How Acquisition Training Has Changed Since We Were Certified

When the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act DAWIA was enacted in the early 1990s, we both had many years of acquisition experience as federal employees. In the early days of DAWIA, many people, especially those with at least 5-10 years of experience, were grandfathered into their career field through the fulfillment process. Basically, we provided justification as to why we already had the requisite knowledge for our respective career field, got our justification approved, and received our Level III certifications. Many others got their DAWIA certifications by taking just a few courses. These courses were typically death by viewgraph and involved minimal student participation. The only requirement for graduation was to attend class. Over the years, not only have the certification requirements become more rigorous, the classes also have evolved. This article is a follow-up to Acquisition Training A Lifelong Process Defense ATL, May-June 2010. We intend to focus primarily on explaining todays level of material coverage, level of participation, and level of testable knowledge in Defense Acquisition University acquisition and program management courses. We will describe how the courses have changed over time and discuss the need to view these courses as an essential part of career development. Courses have transitioned from lecture-based learning to more interactive, exercise-based learning where students must demonstrate critical thinking skills to solve acquisition problems. These changes drive an increased need for students to come to class fully prepared and ready to engage. Other changes include the expansion of available formats. Students can now download podcasts or take continuous learning modules anytime, anywhere there is an Internet connection. Rapid deployment training and targeted training opportunities also are available to keep organizations current with the latest process changes and to meet organization-specific training needs.