Training | The Contracting Education Academy

August 20, 2018 By cs

Federal acquisition workers rate themselves highly on most skills

The government’s civilian acquisition workforce, long under pressure to improve hiring and modernize its skill sets, is feeling more satisfied with its own effectiveness, according to the latest biennial Acquisition Workforce Competency Survey released last week.

***Click on image above to see report.***

Considered the most comprehensive version of the survey yet (an 83 percent increase in response rates across agencies), it showed that the buyers rated themselves highest for issuing contract order changes and modifications, awarding contracts and competition. Also rated highly were inspection and acceptance and business acumen, said the results analyzed by a partnership between the White House Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Federal Acquisition Institute.

Areas rated the lowest in proficiency included negotiating forward pricing rates agreements and contracting in contingent or combat environments.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/contracting/2018/08/federal-acquisition-workers-rate-themselves-highly-most-skills/150611

January 2, 2018 By cs

Academy’s 2018 course schedule set

Training courses — ideal for government contracting officials and contractors alike — are now scheduled for 2018 on the Georgia Tech campus in midtown Atlanta.

Here are the details on the professional education courses being presented by The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech in the first few months of 2018. (For a complete calendar of 2018 courses, click here.) To see pricing or to register for any class, click on the course titles below.

January

Jan. 22-26 – COR 206/222: Contracting Officer Representative and the Contingency Contracting Environment – Covers the role and responsibilities of the COR in contract administration, including contract planning support, contract awards, contract changes and modifications, monitoring performance, expenditures and schedules, and ethical situations and cultural differences a COR may experience while deployed in a contingency operation.

Jan. 30-Feb. 2 – CON 090-1: Contracting Overview of the FAR – Covers the identification of the basic principles of federal government contracting, including the structure and content of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency supplements. Students learn how to locate, cite, and interpret regulations.

February

Feb. 12-16 – CON 244: Construction Contracting – Focuses on contracting issues unique to construction, including acquisition planning, contract performance management, funding, environmental concerns, construction contract language, construction contracting in a commercial setting, the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute, design/build methodology, basic schedule delay analysis, constructive changes, acceleration, and construction contract quality management.

April

Apr. 10-13 – CON 090-1: Contracting Overview of the FAR – Covers the identification of the basic principles of federal government contracting, including the structure and content of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and agency supplements. Students learn how to locate, cite, and interpret regulations.

Apr. 30-May 4 – CON 090-2: Contract Planning in the FAR – Covers acquisition planning, market research, describing agency needs, the preference for commercial and non-developmental items, contract types, special contracting techniques, socioeconomic programs, special terms and conditions, contractor qualifications, and advertising requirements.

Apr. 10-13 – CON 170: Fundamentals of Cost & Price Analysis – Conveys fundamental quantitative pricing skills, including seller pricing strategies, the Truth in Negotiations Act and how it mitigates government risk, application of Cost Accounting Standards Board (CASB) rules to negotiated contracts and subcontracts, and contract cost principles and procedures. Covers cost-volume-profit analysis, contribution margin estimates, and cost estimating relationships.

(For a complete calendar of 2018 courses, click here.)

November 20, 2017 By cs

The quest to strengthen the acquisition workforce

Fewer taxpayer dollars are wasted when federal acquisition professionals are well trained to manage government contracts.

Every day, federal government employees work diligently to help government agencies serve the public. One specialized group has dedicated their careers to helping build and manage the contracts with suppliers that sell goods and services to the government. They must navigate through a maze of regulations, field endless customer requirements, and conquer a constant stream of contracts that help the U.S. government do its work. These are the workers in the federal government acquisition ecosystem. With their help, the U.S. government buys and manages technology projects smarter, more efficiently, and with greater returns on investment.

To keep pace with fast-changing technology, the government must enable its acquisition workforce to quickly adapt and pivot for project success.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2017/11/The-Quest-to-Strengthen-the-Acquisition-Workforce

October 23, 2017 By cs

Defense acquisition workers seeing a new era in training

The Defense acquisition workforce may see a new era in training, recruiting and retainment as the Pentagon and military services change the way they view the value of their employees.

Both the Army and the Defense Department are making changes in how they evaluate and prioritize the experience and education of the acquisition workforce.

The Army recently released a directive focused on acquisition talent management.

“We want our people to have an appropriate set of experiences,” acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said of the directive during a speech last week at an Association of the United States Army conference in Washington. “We want our program managers and officers to have fellowships with industry, masters degrees within certain disciplines. It’s also about the tenures for people in program management. We’re looking at tours of three-to-four years, so more continuity and the right set of experiences so that they have a broader perspective than the ones we’ve had previously.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/contracting/2017/10/defense-acquisition-workers-seeing-a-new-era-in-training/

January 18, 2017 By cs

Project management for the rest of us

For many individuals thrust or drafted into the role of initiative or project leader without a formal background in project management, expect a steep learning curve and bumpy ride.

In spite of the popularity of project management training and the growth in the number of certified professionals, most projects in organizations are led by functional or technical experts tapped to pull a team together and make the magic happen. The magic, in this case, is successfully completing the initiative on time, under budget and at the right level of quality.

Experienced project managers everywhere are smiling externally while secretly writing your project obituary in their minds. Yes, the road ahead is rocky. In this article, I frame the challenges and offer some getting started ideas and resources.

Keep reading this article at: http://m.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2017/01/project-management-rest-us/134473