Achieve Professional Development and Personal Growth
The U.S. Department of State is dedicated to providing ongoing training and educational opportunities that will help our employees - and their family members - build successful careers and rewarding personal lives.
Foreign Service Institute Training
Successful diplomatic activity and development assistance rely on hiring, training, and retaining the highest quality workforce. Our workforce must stay on the cutting edge through professional development and distance learning that fosters the diplomatic, technical, managerial, and leadership skills needed to meet the challenges of the future. To help achieve this, the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) offers a wide variety of training in professional trade craft, foreign language, leadership and management; as well as transition assistance for personnel (and their eligible family members) transiting between domestic and overseas assignments or into retirement. Additional opportunities are also available through FSI's External Training Program and through Distance Learning programs that allow you to take training at your own pace and wherever you have an Internet connection.
Training Continua
Training is meant to develop the competencies needed at each level of a career with the U.S. Department of State. Equally important, training provides a foundation for employees to progress into areas of increased responsibility. Supervisors and employees work together to adopt a career rather than job focus. This means choosing courses based on the knowledge and skills required to perform at the highest level in one's current position as well as for advancement to the next stage. The Department has developed the following training continua available to employees:
- Training Continuum for Civil Service Employees — A roadmap to training and professional development; and
- Leadership and Management Training Continuum — Offers one-stop shopping for employees seeking to develop their leadership and management skills.
Career Development Resource Center (CDRC)
Another important resource available is the Department's Career Development Resource Center (CDRC). The Center provides career development assistance and counseling to the Department's Civil Service employees and Foreign Service family members. Professional career counselors are available to provide individual and confidential counseling and coaching by appointment. There are also library and computer resources and workshops available for employees through the CDRC.
Mentoring Program
The Civil Service Mentoring Program provides employees an opportunity to work one-on-one with more senior employees to learn more about the Department and their career opportunities. This formal mentoring program lasts for one year, and is announced at least annually. Civil Service employees are eligible to apply as protégés or mentors, with Foreign Service employees also eligible to apply as mentors. Participants commit to meet with each other two-four hours a month throughout the year. The mentor serves as teacher, coach, counselor, challenger, guide, and learner. The protégé sets goals for the year in a written action plan and takes an active role in carrying out that plan. Although having a mentor does not guarantee advancement, the counsel and advice of an experienced colleague can help employees handle various situations, enhance their development, and avoid some of the pitfalls that can derail a career or delay a promotion.
"This is an important program. It's important to the Department. It's important to me."
Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, speaking at the Civil Service Mentoring Kick-Off, 2/28/07.
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Program
The series of Master of Business Administration classes provide training in business for U.S. Department of State employees and family members, subject to university admission requirements, interested in understanding the working nature of business in a competitive environment. Courses in the M.B.A. program integrate information and theories from various disciplines, including accounting, economics, finance, marketing, production operations, and strategic management.
Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence Degree Program (MSSI)
The Joint Military Intelligence College (JMIC) offers State Department employees a free after-hours postgraduate intelligence program, which includes a Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence Degree Program, the only one of its kind in the United States. Courses are geared toward intelligence functions but address a wide range of professional themes, including: Information Operations, Strategic Warning and Analysis, Graduate Research and Writing, Intelligence Collection: Evidence for Analysis, National Security Structure and Policy and International Security Environment.
Mustang Career Mobility Program
The Mustang Program is a career mobility program for talented Department career Civil Service and Foreign Service Specialist personnel wishing to compete for appointments as Entry-Level Foreign Service Generalist career candidates. Applicants may apply in any one of the five generalist career tracks (Consular, Economic, Management, Political or Public Diplomacy). The Mustang Program provides expedited entry for those who pass the Foreign Service Oral Assessment (FSOA) and who successfully update or obtain their security and medical clearances.
Civil Service (CS) to Foreign Service (FS) Hard-to-Fill Program
The Department's annual "Foreign Service Hard-to-Fill" exercise provides opportunities for Civil Service career development and mobility while helping meet critical Foreign Service staffing needs. Civil Service assignments to overseas Foreign Service positions have been an important part of the Department's HR program for many years, allowing CS employees the opportunity to participate directly in the Department's overseas missions and to experience life and work at an embassy or consulate. Some CS participants in the CS to FS HTF Program have used it as a first step towards careers in the Foreign Service. The CS to FS HTF Program is designed to help meet critical overseas staffing needs while providing a unique career development opportunity for CS personnel.
