TMA Training Career Development Branch
Training Your Mind - Creating Your Career - Developing Your Future
The Training Career Development (TCD) Branch is the central point of contact for requesting training and related activities. The TCD mission is to provide high quality training services to meet customers' needs. TCD facilitates professional career development and personal excellence, enhances organizational effectiveness, and contributes to the current and future success of the TRICARE Management Activity’s workforce.
Our Vision
Ensure our career enhancements efforts support a total workforce that possesses the leadership, competencies, adaptability, unity and commitment necessary for successful accomplishment of TMA and DoD missions for the 21st Century.
Mission
To provide high quality training services to meet our Federal/Military employees educational and certification needs. Facilitate professional career development and personal excellence, enhances organizational effectiveness, and contributes to the current and future success of the TRICARE Management Activity’s workforce.
Training and Career Development Programs and Course Offerings
Download the 2011 Training Calendar (PDF)
How to enroll: Send a completed TMA Form 6 to the Training and Career Development Branch at TMATraining&CareerDev@tma.osd.mil.
For additional information regarding training opportunities, please contact Sharifah Williams at 703.681.5998 or Sharifah.Williams@tma.osd.mil and Paula Sprow-Johnson at 703.681.8651 or Paula.Sprow-Johnson@tma.osd.mil.
Summer Hire Intern Program: This includes the TCD BOOT CAMP – the orientation, education and training workshop for all Student hires to include summer, winter, co-op and stay in school programs. The workshop is an intense overview of the organization, culture, and conditions of the TMA office environment for which the students will be working. After participating in the Boot Camp, the attendees will have a broader knowledge of the workplace and the skills it requires for success.
Intern Career Development Program: TRICARE Management Activity (TMA’s) Intern Program is implemented under the provisions of the Defense Career Intern Program. Intern positions offered through this program are offered at the GS-5, 7, or 9 (and equivalent) levels. The TMA Internship program offers students and recent graduates the opportunity to work in various directorates of TMA that specialize in their career area. While working in their prospective career fields, the interns are able to take full advantage of a wide variety of learning opportunities. The Training & Career Development (TCD) office will partner with the supervisors/managers, mentors, and interns participating in the intern program. Our team is dedicated to providing full educational and training support to the interns participating in TMA’s Intern Program.
Navy Fellows Program: The Navy Fellows Program is a one-year training program designed to provide Naval MSC officers with non-traditional educational opportunities in the area of health plan policy and management. Program goals are to train future Managed Care professionals to transform current healthcare support contract management methods into an efficient and effective business based health plan. Train fellows to understand MHS health plan management, corporate concepts in strategic design, development, and delivery of current and future healthcare operations.
TMA Take Our Children to Work Initiative: TRICARE Management Activity’s “Take Our Children to Work” initiative is a variation of the national event, Take Our Daughters to Work, created in 1992 by the Ms. Foundation. This is a unique event in which participants accompany their parents/guardian to work instead of going to school for one business day. This year’s event, sponsored by the TMA Training and Career Development Branch/HRD, is designed to acquaint our children with the agency and to help them expand their career aspirations. This program will encourage, inspire, and introduce these adolescents to the workplace.
New and Improved - Action Officer Course: TMA employees are highly encouraged to attend this training session, open to all HA/TMA personnel and contract staff. The session will include understanding the roles and responsibilities of an action officer, prioritizing tasks, working through the task workflow from beginning to end, writing a response, coordinating the response, finalizing the process, and utilizing resources.
Lean Six Sigma Training: This training is available to HA/TMA employees through the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). OSD provides leadership, Green and Black Belt training. Green Belt and Black Belt candidates must have a sponsor and an approved project selected prior to registering for classes.
Information Assurance (IA) Workforce Improvement Program (WIP): This program is an investment that will professionalize the DoD IA workforce over a period of years and will require commitment of senior leadership and significant commitment of management time and effort. It includes the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA), which was established to provide additional flexibilities to create a professional, agile and motivational Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, AT & L Workforce. The Defense Directives are found at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/500052p.pdf.
Effective Writing Skills: In today’s social media environment, we lose sight of the importance of a well-written document, briefing or a personal letter. During this four-hour class, participants will learn ways to improve their professional and personal writing skills and build a solid foundation for improving overall communication. You will be challenged with punctuation and sentence-structuring assignments and also learn how to take an idea and construct a well-written masterpiece.
Effective Presentation Skills: This class will help individuals to improve their oral presentation skills for business, a critical element for career advancement. The focus will be on developing a clear, correct presentation of ideas. Individuals will learn to organize a winning presentation by organizing their thoughts, speaking persuasively, using effective visual aids, and fielding tough questions.
