November 07, 2019

1901 Group Invited as Guest Lecturers at Radford University Davis College of Business and Economics

Government Contracting in the Federal Government Market

The tech talent shortage continues to call for increased innovation and more resources. Partnering with local universities to grow tomorrow’s tech talent is a proactive step 1901 Group takes to grow talent from the ground up in efforts to support this shortage.

1901 Group has a partnership with Radford University’s (RU) Artis College of Science and Technology through its Applied Research Center (ARC) to prepare IT students for jobs of the future.

On October 30, 2019, Dr. J. Stephen Childers, Director of Innovation at Radford University, invited 1901 Group team members to speak with the students about government contracting opportunities.

1901 Group team members, Brendan Walsh, SVP Partners Relations, Julie Atwater AVP, Contracts, and Julia McCracken, Contracts Administrator spoke with approximate 50 students from various programs of study, as well as regional leaders about the government contracting industry and opportunities in government contracting. The discussion touched on procurement, security clearances, contracts, leadership titles/roles, and more.

The key take away?

The presentation provided insights to better understand the Federal market and specifically the $95B/annual Federal IT budget so that they a) might consider future career opportunities as contractors or as Civil Servants or Military, and b) how the government budget process, appropriations, Continued Resolutions, and color of money impact all those involved including large businesses, small businesses, and individuals.

The benefit to students?

Since many of the students will find themselves working with local, state, or federal contracts, the discussion planted seeds to learn about potential career paths that they may not have previously considered.

These kinds of presentations at Radford University have the dual benefits of both:

      1. bringing external, practical educational opportunities to students, that are current to industry needs
      2. allowing the university to explore new areas of study which they may want to offer to their students, to assist students in having a competitive advantage as they enter the workforce

 

How does this help students in their career and how does this help government customers?

Students may choose coursework which can prepare them for a career in government contracts. Government customers may benefit from a more diverse pool of career entrants. A greater diversity of career entrants leads to a more innovative industry.

What will they learn? What are some of the key highlights?

The basics of government contracting, including terms, the history, current benefits and challenges, the outlook, opportunities, and how to prepare for their futures.

How does this help the talent skill-gap?

Potential new career entrants may have learned about this field through this presentation and have tailored their studies to maximize their ability to be prepared to succeed in government contracting.

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