By Susan L. Follett
Trying to determine the best way to manage civilian career development can be daunting, given the array of available tools and requirements. Staying current on the latest websites and their features is a vital part of that effort.
Scott Greene, Acquisition Education & Training Branch chief from the Office of the Army Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM) at the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center, recently took some time to explain how the newly released GoArmyEd can help the Army acquisition community with career development tasks.
GoArmyEd, which went live in September, is a role-based portal that centralizes and standardizes the management of education benefit policies and funds while coordinating the activities of key stakeholders. Soldiers and Army civilians may use GoArmyEd to electronically request tuition assistance, training, and leadership development programs as well as access and manage their education records.
Army G-3/5/7 administrative users, including supervisors, career program managers, training managers, and Headquarters, Department of the Army G-3/5/7, can use GoArmyEd to respond to support requests, manage funds, approve training applications and registration requests, record and track completions, and manage school and vendor invoices based on the permissions of assigned administrative role.
The system offers toll-free helpdesk support, automated email confirmations and alerts, and self-service registration for on-duty courses.
“GoArmyEd is a great tool,” said Greene, “but it’s important to note that it’s not yet integrated with legacy systems like the Career Acquisition Personnel and Position Management Information System [CAPPMIS] that are used by the Army Acquisition Workforce.
“Army civilians will continue to be required to maintain an Acquisition Individual Development Plan [IDP] in CAPPMIS,” he explained. “And until an IT solution is developed for our acquisition-unique requirements, they may be required by their career program, to also maintain an IDP in Army Career Tracker, the system of record for Army IDPs for enlisted soldiers, officers and Army civilians. Continuous learning points, IDPs, and certifications must also be kept current within CAPPMIS/ Army Civilian Training, Education and Development System (ACTEDS).”
Greene offered simple steps for which systems to use. For any DACM-sponsored tuition assistance program that requires an SF-182, the SF-182 must be created and processed within the CAPPMIS Army Acquisition Professional Development System.
For training, education or other non-DACM training funded through ACTEDS or your command or organization, apply for those courses in GoArmyEd. Any document generation—the SF-182, for example—will be done there.
Efforts are underway to integrate the legacy systems with GoArmyEd so users will have just one source to access. Once that’s complete, Army civilians will be able to use GoArmyEd to process online training applications, SF-182 authorizations, and certification of training requests for centrally and command-funded training and professional development classes. The timetable for that integration is currently under development and not expected until at least mid-FY15.
“We highly suggest exploring GoArmyEd to familiarize yourself with what it has to offer, so users will be ready to access it when the integration happens,” Greene said. GoArmyEd features roughly 20 training videos for Army civilians on the key functions they’re likely to use, and roughly 30 administrative user training documents guide users through each of the administrative GoArmyEd functions used to support Army civilians.
Additional information can be found on GoArmyEd and tutorial videos on YouTube.
