PROCUREMENT CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT
The unprecedented demand for highly capable procurement practitioners and professionals continues to grow in both the public and private sectors. The Australasian Procurement and Construction Council (APCC) have been proactive in establishing strategies to meet the challenges of developing procurement capabilities and addressing the significant skills shortage in the profession.
In May 2008 the APCC released the Building Government Procurement Capabilities (Guide) recognising that while a focus on strategic procurement thinking by procurement professionals is critical in improving government procurement capabilities, the APCC must also take into consideration the important role of procurement practitioners and government buyers in the process.
The Guide also articulates the widely adopted (across Australia, New Zealand and internationally) procurement roles (referred to as the Model) and an aspirational capabilities standard for those roles (referred to as the Standard). The Model and Standard have been adopted by private sector organisations.
The Guide acts as a tool to actively improve procurement capability and articulates the journey that individuals may take to further their careers and position them at a leading level within the public sector.
Underpinning the Guide is a range of strategic projects. One strategy is the APCC collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Australasia (CIPSA), the private sector and six universities across Australia to introduce postgraduate programs in strategic procurement.
The APCC is partnering with the Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN) and the University of Canberra to introduce postgraduate programs in strategic procurement. The postgraduate programs will create a larger pool of qualified staff to meet the skill requirements in both industry and government.
The postgraduate programs are being offered at the following six universities:
The Masters programs are accredited by CIPSA, and on completion, graduates with the appropriate work experience will be acknowledged at the MCIPS level, which will provide global recognition.
The APCC is working with CIPSA on a structured Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program that supports procurement officers to maintain their professional currency and to move along a career path towards more strategic roles.
As part of the broader APCC program aimed at elevating the professional standing, skills and behaviour of government procurement officers a Procurement Capabilities Development Working Group has been established to primarily focus on the professional development of practitioners through the following activities:
- The refresh of the APCC’s ‘Building Government Procurement Capabilities’ and the Aspirational Capability Matrix for Government Procurement Practitioners’ where necessary
- Development of a ‘Guide to Strategically Engage with Registered Training Organisations’;
- Jointly with individual universities develop an ‘Articulation Guide from Vocational to University Procurement Qualifications’;
- Jointly with public and private sector representatives, including universities, update the Blueprint for the Curricula Content of the University Qualifications in Strategic Procurement;
- Development of a ‘resource bank’ for all governments to share policies, guides, procedures, templates, training materials and similar; and
- Consultative conduit for review and development of the Procurement stream within the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).
For information regarding how to participate in the above activities and/or Working Group please contact Catriona Vigor, ACT Procurement Solutions, Treasury Directorate, catriona.vigor@act.gov.au,
Tel: (02) 6205-5279.