The B.C. government uses contracted resources extensively, spending some $3 billion each year on procurement and contract management. The government estimates that more than 12,000 staff across the province have some level of procurement and/or contract management responsibility. With the implementation of a major procurement reform initiative, coupled with a significant number of impending retirements, the government recognized that it needed to build capacity in this critical area.
Turning Challenge into Opportunity
When the government moved to increase the training, it also decided to standardize it. In January 2004, in response to a B.C. government Request for Proposals, the NECI team was selected to design, develop, and deliver the first integrated, competency-based procurement certification program for public-sector employees in Canada – the Procurement and Contract Management Program (PCMP).
New Standards, New Certification
The PCMP has four proficiency levels. Within the B.C. government, learners who successfully complete the first three levels are PCMP certified - a recognized qualification for career advancement in the B.C. Public Service. More than 3,400 B.C. learners have been involved in PCMP training and certification, and as of March 2009, there were 123 graduates from the program.
Transition to BC Government In-House Delivery Model
NECI’s contract for delivery of the PCMP concluded in August 2010. As anticipated in that contract, the PCMP has since been successfully transitioned to an in-house model by the B.C. government.
With the handoff, NECI extends its congratulations to the BC Public Service Agency, whose Learning Centre now handles the program.
