BUILDING THE BENCH OF ACQUISITION TALENT
In January 2023, Ronald R. Richardson Jr., director of the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center and the Army Direc- tor of Acquisition Career Management, said that accelerating the digital transformation of the workforce is a priority, and he encourages acquisition professionals to train early, and often.
“Acquisition is complex,” Faria said. “Being a DCAIP intern introduces the student to the world of Army acquisition and prepares them, after graduation, to step right into a permanent job in the acquisition workforce and make immediate contri- butions.”
RECRUITING AND DIVERSITY Te HCI mission, under the Defense Acquisition University, supports DOD and defense acquisition workforce initiatives. Te acquisition workforce leads essential support activities that support our warfighters, including maintaining critical equip- ment; acquiring and sustaining weapons; providing base support, logistics and engineering expertise; administering family support programs; conducting business operations; and providing medi- cal care to ensure service members are trained and ready around the world.
“What DCAIP is about is not just thinking about the workforce the way it is today, but how should it be tomorrow, in 2030 and beyond?” said Elizabeth Bryant, director of the HCI.
Te HCI team handles all recruitment outreach for DCAIP, and then fields applicants to the Departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force (which joined the program for the first time last year) and several Fourth Estate agencies. Fourth Estate agencies are DOD organizations not within a military department, such as the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Health Agency and the Missile Defense Agency, to name a few. HCI targets univer- sities near locations where participating DOD organizations are seeking interns, as well as the top universities in the U.S., includ- ing Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions and this year, outreach was increased to ensure Predominantly Black Institutions were engaged via their career services offices. HCI also runs social media campaigns (paid and organic) to help outreach efforts, they host virtual live information sessions, and have developed informational videos and participant spotlights for their website to raise awareness about the program.
Applications for the 2024 summer program closed in mid-Octo- ber 2023 and the overall response “exceeded expectations,” Bryant said. HCI received 2,486 applications—of which 1,856
26 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2024
were qualified, meeting the application criteria. DCAIP appli- cations are carefully reviewed and distributed to each branch’s services program manager (Faria for the Army), aiming to match applicant interests, locations and command needs.
COMMAND OUTREACH Each year, typically during the fourth quarter, Faria and the Army DACM Office reach out to the respective acquisition career management advocates (ACMAs) to solicit requests for DCAIP interns. However, “not all organizations have an ACMA,” she said, and organization requests must be coordinated through an ACMA, or ACMA designee.
Te command organization has the final hire authority for an intern based on its mission and the individual applicant interview. Tere is no command requirement to have a full-time position available following the internship period and there is no service agreement for intern participation in DCAIP; it is treated like any other paid summer job and an opportunity for students to gain experience and insight into working within DOD.
In 2023, only 48 of the 55 DCAIP slots within Army orga- nizations were filled for various reasons from students, time commitment, location, competing opportunity, etc. However, Katelyn Keegan, senior human capital manager for HCI, confirmed that no funding is “lost” when positions are not filled. HCI reallocates any unused funds to other program priorities, ensuring that funding is used to the fullest each year to benefit workforce initiatives.
JOINING THE TEAM HCI hosts a LinkedIn group for alumni so they can support each other and keep in touch. It is also an avenue for new interns to connect and ask questions of those who have been in their spot before.
“Knowledge sharing is very important when one considers enter- ing the civil service,” Bryant said. “Tere is a myriad of ways between the services and the Fourth Estate so any opportunity to help someone with a lesson learned or share a contact that works for me, or why this path resonates with me, is always a great opportunity to help bring people into the acquisition workforce.”
After the student completes 10 weeks working as a DCAIP intern and graduates with a bachelor’s degree, they can be converted to a full-time entry-level position in the acquisition workforce with DOD.
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