For example, 6 of  DOD’s 13 acquisition career fields, including 3 priority career fields— contracting, engineering, and business—did not meet growth goals. Overall Acquisition Workforce Growth Goals Have Been Met

DOD increased the size of its military and civilian acquisition workforce by  21 percent, from about 126,000 to about 153,000, between September  2008 and March 2015. DOD originally planned to insource 10,000 contractor positions  for the acquisition workforce by fiscal year 2015. All but One Career Field Completed Required Competency Assessment

In October 2009, section 1108 of the National Defense Authorization Act  for Fiscal Year 2010 required DOD to include certain information as a part  of its acquisition workforce plan, including an assessment of (1) the  critical skills and competencies needed by the future DOD workforce for  the 7-year period following the submission of the report, (2) the critical  competencies of the existing workforce and projected trends in that  workforce based on expected losses due to retirement and other attrition,  and (3) gaps in DOD’s existing or projected workforce that should be  addressed to ensure that DOD has continued access to critical skills and  competencies. Without establishing  appropriate time frames to conduct follow-up assessments and  completing those assessments, acquisition workforce leaders will not  have the data needed to track improvement in the capability of the  workforce and focus future training efforts, as called for by Office of  Personnel Management standards. Budget documents also indicate, however, that many career fields  are projected to continue to be significantly over or under their original  growth targets identified in DOD’s April 2010 acquisition workforce plan  (see figure 6). In the past, some hiring  decisions made by DOD components using the Defense Acquisition  Workforce Development Fund exceeded initial 2010 career field targets. In addition, over the past 7 years, about 2,700 personnel, or 26 percent of  those hired with these funds, were in career fields that were not  considered high priority in the 2010 acquisition workforce plan. An  updated plan that includes revised career field goals, coupled with  guidance on how to use the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development  Fund, could help DOD components focus future hiring efforts on priority  career fields. Without an integrated approach, the department is at risk of  using the funds to hire personnel in career fields that currently exceed  their targets or are not considered a priority. Office of Personnel  Management standards state that identifying skill gaps and monitoring  progress towards addressing gaps are essential steps for effective human  capital management. Specifically, to ensure  that DOD has the right people with the right skills to meet future needs,  we recommend that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,  Technology and Logistics direct the Director, Human Capital Initiatives to: Issue an updated acquisition workforce plan in fiscal year 2016 that  includes revised career field goals;  Issue guidance to focus component hiring efforts using the Defense  Acquisition Workforce Development Fund on priority career fields;
Ensure the functional leader for the production, quality, and  manufacturing career field completes an initial competency  assessment; and
Establish time frames, in collaboration with functional leaders, to  complete future career field competency assessments. GAO-13-638. GAO-12-83. Acquisition Workforce: Department of Defense’s Plans to Address  Workforce Size and Structure Challenges.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO and others have found that DOD needs to take steps to ensure DOD has an adequately sized and capable acquisition workforce to acquire about $300 billion in goods and services annually. DOD is required by statute to develop an acquisition workforce plan every 2 years. DOD issued a plan in 2010, in which it called for the department to increase the size of the acquisition workforce by 20,000 positions by fiscal year 2015, but has not yet updated the plan.
Congress included a provision in statute for GAO to review DOD's acquisition workforce plans. In the absence of an updated plan, this report examines DOD's efforts to (1) increase the size of its acquisition workforce, (2) identify workforce competencies and mitigate any skill gaps, and (3) plan for future workforce needs. GAO analyzed current and projected DOD workforce, budget, and career field data; reviewed completed competency assessments; and obtained insights on workforce challenges from the largest acquisition commands within the Army, Navy and Air Force.

What GAO Found

The Department of Defense (DOD) has increased the size of its acquisition workforce from about 126,000 in September 2008 to about 153,000 in March 2015. The growth was accomplished by hiring additional civilian personnel, insourcing work previously performed by contractors, adding more military personnel, and re-categorizing existing positions. However, 6 of the 13 acquisition career fields, including 3 priority career fields—contracting, business and engineering—did not meet growth goals.
DOD has completed workforce competency assessments for 12 of the 13 acquisition career fields and added training classes to address some skill gaps. It is unclear the extent to which skill gaps remain, in part because 10 of the career fields have not conducted follow-up competency assessments to gauge progress. DOD has not established time frames for doing so. Office of Personnel Management standards state that identifying skill gaps and monitoring progress towards addressing gaps are essential steps for effective human capital management.
DOD has not updated its acquisition workforce plan, which would allow it to be better positioned to meet future needs. GAO's analysis of DOD budget information indicates that many career fields will continue to be significantly over or under the growth goals DOD established in 2010, especially in priority career fields such as contracting and engineering. In the past, some hiring decisions made by DOD components using the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund exceeded initial 2010 career field targets. In addition, over the past 7 years, about 2,700 personnel, or 26 percent of those hired with these funds, were in career fields that were not considered high priority in the 2010 acquisition workforce plan. An updated plan that includes revised career field goals, coupled with guidance on how to use the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund, could help DOD components focus future hiring efforts on priority career fields. Without an integrated approach, the department is at risk of using the funds to hire personnel in career fields that currently exceed their targets or are not considered a priority.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD complete the remaining competency assessment, establish time frames for conducting follow-up assessments, issue an updated acquisition workforce plan, and issue guidance to prioritize the use of funding. DOD concurred with GAO's recommendations.