While the number of supervisors and managers in the federal acquisition workforce increased from fiscal 2004 to 2005, 54 percent of contracting officials will be eligible for retirement by 2015, according to an annual report issued by the Federal Acquisition Institute.
The report shows trends in acquisition workforce data from the Office of Personnel Management’s central personnel data
file based on occupational series, employment level, turnover and hiring, and it said that the average age for internal hires in fiscal 2005 was about 45, though it largely stopped short of analyzing the data.
The number of supervisors and managers in the acquisition professions increased slightly from 8,103 in fiscal 2004 to 8,463 in fiscal 2005, the report said.
It said that for fiscal 2005, the number of SES positions in the general business and industry series increased to 108 and
those in the contracting series rose to 74.
Overall, in 2005 there were 59,477 personnel in seven occupational series, representing a net increase of 1,084 — or 2 percent — since fiscal 1999, but while the net change was relatively small, the industrial property management series decreased 14 percent, property disposal by 20 percent, purchasing by 18 percent, procurement clerical and assistance by 40 percent, and industrial specialists by 11 percent, the report said.
It said the general business and industry-series increased by 14 percent during that period, while the contracting series
increased 3 percent in fiscal 2005 after stabilizing at around 27,000 between fiscal 1999 and 2004.
