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FHWA Order M3000.1C

Order
Subject
FHWA Personnel Management Manual; Part 2: Training and Career Development, Chapter 1: FHWA Training Systems
Classification Code Date
M3000.1C December 2, 2003  

Par.

  1. What is the purpose of this chapter?
  2. Does the directive cancel an existing FHWA directive?
  3. What references were used when writing this chapter?
  4. What is the definition of training?
  5. What is the purpose of training?
  6. What are FHWA's responsibilities for training?
  7. What are the supervisors' responsibilities for training?
  8. What are the employees' responsibilities for training?
  9. How does the employee request and enroll in training activities?
  10. What are Continued Service Agreements (CSAs) and how are they used?
  11. What are the developmental requirements for a new supervisor?
  12. How are training activities funded?
  1. What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter issues the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) training policies and guidance.

  2. Does the directive cancel an existing FHWA directive? Yes. This directive cancels FHWA Personnel Management Manual Part 2, Chapter 1, FHWA Training Systems, dated June 28, 1996, and Chapter 2, Career Development Programs, dated June 28, 1996.

  3. What references were used when writing this chapter?

    1. Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 410.

    2. Title 5, U. S. Code (U.S.C.), Sections 4104 and 2301(b)(2).

    3. Departmental Personnel Manual Letter (DPM) 300-26, dated October 17, 2002.

  4. What is the definition of training? Training is a process to improve individual and organizational performance and assist in achieving the agency's mission and performance goals. It is accomplished by providing, making available, and placing or enrolling the employee in a planned, prepared, and coordinated program, course, curriculum, subject, system, or routine of instruction or education. This instruction or education may be in scientific, professional, technical, mechanical, trade, clerical, fiscal, administrative, or other fields (5 U.S.C. 4101(4)).

  5. What is the purpose of training? The purpose of training is to provide knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for effective job performance and behavior that employees are expected to exhibit in the workplace. The FHWA training and development activities will be conducted in a manner consistent with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Office of Personnel Management policies, rules, and procedures.

  6. What are FHWA's responsibilities for training?

    1. The FHWA will make resources available to ensure that every employee has the necessary skills to perform at their current job and to prepare them for the changes brought on by new technology or redirection of FHWA's mission. Training will be aligned with FHWA's mission, goals, and strategic plans and will support individual and organizational performance. The FHWA may provide training that will support individual career development goals when those goals are aligned with FHWA's mission and goals.

    2. The selection of employees for training should be made without regard to political preference, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or handicapping condition, and with proper regard for their privacy and constitutional rights as provided by merit system principles in 5 U.S.C. 2301(b)(2).

    3. The FHWA's Training and Development Group (TDG) will post in the Learning and Development System (LADS) the purpose, general content, learning objectives, and the method(s) of delivery of the training activity.

  7. What are the supervisors' responsibilities for training?

    1. Supervisors shall provide career planning and career counseling information to employees so that employees can expand their existing competencies and develop new competencies. The supervisor shall consult with each employee, identify the employee's training needs and areas in which improvement is needed, and recommend training courses or other developmental activities to address these needs. Supervisors shall encourage employees to pursue career development activities on their own and with their own resources.

    2. Supervisors shall approve training for employees consistent with FHWA delegations of authority and their own organizational practices for managing the training process. Once training has been approved, the supervisor and employee should plan for the training so that the need for last-minute cancellations of training by the supervisor will be minimized.

    3. Supervisors are responsible for maintaining and ensuring that their employees maintain accurate records in the LADS. Supervisors must approve or disapprove training requests and ensure that their employees enter course completions and training costs in the LADS on a timely basis.

  8. What are the employee's responsibilities for training?

    1. It is the responsibility of each employee to assess his or her strengths and weaknesses and consult with his or her supervisor to identify and plan for needed training and development activities. Employees should take responsibility for their long-term career development goals and strategies and seek guidance on how to integrate their professional goals with FHWA's goals. In addition to taking advantage of FHWA-sponsored training and development opportunities, employees are encouraged to pursue self-development on their own time and with their own resources.

    2. Once approved for training, employees are responsible for making every effort to attend the training program and to participate in all components of the training required for successful completion. Incomplete training courses or programs will not be documented in the employee's official personnel record, and the employee who fails to complete a course of training may be required to reimburse the FHWA for the cost of that training.

