Summer 2015 Edition
“CPP 2.0”: Exciting Changes to APTAC’s Signature
Certification Program
APTAC’s Board of Directors and Professional Review Committee (PRC) are
pleased to announce the formal adoption of revisions to APTAC’s signature
certification program – the Certified Procurement Professional (CPP). The
result of intensive efforts by the PRC and APTAC’s leadership, the new “CPP 2.0” closely aligns with
APTAC’s Body of Knowledge, with both targeted requirements for subjects and skills essential to
procurement assistance and the flexibility to reflect the unique needs and priorities of individual PTACs.
Full details are provided below, but click here for our “CPP at a glance”graphic. Highlights include:
New Training Requirements – which accept training from
any reputable source, including APTAC Conference,
government agencies (ie: SBA, GSA, DAU, etc), NCMA, ESI,
Georgia Tech Contracting Education Academy and others.
Utilizing a Core/Elective structure (click to view) based on
APTAC’s Body of Knowledge (BOK), certain topics are
identified for which training must be completed, with the
topics for the balance of the requirement to be
determined by the applicant in consultation with his/her
Program manager.
Improved Capability Verification Requirements provide
a clear articulations of the “on-the-job” capabilities that
an applicant must have to be certified (see list here),
presented in an easy to read format that tracks closely with how the need for these skills present in
PTAC operations. Additional options and guidance for verification have been developed as well,
including suggestions for a Portfolio option.
The Two Year Experience Requirement is retained, stipulating the need for two years of experience
counseling businesses in government contracting. This experience need be in the context of a PTAC;
agency small business officers, industry small business liaison officers, independent procurement
consultants and other, similar positions may qualify as well.
For complete information, read on …..
This document and the information contained herein is the property of APTAC for exclusive use by its
members. Any unauthorized distribution or use is prohibited.
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Spring 2015 Edition
CPP Changes (cont.)
Under the changes approved by the Board – first in March and then finalized at their meeting in July –
the CPP retains the basic three-pronged infrastructure of its requirements: 1) extensive training, 2)
verified capability to apply knowledge in the field, and 3) two years of experience. But the specifics of
those requirements have been re-imagined to better reflect the diversity of training resources –
including APTAC Conference training - that are drawn upon to build needed expertise, as well as the
manner in which PTAC counselors utilize their skills in real-life situations. Enhancements will also make
verification more accessible and grant credit for Contracting Officer experience, DAWIA certification,
and APTAC ACAS and CCAS certification.
Training Requirements
Rather than the 34 specific DAU courses originally required for the CPP, the revised program takes a
Core/Elective approach based directly on BOK topics. As a result, any relevant, high quality training –
such as APTAC Conference, NCMA, government agency sponsored, and other offerings – may be eligible
to fulfill CPP requirements. As a result, Program Managers and counselors will be able to tailor
professional development plans to best meet individual and program needs.
Core Requirement
Thirteen (13) Core BOK topics have been identified as essential to effective procurement assistance and
appropriate for formal training requirements. (Other topics, such as counseling/teaching skills or
navigating registrations, may be
more effectively addressed
13 CORE Topics
through on-the-job training and

FAR (4 ATC)
verification.) For these Core

Reps & Certs (1.5 ATC)
Topics – detailed below - CPP

Past Performance (1.5 ATC)
Electives
applicants must complete a

Bids & Solicitations (3 ATC)
specified amount of approved

Financial/Accounting (3 ATC)
26 ATCs across any

Post Award Admin (3 ATC)
training. To get a better sense of
10 non-Core topics

Subcontracting (2 ATC)
these requirements – and what

Socio-Economic Programs (4 ATC)
(over 40 non-Core topics to
kind of training can fulfill them –

