FORT LEE, Va. -- The Defense Contract Management Agency will make a significant improvement in how it identifies, schedules, monitors and tracks employee training and certification on Feb. 26. When it debuts, the Learning Management System will streamline agency training, much as it’s done for the Defense Logistics Agency where it began.
Michael Beaupre, executive director of Total Force, DCMA’s human resources directorate, said there are several reasons LMS is the agency’s future.
“First, it reduces the administrative burden on the workforce. It will be easier for both individuals and supervisors to see upcoming training deadlines, and to schedule accordingly,” he said. “It will also be a single point of entry for all training — both competency assessment and policy compliance — which again reduces the burden on the user. Finally, it gives very robust reports on the status of our total workforce in regards to training and competency. This lets leaders at all levels make more informed decisions.”
LMS will replace the aging Training Management System. The new software package provides capabilities for employees and supervisors to better manage the entire spectrum of learning, from planning to execution, within a single environment.
Bruce Delaporte, LMS program manager, said the new system will require a minimal learning curve for DCMA’s workforce.
“DLA has done a great job of building an intuitive interface, so our people should feel relatively comfortable with LMS from the start. They’ll find some of their past training and certifications have already been migrated, providing immediate access to recent training records.”
Users can browse courses, view the status of their curriculum, review their learning history and run reports on their training. Supervisors can view the same items as employees, and also receive notifications of overdue learning events.
Beaupre said the move to LMS is in keeping with DCMA’s continual quest for efficiency.
“This is an agile system, ready to accommodate new requirements as they arise, and to integrate with emerging technology as well. It’s been a proven success at DLA, so it makes this an obvious and cost effective way to carry our training programs into the future.”
Total Force has created a comprehensive LMS site for employees on DCMA 360, including introductory training, frequently asked questions and more information.