |
|
Pricing
Typical pricing for each workshop is $10,000 per 50 students. Workshops are 4 to 6 hours in length, depending on content and PTAC preferences. Pricing includes: instructor and support staff, travel and per diem, printed course materials, on-line resources, and certificates of completion. Continuous Education Units (CEUs) can be provided to PTAC counselors. PTACs are responsible for providing the workshop facility, wi-fi, audio-visual equipment, and any catering.
Contact Us
Please feel free to call Alexis M. Kirksey at 404-894-6109 or email us at info@contractingacademy.gatech.edu. We’ll be happy to discuss arrangements, customization, scheduling, and pricing.
About Us
The Academy offers expertise in all aspects of government acquisition training and related consulting advice for service providers like PTACs as well as the business and government acquisition communities. As one of our most important customers, we tailor workshops specifically for PTACs and their clients. It’s a service uniquely offered by the Academy and no other professional education provider.
As an official equivalency training provider for coursework of both the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI), we are prepared to offer Procurement Technical Assistance Centers simply the highest quality and most innovative contracting-related materials and instruction.
Our workshops are specifically designed to address the needs of businesses that seek help and counsel from PTACs on how to identify, compete, win and successfully complete government contracts.
After reviewing our offerings, we believe you will see the advantages for engaging The Academy for the development and implementation of the training you have requested and, perhaps, other professional development workshops as well. Please consider the following:
- The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an approved Defense Acquisition University (DAU) training equivalency provider for all series 100 and 200 courses and training materials. We also offer Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) coursework in support of the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Program (FAC-C).
- The Enterprise Innovation Institute, also known as EI², is Georgia Tech’s 50-year-old economic development arm. EI² is home to several government-sponsored and/or focused programs, including The Academy, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Southeast Trade Adjustment Center, the MDBA Business Center, and others. These relationships both broaden and strengthen The Academy’s knowledge base and expertise in government acquisition training and programming.
- EI² constitutes the largest and most comprehensive university-based program of business and economic development assistance in the United States. Our overall goal is to help enterprises and institutions of all types and sizes use science, technology, and innovation to improve their competitiveness and effectiveness.
- EI² connects both business and government to a broad range of resources at Georgia Tech, a $500 million research institution ranked seventh by U.S. News & World Report. Specialists at EI² work with companies and government agencies to identify their needs and match them with Georgia Tech resources, featuring customized continuing education opportunities.
- Georgia Tech has a long and rich history of partnering and contracting with federal agencies that encompass the Department of Defense (DoD), including the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and numerous DoD research programs, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Forest Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the General Services Administration (GSA). The Academy, itself, has provided training to 23 different federal agencies, along with numerous state and local governments and Fortune 500 companies.
- Georgia Tech is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education & Training (IACET) to issue official Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Certification bodies, professional societies, and governmental licensing boards often mandate the completion of continuing education to earn, maintain, and/or renew professional licenses and certificates.
- In addition to having access to the significant knowledge base and expertise housed within EI², we provide our government-related professional education training through Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE), which has received numerous University Professional & Continuing Education Association awards.
- The Academy utilizes both full-time professors and independent instructors for classroom instruction and training engagements. The pool of instructors for The Academy reflects an average tenure of seven years at Georgia Tech and between 12 and 40 years of experience in government contracting.
- The Academy’s instructional personnel possess the relevant track record, academic background, and subject matter expertise – along with appropriate classroom instruction experience. Not only are our instructors subject matter experts, good speakers and seminar leaders, many are also former DAU professors, business owners, and/or former government contracting officers.
We welcome the opportunity to talk with you about our training workshops. We are very interested in working with PTACs on any training-related needs you may have. Most importantly, we are committed to designing and providing only the highest quality professional education to your team and clients.