Contract Types (1.5 ATC)
choose from
see the Core Training Log.
&




Contract Compliance Issues (3 ATC)
Contract Vehicles (2 ATC)
Marketing to Gov’t Entities (4 ATC)
Gov’t Contract Formats (1.5 ATC)
Elective Requirement
Procurement counselors need to
be conversant with a broad and
diverse set of contracting
processes and requirements –
the specifics of which can vary
significantly from PTAC to PTAC. Some counselors regularly provide help with GSA Schedules; others
rarely see them, but work with the SBIR program or counsel predominantly on state government
This document and the information contained herein is the property of APTAC for exclusive use by its
members. Any unauthorized distribution or use is prohibited.
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Spring 2015 Edition
CPP Changes (cont.)
contracting. To reflect this dynamic, the CPP will now include an Elective component. In addition to
completing the Core training, applicants will need to earn an additional 26 ATCs of approved training
across any ten (10) “non-Core” BOK topics chosen by the applicant in consultation with their program
Manager. This flexibility will allow individuals and PTACs to customize their professional development
plans to build the expertise most important to their program and clients. For more information, see our
Elective Training Log. Web pages with more specific information are under development as well.
Approved Training
“Approved training” is any course, session or workshop that APTAC’s PRC or Education Committee has
reviewed and deemed to directly and substantially relate to a specific BOK topic or topics. It can include
conference sessions (APTAC or other), online courses, webinars, workshops, and other types of training.
As part of the approval process, APTAC will designate which BOK requirement(s) the training can be
used to fulfill and how many ATCs it will confer. The PRC has developed an initial list of approved
training options that includes most APTAC conference sessions going back to Spring 2013 and a wide
range of relevant DAU courses. Other training completed by APTAC members from 2013 forward will be
considered for eligibility as well and will be added to the list as approved. All approved training is
currently included on our Core and Elective Training logs to make it easy for applicants to identify which
requirements they have fulfilled.
More important, a mechanism is under development that will: 1) allow APTAC members to submit
training that they think is relevant to be approved for CPP eligibility by the Education Committee and 2)
maintain a continuously updated list of all approved training on the APTAC website. We hope to launch
this new ATC/CPP approval system sometime this fall.
Capability Verification
The knowledge gained through formal training is only one factor in effective procurement counseling.
The ability to apply that knowledge in the infinitely variable circumstances that clients present requires a
solid understanding of not only the
Verification Form Snippet
immediate issue, but the broader
context of the client’s needs and the
range of resources available to address
them. There are also many skills
necessary to counsel on government
contracting that are much more
appropriately developed through “on
the job” training.
Consequently, CPP Certification
requires that the applicant’s capability
to handle a broad range of issues in the
This document and the information contained herein is the property of APTAC for exclusive use by its
members. Any unauthorized distribution or use is prohibited.
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Spring 2015 Edition
CPP Changes (cont.)
field be verified by his or her Program Manager or other reviewer. Capabilities to be verified include
such diverse items as assisting with SAM registration and socio-economic certifications, finding FAR
references online, and developing and delivering client training. The original CPP’s 31 Verification items
have been consolidated and streamlined into 19 requirements that reflect skills that all PTAC counselors
must have. See a few examples in the box to the left, or view the new Verification form in its entirety.
How to Verify: A Program Manager or his/her designee has wide latitude in determining how to verify
that an applicant has the required capabilities. Some options include: an interview with the applicant;
observation; review of client records detailing sessions in which the required skills were utilized; asking
the applicant to develop an article, whitepaper or training session on a specific topic; observing a peer
or mock counseling session; or having the applicant compile a portfolio documenting
experience/capability in each required area. As an additional resource, APTAC has developed
suggestions for compilation of a Portfolio. This option would allow an applicant to build documentation
of their knowledge and skills to present to their Program Manager or other reviewer to facilitate the
verification process. This is only a suggestion – Program Managers will always retain the ability to
conduct verification in the manner they believe most appropriate to their staff and program.
More flexibility for Verification: PTAC Program Managers are ultimately responsible for the capabilities
of their staff, and consequently, CPP Verification requires the applicant’s PM to sign-off on the final
application. But PMs – especially those who are not experienced procurement counselors themselves are now free (and encouraged) to obtain support from any and all resources that they have access to for
purposes of CPP verification, which includes, but is not limited to, their staff, other PTACs’ staff as
available, APTAC (particularly members of the Education Committee and its subcommittees – BOK, ATC
Approval, Recommended Training Program) and any other available resource that the PM judges to be
reliable.
Furthermore, the PRC plans to recruit and train a cadre of verification mentors, to be available to verify
