Office of Training Education and Development (OTED)
We are excited to share that with the FDA Reorganization, OTED is now under the leadership of the Principal Deputy Associate Commissioner for Inspections and Investigations, opening new opportunities for our training initiatives. This transition will enable us to innovate our strategic training model, modernize methodologies for better stakeholder engagement, and enhance our commitment to excellence in customer service, ensuring that our students receive the highest quality training.
Along with the move to OII, some other changes to OTED include:
- OTED’s Division of Instructional Systems and Technology (DIST) now has added the Certification Branch to its team.
- OTED’s Division of Programmatic Training has consolidated its previous four branches into two branches:
- Programmatic Training Branch 1 focusing on Medical Products and Manufactured Foods
- Programmatic Training Branch 2 focusing on the Cooperative Food Program and Integrated Food Safety System.
OTED Policies for Cooperative Program Classroom Courses
The FDA Office of Inspections and Investigations (OII), Office of Training, Education, and Development (OTED) provides free, quality training to Department of Defense (DoD), state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) cooperative program regulators. Through this partnership, not only does OTED provide an enriching learning experience for participants to meet critical training competencies, but also supports an Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS).
- Costs
Courses are presented tuition free and are open on a national and international1 basis. Travel and related costs are at the expense of the attendee’s agency. - Registration
Information on the course registration process and other important stakeholder material can be found by visiting Registering to Attend National FDA Cooperative Program Courses for FY25.
Interested students must follow the instructions in the course announcement for the specific course session. - LearnED Learning Management System
All prospective participants must have an OII LearnED account to complete online modules and register for instructor-led courses.
Need an OII LearnED account? Visit the Request an OII LearnED Training System Account page to register.
Need help? Email APPSDesk@fda.hhs.gov for assistance with OII LearnED. - Course Schedule
Current training schedules can be found in the OII LearnED learning management system by visiting: https://fdaoted.csod.com. Additional courses may be added throughout fiscal year. Visit the OII LearnED System website regularly for course schedules and updates. - Course Announcements
OTED makes every effort to issue course announcements approximately twelve (12) weeks prior to a course. Course announcements are distributed to FDA Program Training Officers (PTO), cooperative program and Office of Partnerships staff. Course announcements are also linked in the course details section of each course session in OII LearnED. - Course Development and Delivery
Courses are designed, developed and delivered by OTED in conjunction with the FDA Human Foods Program’s Office of Retail Food Protection and Office of Applied Microbiology staff, and Cooperative Agreement partners. - Prerequisites
Some courses have prerequisites that must be completed in order to attend a course. All course prerequisites must be completed prior to the registration deadline. Prerequisite verification will take place shortly after the registration deadline. Enrollment requests will be denied if the prerequisites are not met. In some cases, the LearnED system will not allow you to request registration until all pre-requisites are complete. - Seat or Slot Allocations
In order to equitably distribute course slots, when requesting registrations for all Cooperative Program courses (retail, milk, and shellfish), three (3) slots per course session per agency will be permitted. This will maximize access for all state, local, tribal, and territorial partners. Agencies can submit additional registrations for any given course session. Those participants will be placed on the course waitlist and offered seats as course slots become available. OTED reserves the right to adjust slot allocations for in-person courses. - Attendance
Participants are expected to attend an entire course to earn a certificate. If a participant anticipates being more than 10 minutes late to a course, we advise you to contact the Training Officer or course Point of Contact for further guidance.
Lateness applies to meal breaks and midday breaks. Participants who are late from breaks may be dismissed from the course. - Continuing Education Units (CEU)
CEU and OTED course certificates are provided to those course participants who:- Attend the entire course fully (no lateness or absence)
- Participate in all class activities, and
- Successfully complete the assessment (or exercises) that measure the participant’s attainment of course objectives.
- Appropriate Attire
Please read course announcements thoroughly for guidance on special attire, especially in the case of courses with site visits. NO high heels, sandals, open toe shoes, shorts, sleeveless tops (or tank tops), mid-drift tops, etc. are permitted during site visits. OTED will provide disposable shoe covers or lab coats, as needed. Some firms may provide additional protective accessories.
Below is some general guidance – please see course announcements or contact the Training Officer for more details.- Plant Site Visits: Participants should wear attire appropriate for a plant investigation. You must wear closed-toe shoes. The investigation scenario requires some moderate walking, standing, walking up and down stairs, and boarding of a bus. It is recommended that you wear the shoes you wear to normally conduct an investigation or inspection.
- Farm Visits: Participants should wear attire appropriate for an outdoor farm investigation. You must wear closed-toe shoes. The investigation scenario requires some moderate walking, standing, walking on uneven surfaces, and boarding of a bus. It is recommended that you wear the shoes you wear to normally conduct an investigation or inspection. Please bring sunscreen, insect repellent, sunglasses, hats, umbrella/raincoat, and appropriate lightweight clothing.
1 International participants that want to attend a retail, milk, shellfish course can make a request to attend a course through the Training Officer listed on the course announcement.
Mission: To ensure operational and leadership readiness by educating and developing FDA and public health professionals.
Vision: To be your preferred training partner in realizing the full potential of the public health workforce.
What We Do: OII’s Office of Training Education and Development (OTED) is responsible for the training and development of a 5,000+-member staff located in OII's field and headquarters offices throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. In addition, OTED is responsible for providing training to state and local regulatory agency staff who are involved in the regulation of food, drugs, and other commodities regulated by FDA.
Organization: OII's Office of Training Education and Development is organized into an Immediate Office and three Divisions. The Immediate Office is led by Acting Director Brooke Mullican and staffed with the Director’s Special Assistant as we as OTED’s Quality, Records Management & Administrative Staff.
OTED’s three divisions are:
- Division of Instructional Systems and Technology (DIST)
- Division of Multi-Program, Leadership, and Management Training (DMPLMT)
- Division of Programmatic Training (DPT).
Click the below OTED Organization Chart to download
