training | The Contracting Education Academy

January 2, 2018 By AMK

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 AMK

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 AMK

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 AMK

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

May 24, 2016 By AMK

Learn contract negotiation skills in June workshops

Are you a good negotiator?

You’ll discover the answer to that important question by participating in an upcoming workshop being conducted by The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech. The Negotiation Workshops are being conducted in Jackson, Missouri on June 28 and in Springfield, Missouri on June 30, 2016.

The University of Missouri is hosting the workshops to help businesses understand how government agencies negotiate their contracts.

By participating, business people will discover their own negotiating style and whether it works in the government contracting arena. Participants will be challenged to ‘think outside the box’ and put good negotiation techniques into practice.

Attendees will:

Be briefed on the latest research identifying effective negotiation practices,
Learn when and how the government negotiates contracts,
Examine effective contract negotiation techniques,
Engage in a simulated contract negotiation for a critical purchase, and
Receive a debriefing on what negotiation tactics and strategies work and don’t work.

Negotiation Workshop - quotes In addition to expert instruction, each attendee will receive a printed guide.

The workshops are being presented through special arrangements made by the Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (MOPTAC). Specialists from The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech, a recognized educational leader in the government contracting field, will lead the workshops and provide insights available nowhere else. As a result of attending, participants will understand how to negotiate with government agencies, prime contractors, suppliers and even potential business partners.

To attend the Negotiation Workshop on Tuesday, June 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Jackson, Missouri, OR Thursday, June 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Springfield, Missouri, please visit http://missouribusiness.net/ptac/training to register at a discounted workshop fee.