    3. The employee is responsible for maintaining accurate records in the LADS. He or she must enter training requests, completions, and training costs in the LADS on a timely basis.

  9. How does the employee request and enroll in training activities?

    1. After discussing their developmental needs with their supervisors, employees will prepare an Individual Development Plan in the LADS. Supervisors will determine the importance of each request.

    2. In most cases, as courses for which the employee requested and the supervisor approved are available, this information will be posted in the LADS by the TDG in the Office of Human Resources. The LADS will generate an e-mail message to the employee and the supervisor notifying them of the availability of and the employee's enrollment in this training activity.

    3. For long-term programs, academic study, and certain executive and leadership training programs, the TDG will initiate a separate call for nominations. Participation in these programs is with the approval from the Office of the Administrator.

  10. What are Continued Service Agreements (CSAs) and how are they used?

    Before an employee is assigned to training that will exceed 80 hours in a single training course or program, the employee must agree in writing to continue as an employee of the U. S. Government after the end of the training period for at least three times the length of the training period unless he or she is involuntarily separated. The CSAs will not be required when the training involves no expense to the Government other than the employee's pay.

    1. Length of Continued Service. The length of continued service is:

      • (1) At least three times the length of the training period if pay is received during the training period, and the Government incurs additional expenses for the employee's training.

      • (2) The greater of the length of the training period or one month, if pay is not received during the training period, but the Government incurs expenses for the employee's training.

      • (3) Based on the first workday following the completion of training. Days in which the employee would not normally work (Saturday and Sunday) will not count toward the completion of the continued service period.

    2. Failure to fulfill CSAs.

      • (1) Employees who voluntarily leave U. S. Government employment before the end of their CSA obligation must repay to the Government the amount of the expenses incurred by the Government in connection with the training, excluding salary. This includes but is not limited to books, tuition, fees, travel expenses, and moving expenses. The amount to be recovered as a percentage of the entire expense incurred will not exceed the portion of the agreement not completed.

      • (2) The employee's accounting office will collect from the employee a sum equal to all or a portion of additional expenses incurred by the training, excluding pay, as specified above. When repayment cannot be obtained from the employee, appropriate action will be taken to recover funds from any pay, retirement credit, or other amounts due the employee from the Government.

      • (3) An employee who transfers to another Federal agency before completing a CSA will be obligated to fulfill that agreement in the new agency. The FHWA'S Office of Human Resources will notify the gaining agency of the employee's obligation under the CSA and will transfer the agreement to that agency. If the training received cannot be used in the gaining agency, the FHWA must notify the employee before the effective date of the transfer of FHWA's intention to recover the appropriate amount of the training costs.

    3. Request for Reconsideration or Waiver of Repayment. An employee who has been asked to repay the costs of training for an unfulfilled CSA may request reconsideration of the amount to be repaid or a waiver of the FHWA's right to recover the training costs. The employee must submit a request to FHWA's Associate Administrator for Administration, with an explanation of circumstances that would justify a reconsideration of the amount or a waiver of repayment.

    4. Waiver of the Right of Recovery of Training Costs. The Associate Administrator for Administration may waive, in whole or in part, FHWA's right to recover costs due from an employee who has failed to complete a CSA, if:

      (1) the employee has completed most, but not all, of the required period of service;

      (2) the employee resigned because of his or her own illness or the serious illness of a member of his or her immediate family; or

      (3) the employee is unable to make payment because of severe financial hardship.

  11. What are the developmental requirements for a new supervisor? The DOT DPM Letter 300-26 requires all supervisors of new supervisors to take certain action to ensure the development of these new supervisors. During the supervisory probationary period, the new supervisor will, at a minimum, meet with his or her supervisor to develop a needs assessment, develop an Individual Development Plan, and participate in at least 40 hours of formal development.

  12. How are training activities funded? Some training programs are centrally funded and some are funded by the local office. The Office of Budget and Finance notifies each unit of its training funds for the year. The TDG maintains funds to centrally fund certain other training activities. See the course information in the LADS for information on which training activities are centrally funded.

Page last modified on October 19, 2015
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000