Mentorship is the exchange of information in an open dialog to gain influence, guidance, and direction by mentors.

A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to employees eager to gain experiences within our organizational setting. They guide us through our early stages of training, as we grow through our development within our careers, and throughout to our later stages within the Air Force.

We recommend gaining mentors from outside of your chain of command, but within your career field (i.e. from a functional leader outside of your assigned division) during one or more of the multitude of available Mentorship Mixers.

Jump-Start is the Air Force's newly redeveloped integration PK initiative aimed to introducing you, as a new 1102 Contract Specialist, to the world of Government Contracting as well as day-to-day activities. If you are in the Contracting career field, please ask your Sponsor and/or Supervisor how and when you can attend this course to learn about your tasks as early as possible.
 
The course is dedicated to providing the most current information and integration available and will guide you through the terminologies used within Government Contracting to On the Job learning, Points of Contact, and various ways of completing DAU's Back to Basics training requirements through a multi-phase, interactive and open discussion form.

Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) are important for all Government employees. As the name indicates, CLPs are Learning Points that you will need to continuously gain in order to operate within the Government.

Every Employee within the Government is required to gain 80 CLPs every two (2) years. We recommend gaining these points as early as possible, and even going over the required minimum.

In your first few years as a Trainee, you will have plenty of opportunity to gain CLPs. These can be gained through Jump-Start, Back to Basics’ courses, additional Learning Classes, Government Training courses, DAU classes or webinars, Lunch and Learn sessions, Trent Trainings, or Trainings approved by your Supervisor

Back to Basics is the Air Force's newly developed and streamlined Acquisition training plan which is instructed through DAU and encompasses your further education. With core programs being required to complete within each functional's specific timeframe and overall career understanding, additional supplementary courses are available for office specific mission requirements.

Please ask your Sponsor and/or Supervisor how and when you can attend this course to learn more about your Career. DAU offers Back to Basics' courses for each functional (Contracting, Program Management, Financial Management, and Engineering).