FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 31, 1999 CONTACT: Sharon J. Wells (202) 606-2402 sjwells@opm.gov OPM EXTENDS CAREER TRANSITION PROGRAMS Washington, D.C. The U. S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued regulations extending current career transition programs. The highly effective and successful programs were established by President Clinton in 1995 to assist federal employees affected by downsizing. The Presidents directive establishing career transition assistance programs for federal employees has proven to be a win-win-win for employees, the government, and the taxpayer, said OPM Director Janice Lachance. Giving displaced employees selection priority for other federal jobs provides a key tool to help them in making a successful transition. Agencies reap the benefit by hiring experienced and well-qualified employees and taxpayers reap the savings of money not spent on severance pay and other costs. Implemented in 1996, the Career Transition Assistance and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plans (CTAP and ICTAP) have helped more than 23,000 surplus or displaced federal employees find new jobs. Since its inception, the interagency program has placed about five times as many employees as the list-type referral system it replaced. In March 1999, OPM summarized the results of these programs in the Third Annual Report on Career Transition. The CTAP and ICTAP programs were scheduled to expire on September 30, 1999. Because restructuring activity is likely to continue, OPM issued regulations on July 27 which will extend these programs through September 30, 2001. These regulations can be viewed and downloaded on OPMs web site at http://www.opm.gov. End

Web page created 31 August 1999