AFIT to offer Project Management Skills Course several times in '07

  • Published
  • By Chuck Paone
  • Electronic Systems Center Public Affairs
Hanscom Air Force Base --  The Air Force Institute of Technology is offering several opportunities next year to take its Intermediate Project Management Skills course. This course is required for acquisition program managers who entered government service in 2002 or later and occupy the rank of first lieutenant and captain or the civilian grades of GS-11 through GS-13.

Individuals in the 'required' category are eligible to attend the course using funds provided by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, said Randy Hatem, Hanscom Education and Training Center.

Desired attendees, who are eligible for unit-funded quotas on a space-available basis, include individuals currently serving as acquisition program managers who occupy the same ranks and grade, but who entered government service earlier than 2002. Other personnel on acquisition-coded positions are also encouraged to attend when possible.

The courses are offered on site at AFIT's Kettering, Ohio, location and run for nine days.

This instructor-led course begins with a brief, focused review of introductory project management principles and concepts drawn from the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge and the Department of Defense's extension to the PMBOK.

More advanced project management topics are also part of the course. According to the AFIT Web site www.afit.edu, these include: business case development and analysis, project planning, stakeholder management, communications management, time management, project execution and reviews, transferring project management responsibility, project recovery, and project closeout. These are addressed through lecture, hands-on-tools and group exercises and discussions.

The course builds on basic project management training that newcomers to acquisition receive in the Air Force Fundamentals of Acquisition Management course, according to the Web-based course description.

Upcoming courses, available in 2007, begin: Jan. 22, Feb. 26, April 2, May 14 and June 18. A link to the AFIT online registration page is available on the Electronic Systems Center University link available through ESC's CenterNet.

Individuals successfully completing the course will earn 70 continuous learning points.