Professional development is a benefit that you should discuss with potential applicants. FSIS offers employees several different education and training opportunities, as well as mentoring and leadership development programs.

The Continuing Education Program has two options: college tuition reimbursement and veterinary training reimbursement. Tuition reimbursement is open to all FSIS employees. Participants must be permanent, full-time employees with a minimum of 1 year of service with FSIS. Eligible employees may qualify for up to $5,000 per fiscal year in tuition reimbursement. The employee pays for the course initially and is reimbursed if program conditions are met. Veterinary training reimbursement is available for FSIS veterinarians, who may be reimbursed for up to $1,000 in training expenses, including professional meetings, webinars and short courses.

AgLearn is USDA’s official training site and includes a wealth of online resources, such as webinars, videos and books. AgLearn also offers courses that allow employees to choose their career development and knowledge expansion. In addition, LinkedIn learning is available through AgLearn. Many courses are available, such as communicating in plain language, working with diverse cultures and business writing. Rosetta Stone foreign language classes are also available in 24 languages, including Chinese (Mandarin), French, Korean and Spanish.

The Workforce Investment Initiative is a development program for in plant employees to help them envision and map out their career paths in FSIS. The program provides paid training to support participants’ career interests, learning assignments, peer mentoring, coaching, job shadowing, and detailed career path guidance. Two cohorts of consumer safety inspectors have been selected and planning for a third is underway.Learn more about the Workforce Investment Initiative Pilot Program.