Effective Time Management: During this session, you will be reminded of old techniques and learn new strategies to help you take control of your professional and personal life and gain work-life balance. workshop is a half day course designed to prepare participants to define time management, describe the benefits of effective time management, review typical time stealers, discuss management techniques to address time stealers, and receive tips to help take control of your schedule.
Delivering Superior Customer Service: This half-day course designed to prepare participants to deal with critical aspects of customer service. At the end of the course, participants will be able to define effective listening and questioning; use effective listening and questioning techniques to uncover the customer’s message; and describe and apply effective techniques for defusing customer anger.
Leadership Development: A one-day course designed to prepare participants to develop a definition of leadership; describe the leadership capacities; assess their leadership strengths & areas for development; develop their leadership development plan; and discuss the challenges of leaders and the resources available. You will have the opportunity to explore ways to help you develop yourself and others by understanding the differences between leading and managing as well as identify ways to resolve conflict without breaking down relationships.
Project Management: This course will provide you with a basic understanding of what it means to manage a project using a systematic and more structured approach to doing what we do all the time. We will introduce you to the language, processes and tools that comprise this universal discipline called project management. Understanding who your stakeholders are, how they can influence your project, the importance of defining and managing scope, risks and quality are key to project success. Recognizing constraints at play in managing your project and the importance of open and frequent communication will help you and your teams move a project successfully through its life cycle.
Human Resources Management Training for Rating Officials: This MANDATORY two-day course provides supervisors of federal civilian employees with a solid foundation and understanding of Human Resources Management principles, laws, regulations and TMA policies and processes. Course is designed to assist supervisors in understanding their role and responsibilities in leading and managing their civilian workforce, this course covers critical legal and regulatory requirements that supervisors must know to be effective. Effective supervisors avoid unnecessary employee morale issues, grievances, and complaints. This course is also available in modules for more experienced supervisors. Module I - Employee Relations, Merit System Principles, Prohibited Personnel Practices, Attendance and Leave, Module II – Staffing and Classification, NSPS Conversion to GS, Writing Position Descriptions and Pay Setting. Please note: Supervisors with less than fives years experiences are required to take both training Modules. Participants are encouraged to contact TCD to determine your qualification and more details.
HA/TMA Army-Baylor Seminar: The purpose of the conference is to provide 2nd year residents with an understanding of the mission, function, and initiatives of Health Affairs and the TRICARE Management to deliver the world’s best healthcare to its beneficiaries. The seminar will introduce attendees to the status of the Military Health System and proposed policy changes that support efforts to transform force structure and to sustain the TRICARE benefit for future beneficiaries.
Training Coordinators Conference: Explain the roles and responsibilities of Training Coordinators/Admin Officers’. Provide a better understanding of the SF-182 processes and procedures related to submitting training requests, government-purchasing cards and billing. Learn about upcoming programs and initiatives. Participate in a Question and Answer segment that will help us better serve your training needs
Information Management Studies: The IMS programs offer participants the opportunity to interact with, and learn from, some of the world's leading management thinkers on an ongoing basis. Participants will become more effective and improve their decision-making skills. Training is available in twenty-seven locations throughout the US, Canada and Europe.
Individual Development Plan (IDP): During this two-hour session we will provide systematic instruction son how to organize, prepare and implement an Individual Development Plan (IDP), which will benefit both the employee and supervisor. Although the best possible time to prepare an IDP is during the first 60 days following the performance appraisal, it is never too late to enhance your performance through developmental assignments, activities and training.
eLearning: An online developmental training platform designed to supplement traditional training methods and provide greater opportunity for skill development with we-based training courses in Information Technology (IT); Leadership; Interpersonal Skills; Project and Program Management. With eLearning you can access 3,000 online courses and a digital library of over 13,000 online books through Referenceware from Books 24x7; (ITPro; BusinessPro; Office Essentials. The eLearning training tool will also address skill gaps, customer service development; succession planning, mandatory training requirements; and the implementation of individual development plans. Refer to the attached Skillsoft Content Categories and Topics for more details.
Teambuilding to Promote Teamwork: During this four-hour session, facilitators will provide Managers, Supervisors, and direct reports with tools, solutions and techniques to help build or strengthen work relationships from an individual and team perspective. Participants will discover ways to strengthen communication, learn how to leverage the skills, abilities and overall contributions of team members. Topics include Building, Managing and Participating on an Effective Team, The Five Components of a Team, The Importance of Valuing Diversity and More. This course is interactive and consists extensive role-playing and group exercises but nothing overly strenuous. Be ready to participate!
