Acquisition Workers Assess Their Capabilities Many federal acquisition personnel believe they need additional training in some key elements of their jobs. The first survey of the acquisition workforce was conducted by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Federal Acquisition Institute. Based on responses from 5,400 people in civilian agencies, the greatest needs were for training in project management, requirements definition, performance-based acquisition and negotiation. Those are some of the central elements of the workers’ jobs. More than half of them said they spend a moderate or extensive amount of their time on project management and requirements analysis. Nearly half of acquisition workers, those in the GS-1102 category, participated in the survey. Program and project managers also responded. They were asked to assess their own job skills in various areas. The Defense Department is conducting a separate analysis of its workforce. “This survey is a comprehensive review of our workforce and will guide strategic development and succession planning efforts,” said OFPP Administrator Paul Denett. “Agencies have a unique opportunity to identify specific organizational competency gaps and are using this information to develop plans to close those gaps.” Agencies are due to submit plans by Dec. 15 for closing contracting workforce skills gaps. Denett, a former contracting officer, has made the acquisition workforce a top priority since he became head of procurement policy last year. The survey found a “typical” contracting worker is a woman over 50 in the GS-12 or 13 pay grade. A majority of them said they plan to retire in the next 10 years.