capabilities of Program Managers who themselves wish to be certified, as well as to provide guidance
and support to others performing verifications.
Experience
Two years of experience counseling small businesses in government contracting is required for CPP
certification. While Contracting Officer experience is certainly helpful to the job (as is general business
counseling), there is simply no substitute for the knowledge
“To get that experience where you
and skills gained from working day-in and day-out with small
can rattle it off for your clients – it’s
businesses, helping them confront both typical contracting
going to take you two years. But it’s
challenges and issues unique to their business or a specific
worth it.”
solicitation. In the words of current CPP James Gerraughty
- James Gerraughty, CPP - SAPDC PTAC
(Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Council
This document and the information contained herein is the property of APTAC for exclusive use by its
members. Any unauthorized distribution or use is prohibited.
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Spring 2015 Edition
CPP Changes (cont.)
PTAC), “To get that experience where you can rattle it off for your clients – it’s going to take you two
years. But it’s worth it.”
However, it is not required that the experience come in the context of a PTAC; agency small business
officers, industry small business liaison officers, independent procurement consultants and other,
similar positions may qualify if responsibilities include significant small business counseling on
contracting.
Credit for KO Experience; DAWIA and APTAC Legacy Certifications
Shifting the focus from DAU to the BOK, APTAC’s PRC has been able to assess “cross-over” credit for a
few, highly relevant credentials. The specifics are as follows:
Any level DAWIA certificant and individuals with two years of experience as an agency Contracting
Officer will be considered to have fulfilled certain of the Core training requirements.
APTAC ACAS Certificants who have more than 80 ATCs (lifetime) will be considered to have fulfilled all
of their Elective training requirements. Those with fewer than 80 ATCs will be allowed to count their
historic ATCs not otherwise eligible for CPP credit (ie: earned prior to 2013) toward the Elective
requirement at a 50% rate.
APTAC CCAS Certificants will be considered to have fulfilled their Elective training requirement AND
fulfilled certain of the Core training requirements.
All of these “cross-over credits” are noted on the CPP Core and Elective training logs. Simply provide the
date of your initial certification in the space provided to indicate your fulfillment of that requirement.
Many APTAC legacy certificants may find that – between cross-over credits and other training they’ve
completed - they have already fulfilled most of the CPP training requirements.
Verification is still required for all CPP applicants. Regardless of other credentials or length of service, a
PM or other reviewer must still verify that an applicant possesses each capability required. But for those
with extensive PTAC experience – and a long relationship with her/his Program Manager – the
verification process may be very straightforward.
Roadmap to Success: A Revised Recommended Training Program (RTP)
To support pursuit of the CPP – and provide a valuable professional development planning tool –
APTAC’s Recommended Training Program (RTP) is undergoing a complete make-over. When complete,
it will serve as a detailed roadmap for formal and on-the-job training activities from a counselor’s first
day at their PTAC through their completion of the CPP. New RTP Subcommittee Chair Lisa Wood,
Program Manager of the Connecticut PTAC, is bringing her passion for staff development to the task of
creating a logical – yet flexible – sequence of training and exercises that Program Managers can use with
their staff, customizing it as needed to meet individual circumstances. APTAC looks forward to bringing
you more information about the revised RTP in the weeks and months ahead.
This document and the information contained herein is the property of APTAC for exclusive use by its
members. Any unauthorized distribution or use is prohibited.
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Spring 2015 Edition
CPP Changes (cont.)
Status and Timing
The CPP requirement changes outlined above have all received final Board approval. New forms have
been posted to the APTAC website CPP Certification page (under BOK/Education), and the PRC is
prepared to accept applications under the new requirements at any time. Additional informational
resources will be developed in the coming weeks and months, with a formal “roll-out” to occur at
APTAC’s Fall Conference in Washington, DC, including a General Session presentation by PRC Chair Dave
Pease.
Target dates for items still under development are:




ATC approval system upgrade to accommodate CPP designation: September 15, 2015
Video tutorials on “Applying for APTAC’s CPP”: September 30, 2015
Launch of new Recommended Training Program (RTP): November 2015 (Fall Conference)
Verification Mentor program and training: November 2015 (Fall conference)
Future Plans
Once the new CPP program is fully up and running, the PRC will look to the development of additional
levels of certification, including an interim level – the Associate Procurement Professional (APP) – which
can be achieved as a milestone along the way to a full CPP, and an advanced level – the Master
Procurement Professional. They hope eventually to develop a Program Manager certification as well.
APTAC’s leadership is excited about these changes, which should serve to focus and strengthen our Core
mission of supporting our members in attaining the highest levels of capability and professionalism.
Watch for more to come! Have questions? Send them to us at prc@aptac-us.org.
This document and the information contained herein is the property of APTAC for exclusive use by its
members. Any unauthorized distribution or use is prohibited.
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