Change Management: During this full day course, participants will explore the skills necessary to deal with change and understand the foundation of change. How best to deal with the inevitability of change. We will identify the motivators of change; recognize the dynamics of change. Today’s world is changing faster than ever before. Technological developments, financial scandals, globalization, restructuring and mergers new ideas about management and government legislation are putting pressure on organizations to accept change, and to be agile. Yet the process of change is difficult and implementing it successfully is stressful and demanding on leadership. This course will provide you with the information and tools you will need to be an effective change manager.
Resume Writing, and Interview Techniques: During the four-hour course participants will be coached through the process of creating, a powerful and sincere resume designed to highlight key skills, qualities and achievements. Develop and implement interview techniques that will convince a potential employer you are the superior candidate and have what it takes to perform the job.
NEW Effective Communications and Listening – “What did you say”? During this four-hour training session participants will explore communication barriers, the art, science and practice of techniques to help resolve interpersonal conflict. Understand how to use listening as an active skill, how listening differs from hearing, questioning skills and using them appropriately, and the four components of effective listening. Recognize and appreciate cross-cultural communication, social media, body language and more. The course is a highly interactive program with a video and instructor-led group discussions and activities.
NEW Kick That Attitude! This course will help participants understand the root causes that can create attitude problems in the workplace. Participants will be able to identify behaviors and situations that create a negative environment and describe how to break those habits. Learn about interpersonal skills and how to use them to influence others to be more positive. Understand ways to apply conflict management tools and techniques to diffuse potential attitudinal issues. The course is a highly interactive program with discussions and small group activities.
NEW Executive Coaching: The Executive Coaching course is a daylong course where participants will learn the definition of coaching in contrast with counseling and mentoring, describe the four major roles of coaching, summarize techniques of providing feedback and constructive criticism, and explain the evolution in coaching philosophies throughout a career field.
NEW The Power of Delegating: Finding time empowers you to achieve all your other goals. When you delegate wisely, you gain time and you extend your capabilities simultaneously. You'll quickly learn how much more time you find when you apply these 5 Delegating Power Principles to the challenges you currently face. Review the “Who” and “How” of Delegating and explore how delegating can increase productivity and morale of your team.
NEW Performance Management: This training is available through eLearning which allows participants to review the three modules addressing the planning, monitoring, rating and rewarding phases at your own pace. These modules will assist employees and supervisors with the development of critical elements, understanding the process and guidance, as outlined in the AI 17.
NEW “Good to Great” – How to Reach Your Professional and Personal Best: There is no limit to what you can accomplish when you stop making excuses and begin demanding more of yourself. During this four-hour session you will take the first step to transforming your life and relationships by discovering a new, more powerful you! All it requires is cultivating the skills that draw out your best allows you to put power and confidence in your career, your relationships, and yourself both professionally and personally.
NEW Work Life Balance: Feeling as if you are merely trying to get through the day, completely exhausted by the time you get home and barely making it to the end of the week? Are you on the merry-go-round of life trying to get off? You are falling behind and never able to catch up in the game of life and work…you are not alone! Join us as we share resources tool and techniques to help you master the juggling act of balancing work along with the rest of your life.
NEW Aspiring Leaders: Individuals taking this course have an interest in obtaining a leadership position in the future, or have recently started on the career path of being a leader in their division or department. Understanding what leadership is and what traits are required to be a leader are discussed throughout this course. Self-assessments, group activities, speaking opportunities and an individual path-to-leadership action plan are integrated into this 7-hour course to help attendees identify and hone their leadership skills.
NEW Business Process Engineering & Process Improvements - Introduction to Lean Six Sigma: Learn to prepare detail process maps quickly and thoroughly. How to analyze process maps, identify opportunities for improvement and guide teams through process improvement projects. Participants will have an opportunity to draw process flow charts by hand and become familiar with the principal tool of the improvement methodology.
NEW 360 Degree Extraordinary Leaders Assessment Program: 360-degree feedback, also known as multi-rater feedback, multisource feedback, or multisource assessment, is feedback that comes from all around an employee. "360" refers to the circle, with an individual figuratively in the center of the circle. Feedback is provided by subordinates, peers, and supervisors. It also includes a self-assessment and, in some feedback from external sources such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. Depending on the need, it may be contrasted with "upward feedback," where managers are given feedback by their direct reports, or a "traditional performance appraisal," where the employees are most often reviewed only by their managers. The results of this assessment are often used for training and development purposes.
Important Note: The Training and Career Development Branch can also customize training specifically for your needs; please contact a member of the TCD training team for more information.
Training Team 2010