NEVER TOO EARLY
B
eginning a new career can be an intimidating process. As with any milestone change in life— graduate
school, marriage,
children, moving to a new location, etc.— there’s quite a bit to plan. What do you want out of your job? How do you want to contribute to the company? What things are required or expected of you?
Navigating these questions and the inevi- table learning curve that comes with new transitions is difficult, but it isn’t some- thing civilian Army Acquisition Workforce members need to do alone.
The Army Director of Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office has programs available for junior work- force members to help develop their careers: Te Acquisition Leadership Chal- lenge Program-Beginnings (ACLP-B), the Defense Civilian Emerging Leader Program (DCELP) and the Acquisition Tuition Assistance Program (ATAP).
JUST AS YOU START Starting any new career is a little nerve- wracking. Learning the office culture, business rules and other implied codes of conduct can be difficult. Tat’s where the ACLP-B comes in—it is a two-day course designed to help new hires in the GS-07 to -11 range transition into career civil service under the general DOD umbrella and Army acquisition. Te program’s goal is to mitigate the frustration and misunder- standing that new civilians may experience when entering the workforce, said Darrell E. Whitehurst, ALCP-B program manager in the DACM Office, Workforce Develop- ment and Engagement Division.
Te program is focused on building a “solid foundation for effective and efficient acclimation into the workforce,” he said. It provides participants with some basic “rules of engagement” to give them an idea
120 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2023
of the social, cultural and legal expecta- tions within the workforce—including differences between the generations on office-appropriate attire, communication styles and behavioral guidelines.
“Te ALCP-B training will ensure that people can communicate with their super- visors through a common language and help develop leaders who value individ- ual styles and behaviors, creating a future leadership corps more capable of critical thinking and problem-solving, teamwork and collaboration, and creativity and inno- vation,” Whitehurst said. Participants complete three credentialed assignments during the course that will provide insight on how to apply their unique personalities to multiple leadership development oppor- tunities, he added.
The DACM Office ALCP program manager coordinates directly with orga- nizational acquisition points of contact and acquisition career management advo- cates to recruit participants, Whitehurst said. Organizational acquisition points of contact are an “on-site resource for acqui- sition information. Tey are trained to respond to questions from their organi- zational acquisition personnel,” according to “Managing Your Acquisition Career.”
ACLP-B is one part of the larger ACLP, and as workforce members progress, they can sign up for Parts I, II and III to help develop leadership skills at every phase of their career. Reach out to your lead orga- nizational acquisition point of contact for course offering dates of interest and nomination.
ONCE YOU’RE SETTLED Good leaders share a few consistent qual- ities: Tey are self-aware, communicate clearly and never stop learning. And if a workforce member would like to achieve a leadership position, it is important to cultivate those traits—DCELP can assist with that.
DCELP is a leader development program for GS-07 to -12 civilians (and equivalent broadband) that consists of four one-week- long immersive seminars that share team building strategies, enhance communi- cation skills, promote self-awareness and strengthen leadership capabilities. “Te program focuses on five learning objec- tives: Know self, express self, build teams, lead people and understand the DOD,” said Kristine Faria, an acquisition educa- tion and training manager in the DACM Office, Workforce Development and Engagement Division. Participants will
Not sure who your organizational acquisition point of contact is—or where to find out?
We’re here to help. Check out the listing of points of contact on milSuite (CAC-enabled):
https://www.milsuite.mil/book/docs/DOC-640236.
Have other burning questions about career development training? Ask an acquisition career manager on the Career Acquisition Management Portal (CAC-enabled):
https://apps.asc.army.mil/camp/index.cfm?fuseaction=support. helpRequest.
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