This memorandum is to provide clarification of the Probation Guidelines for the Engineering Traineeship section in General Information Bulletin (GIB) No. 17-01. The GIB probation guidelines stated: Individuals appointed as an Engineer Trainee must serve one year in the traineeship regardless of when they obtained their FE. After successful completion of one year as an Engineer Trainee, individuals must be appointed to the Grade 20 title as soon as they inform the Human Resources Office that they obtained their FE. (Emphasis added.) The Engineer traineeship follows the probation rules outlined in Civil Service Rule §4.5. The rule states that every permanent appointment, promotion or transfer shall require satisfactory completion of a probationary term and that the probationer's supervisor, from time to time, will observe conduct and performance during the probationary term and advise the probationer of their status and progress. Individuals appointed to an Engineer Trainee position should be advised of the criteria they must meet for successful completion of one year of service as a trainee. They should also receive periodic notification of their performance towards meeting such criteria. It is at the agency's discretion to define the criteria required for successful completion of one year. As such, it is possible that a trainee who has obtained their FE and has served 12 months or more in the traineeship is not advanced to Assistant Engineer, G-20, because the agency determines the employee has not successfully completed one year as a trainee. Agencies may find it helpful to develop an Individual Development Plan (IDP) to provide benchmarks and a consistent method to determine successful completion of one year as an Engineer Trainee and for completing probation. In accordance with the original GIB guidelines, individuals who do not obtain their FE by the end of the two years, or do not successfully meet the agency-established requirements for completion of one year as an Engineer Trainee must be removed from the Engineer Trainee position and cannot advance to Assistant Engineer. |