Positioning public administration curriculum to add value: the case for “transferrable skills”

Abstract

Public administration (PA) as an area of academic study and intellectual pursuit has long suffered from a lack of distinctiveness. While there is benefit inside struggle, and acknowledging that the field has advanced, there is progress remaining to be made. Focusing on the development of a skill base among Public Administrators that adds value to current vocational settings and positions the practitioner to be professionally lithe (through skills that are transferable to other public settings, quasipublic settings, and private industry) is personally and professionally healthy. To this end, mastery of statistical process control, process improvement, lean service/manufacturing, six sigma, and project management will optimally position the PA practitioner to add organizational value while concomitantly maximizing vocational flexibility