WORKFORCE
CIVILIAN WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE
The Defense Civilian Training Corps pilot has begun, setting the stage for a new generation of DOD civilian leaders.
by Holly DeCarlo-White T
he Department of Defense aims to strategically develop talent that can immediately contribute to the mission and adapt to challenges by partner- ing with select universities. Attracting and keeping
skilled talent at the onset of their career is a challenge—espe- cially in acquisition-related fields where competing opportunities exist in industry.
Trough a partnership with academia, DOD is launching the Defense Civilian Training Corps (DCTC), a cohort-based pilot program to educate and develop students from various academic backgrounds with critically needed DOD skills and set them on a public service pathway into the civilian acquisition workforce. Tese scholars will enter DOD service with not only skills but a knowledge and appreciation of the overall mission and struc- ture, which will empower them to make an immediate impact in support of the mission. Tink of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program, but for civilians, with no basic train- ing or uniform required. Trough this investment, the Defense Department will gain new ideas and perspectives that can impact how DOD does business—shaping the Army acquisition civil- ian workforce of the future.
Te National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 established the Defense Civilian Training Corps “[for] the
purposes of preparing selected students for public service in Department of Defense occupations relating to acquisition, science, engineering or other civilian occupations determined by the Secretary of Defense, and to target critical skill gaps in the Department of Defense.”
FILLING GAPS Te Government Accountability Office reported in 2019 that skills gaps “played a significant role” in putting DOD at risk for management problems. Tis finding is not a new revela- tion. Research conducted by the MITRE Corp. presented the same defense acquisition challenges at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Annual Acquisition Research Symposium in 2017. MITRE’s research stressed the long learning curve required to master a career in defense acquisition. While online training and credentialing through the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) are in place, DAU does not have an avenue to apply the knowl- edge in practice on the job, where the real learning happens.
“It takes many years of experience to develop the depth and breadth of skills and acquire adequate knowledge to execute the acquisition process for all types of requirements,” the MITRE report said. “Acquisition professionals are expected to have a broad knowledge base, but those practical skills come only with hands-on experience.”
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