According to a recent Federal Times article, the Defense Department and General Services Administration are taking steps to hire more acquisition professionals.
“GSA is drafting an acquisition workforce plan to guide recruitment, retention and training,” said David Drabkin, acting chief acquisition officer. “In addition, because of workforce shortages, younger employees are advancing quickly through the ranks, aiding retention,” he said.
DOD plans, next year, to “begin hiring 20,000 new acquisition employees to fill gaps in program management, engineering, cost analysis, contract administration and other short-staffed acquisition areas,” said Shay Assad, the department’s procurement policy director. “Many positions will be filled by interns, but retaining them will be a challenge,” Assad said.