13 FAM 401.1 WORK/LIFE TRANSITIONS

UNCLASSIFIED (U)

13 FAM 400
TRAINING FOR WORK/LIFE TRANSITIONS

WORK/LIFE TRANSITIONS

(CT:TPD-14; 12-23-2022)
(Office of Origin: FSI)

(CT:TPD-13; 09-08-2022)
(Uniform State/USAID)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)

a. The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) operates The Transition Center (FSI/TC), which prepares the Department of State community for competence and success in U.S. foreign affairs through transition training, resources, consultation, and information.

b. The Transition Center supports the Foreign Service and Civil Service and other members of the Department and the U.S. foreign affairs community by providing:

(1) Relevant training, resources, and support to the workforce to help establish realistic expectations for life at post for all community members;

(2) Training, consultations, and customized support services to increase the resilience of individuals, teams, and organizations and sustain a more productive and high-performing foreign affairs workforce;

(3) Post-specific and logistics information with specialized support and curated materials for the entire U.S. foreign affairs community; and

(4) Training and counseling for career transitions and retirement planning to support employee engagement and retention. (See 13 FAM 401.1-3.)

c. FSI/TC programs and services, other than those related to retirement planning, are open on a space available, reimbursable basis to other individuals who work within the foreign affairs community (e.g., personal services contractors, third-party contractors) and may be required to perform temporary duty abroad.

d. Some FSI/TC programs and services are also available to eligible family members (EFMs) (see 13 FAM 600). Attendance to certain FSI/TC offerings may be on a space-available only basis, and in the case of non-State EFMs, on a reimbursable basis for those courses and programs covered by a tuition fee.

13 FAM 401.1-2 TRANSITION CENTER PROGRAMS

(CT:TPD-13; 09-08-2022)
(Uniform State/USAID)

a. The Transition Center Training Division (FSI/TC/T) provides training, resources, and support to help clients establish realistic expectations for life in the Foreign Service. FSI/TC/T conducts the mandatory Security Overseas Seminar programs, which provide personal security awareness training. (See 13 FAM 301.4-1 for additional information.) FSI/TC/T also conducts a variety of training programs, workshops and seminars designed to ease the transition of employees and their eligible family members from domestic to overseas assignments and vice versa.

b. The Career Transition Center (FSI/TC/CTC) provides training, counseling, and related services to support employees with retirement planning and to assist employees to transition successfully into the next phase of their professional and personal lives.

c. The Overseas Briefing Center (FSI/TC/OBC) operates an information resource center, which provides walk-in and online informational services to assist employees and their eligible family members and members of household in preparing for and making the transition from domestic to overseas assignments and vice versa.

d. The Center of Excellence in Foreign Affairs Resilience provides training and other services to increase the resilience of individuals and communities for a more engaged, productive and durable foreign affairs workforce. These services include in-person and virtual resilience courses, on-demand and customized training and consultations for overseas posts and domestic offices, high-threat assignment outbrief sessions, and resilience webinars.

13 FAM 401.1-3 CAREER TRANSITION CENTER

13 FAM 401.1-3(A) Purpose

(CT:TPD-13; 09-08-2022)
(Uniform State/USAID)
(Civil Service and Foreign Service Employees)

a. FSI’s Career Transition Center (FSI/TC/CTC) provides training and counseling to employees who are preparing for retirement from the Department and provides similar assistance for those being involuntarily separated (other than for cause), to ease their transition from the Department.

b. FSI/TC also provides courses on retirement planning applicable to all Civil Service and Foreign Service employees during their early to mid-career and the final years of service. Other agency personnel may take these courses on a space-available, reimbursable basis.

13 FAM 401.1-3(B) Limitations

(CT:TPD-14; 12-23-2022)
(Uniform State/USAID)
(Civil Service and Foreign Service Employees)

a. FSI/TC/CTC courses provide training and counseling for transition from active service with the Department of State and other international affairs agencies. While the Job Search/Transition Program (JSTP) provides transition and job search skill training to help participants develop skills and strategies for job searching, it is not a job placement program.

b. FSI/TC/CTC courses are offered only at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in Arlington, VA or in virtual format.

c. Employees separated for cause are not eligible to participate in FSI/TC/CTC’s Job Search/Transition Program. Employees facing mandatory separation may be eligible to participate in the Job Search/Transition Program with the support of GTM/CDA.

d. Employees are enrolled in the Job Search/Transition Program with the understanding that they have filed or will file an application for retirement prior to the start date of the session in which they enroll and that the effective date of their retirement will immediately follow the completion of the Job Search/Transition Program session they attend. They are required to sign a Retirement Agreement (13 FAH-1 Exhibit H-422.2-3) acknowledging they accept the obligation to reimburse the Department the cost of the course tuition set by FSI, should they voluntarily withdraw their retirement application. In the case of employees facing mandatory separation, if the employee’s separation is overturned, the employee will not be responsible for repaying the cost of the program.

e. Employees are only allowed to participate in the Job Search/Transition Program once. If an individual completes the Job Search/Transition Program and subsequently does not immediately retire, he or she may not retake the Job Search/Transition Program at another time.

13 FAM 401.1-3(C) Description of Courses/Programs

(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(State Only)
(Civil Service and Foreign Service Employees)

See 13 FAH-1 H-420 for detailed information and how-to-enroll procedures on the training courses and programs conducted by FSI/TC/CTC.

UNCLASSIFIED (U)