7-1.6 Continuing Professionalism

All CO appointments, regardless of level, must be reviewed annually by the appointing official in order to ascertain that the CO has maintained professional proficiency and otherwise remains qualified. Therefore, COs must:

  1. Attend 21 hours of formal purchasing training covering such areas as new requirements, techniques, or policies and procedures brought about by changes in statutes, regulations, business research, or evaluations of postal purchasing practices.
  2. Maintain their professionalism through (a) attendance at seminars, conferences, meetings, or other professional activities and (b) performing coursework in contracting and purchasing commensurate with their CO level and responsibilities. The appointing official will determine whether a particular CO’s efforts in these areas meet the professional development requirements.
  3. Sustain and expand their knowledge of the purchasing field through reading professional literature.