Name: Kathi M. Jobkar, C.P.M.

Company: Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI), Pittsburgh, Pa. ATI is a large and diversified producer of specialty metals, including stainless steel.

Title: Manager, procurement

Reports to: Ernest Gabbard, director, corporate procurement

Education: Bachelor's of Science in Business Management and MBA, Robert Morris College, Pittsburgh, Pa

Work experience: Worked at People's Natural Gas Co. from 1971 through 1995, starting as a buyer and eventually becoming director, purchasing and material control. Worked as a consultant for Drake Beam Morin from 1996 through mid-1997. Began at ATI in mid-1997.

Responsibilities: As manager, procurement, Jobkar directs the negotiation and administration of contracts totaling more than $50 million; analyzes, plans and implements contract administration solutions; evaluates and implements marketing strategies and communication vehicles for the corporate procurement office to enhance the acceptance and usage of ATI's corporate procurement agreements nationally and internationally; and identifies, investigates and implements new contracts for use by ATI's locations worldwide.

Current initiatives: One initiative with which Jobkar is involved relates to ongoing training for ATI procurement employees. "In today's job market, it is really about employability, not just about employment," she explains. "It is important for people to continue to develop their skill sets throughout their careers."

Jobkar recently served as a member of a company-wide team that created development guidelines for procurement individuals along with suggestions on how to satisfy them. Her participation on the team supports her professional commitment to ongoing professional training and development. (Jobkar teaches C.P.M. classes for the National Association of Purchasing Management and at Duquesne University. She is also creating a career-planning workshop for NAPM -Pittsburgh.) Jobkar also is helping to identify required skill sets for procurement employees. "We develop objectives based on current and near-term business needs," she explains.

One training initiative currently under way is a "lunch and learn" program for ATI's procurement employees, a series of bi-monthly "brown bag" sessions, consists of video programs aimed at topics of interest for purchasing people. "The programs run two hours a day, two days in a row, and have been very successful," she states. C.P.M. hours are awarded to the participants.

Probably the most significant initiative related to training, however, will be ATI's new e-learning program. "We have just finalized a contract for this service," she states. With the system, employees will be able to engage in electronic training on their desktop computers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "It will eliminate the traditional challenge of being out of the office half a day or a day every time training is needed," she notes. "Employees can pace themselves. They can engage in training for 10 minutes or two hours or more." The program keeps track of their progress, and it provides online testing capabilities. The system also reports individual progress back to the supervisor and the HR department via a learning management system.

Managers and employees will discuss learning requirements for the coming year during annual performance reviews and identify the specific classes the employees will need to take to meet current and near-term business objectives. "We may also offer some optional training programs for employees who have completed their annual requirements," she adds.

Jobkar's role on the e-learning training team is to help to communicate the program to employees. "We are sending out notices to people and also scheduling group meetings," she states. "We are also making sure everyone's computer has the technological capabilities to handle the e-learning programs, so that the training runs smoothly."