By Tara Clements
FORT BELVOIR, Va. (July 13, 2017) — Thirteen acquisition career fields are undergoing an assessment across the Army acquisition workforce to identify competency strengths and weaknesses specific to each profession. What makes these assessments—known as the TrueChoice Acquisition Career Field Assessments—different is the input is coming directly from Army acquisition professionals currently working in those career fields, and time is running out to submit feedback.
The Army Director for Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office is seeking maximum participation from workforce members so that it can obtain an accurate picture of the overall health of both technical and leadership skills. Assessments are sent by email directly to individuals across the career fields. The deadline to submit responses is Aug. 15.
“The success of these assessments relies on the feedback from our professionals,” said Jason Pitts, chief of acquisition functional integration and lead for the project. “This tool will give us a baseline on skills that haven’t been measured before, and help us understand what needs to be done to develop the next generation of leaders and advance the Army acquisition profession.”
This is the first assessment of its kind designed to inform workforce planning for the Army DACM Office. The competencies measured are aligned with the OSD Acquisition Workforce Qualification Initiative, and the effort supports a goal outlined in the five-year Army Acquisition Workforce Human Capital Strategic Plan launched in October 2016.
The 37,000-strong workforce is composed of 5 percent military and 95 percent civilian personnel across multiple commands. Currently, 20 percent of the workforce is eligible to retire, and that number is projected to increase to 57 percent by 2025.
“This is about readiness,” added Pitts. “Readiness is the Army’s No. 1 priority, and it’s our job at the Army DACM Office to ensure that we have a workforce that is ready today and in the future to provide the equipment and services Soldiers need to win.”
Members of the Army acquisition workforce who are interested in participating or who may have missed the email containing the assessment link can contact the Army DACM Office at 703-664-5687.
Participating Acquisition Career Fields:
– Contracting
– Engineering
– Business – Cost Estimating
– Test and Evaluation
– Science and Technology Manager
– Business – Financial Management
– Life Cycle Logistics
– Program Management
– Information Technology
– Facilities Engineering
– Production, Quality and Manufacturing
– Purchasing
– Industrial Property Management
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