The Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act, among other things, provided specific guidance on DOD’s acquisition workforce definition. The civilian agencies we reviewed all had policies describing the education and training requirements for each member of their acquisition workforce. The development of the new system, however, has experienced considerable delays. However, we did not review or validate acquisition workforce training budget and obligation data. DOD, the military services, and civilian agencies stated they had sufficient funds to meet their current minimum core training requirements. Other agencies reviewed did not indicate concerns about future training and career development. Recommendations for Executive Action

In an effort to ensure agencies succeed in defining a multifunctional and multidimensional acquisition workforce, we recommend that the Administrator of OFPP work with all the agencies to determine the appropriateness of further refining the definition of the acquisition workforce and to determine which positions, though not formally included in the acquisition workforce, nonetheless require certain training to ensure their role in the acquisition process is performed efficiently and effectively. At that time, we will send copies to other interested congressional committees, the secretaries of Defense, Army, Air Force, Navy, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs; and the administrators of General Services Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO's continuing reviews of the acquisition workforce, focusing on the Department of Defense (DOD); the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Energy, and Health and Human Services; the General Services Administration; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, indicate that some of the government's largest procurement operations are not run efficiently.

What GAO Found

GAO found that requirements are not clearly defined, prices and alternatives are not fully considered, or contracts are not adequately overseen. The ongoing technological revolution requires a workforce with new knowledge, skills, and abilities, and the nature of acquisition is changing from routine simple buys toward more complex acquisitions and new business practices. DOD has adopted multidisciplinary and multifunctional definitions of their acquisition workforce, but the civilian agencies have not. DOD and the civilian agencies reviewed have developed specific training requirements for their acquisition workforce and mechanisms to track the training of acquisition personnel. All of the agencies reviewed said they had sufficient funding to provide current required core training for their acquisition workforce, but some expressed concerns about funding training for future requirements and career development, particularly because of budget cuts made recently at the Defense Acquisition University.