Letter and Script Engraver (Banknote) Apprentice Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 25-BEP-12621500 Department Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Salary $33.14 to $78.62 Grade 2 to 2
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/17/2024 Close Date 1/6/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

This position is located at Bureau of Engraving and Printing, within the Office of Engraving Manufacturing Directorate. As a Letter and Script Engraver (Banknote) Apprentice, you will participate in a seven-year apprenticeship program working under the instruction and supervision of a journeyman Engraver to whom the apprentice is assigned. Successful completion of the apprenticeship program qualifies the apprentice as a journeyman Letter and Script Engraver.

Duties

***The BEP is currently in the process of having a new facility built in Beltsville, MD and expect to move to the new facility within the next 5 years. If selected, you may be sent and/or reassigned to the new Beltsville facility. By applying to this position, you understand this potential requirement.

During the apprenticeship program for the Letter and Script Engraver (Banknote) Apprentice, you will:

  • Hand Draw Lettering: Black and White Face Roman and Banknote Script Alphabets. Learn elementary letter spacing and word spacing. General acquaintance with Engraving as a craft through the study of proofs of banknotes and other engraved material.
  • Practice the art of cutting straight lines, circles, concentric lines and circles progressing to letter shapes.
  • Receive Laser Pantograph Training, plus continue setting aside time to refine and practice any skills addressed in prior years. Execute die with techniques learned in training periods.
  • Begin to build files of lettering on ONE system. Add flat tool set up and cutting. For production purposes: general plate inspections and both Pantograph disciplines; all executed under Journeyman supervision.
  • Lathe work restoration and engraving; create lettering die with complete roman lettering w/shadows and rulings.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

If you do not meet any of the categories listed above, you may wish to apply under announcement 25-BEP-12621499-P, which is open for any U.S. citizen to apply. Please refer to that announcement for details on open period, eligibility, and how to apply.

Physical Requirements: The incumbent must be able to lift weights up to 23 kilograms (50 pounds). Incumbent must have good eyesight, coordination and dexterity. Work is mostly sedentary; however, may require periods of standing. The work performed is tedious and requires extreme accuracy. Apprentice must be able to work a five (5) day work week on any shift.
AND
You must show in your experience in online application that you possess the knowledge, skill and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. Be sure all experience is documented in your résumé by indicating place of employment, job title, length of time performing the duties, and the name and contact information for the supervisor. We must be able to verify this experience in your résumé in order for you to receive credit.

Key Requirements:
  1. Please refer to "Conditions of Employment."
  2. Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
  3. Must be U.S. Citizen or U.S. National

SUITABILITY, CLEARANCE & REQUIREMENTS: A background investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for disqualification in the hiring process. The background investigation process conducted by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is very thorough. Therefore, it is imperative that applicants exercise candor and honesty when answering background questionnaires, especially as it relates to arrest, employment, education, finances, illegal drug use, and/or other criminal history. Falsification discovered in security documents or during the background investigation process may result in an immediate negative suitability determination or immediate revocation of your interim clearance (if applicable).

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

*** PLEASE READ CAREFULLY***

Rating: A Two-phase rating method will be used. In using this method, answers to the online application questions will constitute 25% of your overall rating. The remaining 75% will be determined by your artwork. Artwork is to be submitted to the following email address LetterandScript@bep.gov .

**Do not submit artwork via USA Jobs. Only artwork submitted to LetterandScript@bep.gov will be considered.

You will need to submit a total of four pieces of artwork, using the following five categories: Still Life, Portrait, Landscape Lettering or Figure. Do not submit more than four pieces of artwork. Please identify what method or medium you used to create each piece of art that is submitted in your portfolio. To meet file size limitations, applicants may send separate emails for each submittal.

**Failure to submit artwork will disqualify applicants. Submit your artwork to LetterandScript@bep.gov in either a JPEG or PDF format.

Your artwork will be evaluated by a Subject Matter Expert (SME)/Art panel in the following areas: Composition/Layout, Draftsmanship, Rendering, Perspective and Proficiency.

**Failure to meet the minimum art panel score of 60 out of 100 will remove you from consideration.

In addition to the art evaluation, you must meet the screen-out element, Ability to do the Work of the Position Without More Than Normal Supervision (Screen out), normally addressed at the beginning of the online questions.

To meet the screen-out element, applicants must have: The ability to perform common Letter and Script Engraver duties. You must have received training using digital systems and/or freehand methods to create designs, drawings, or artwork. You must complete such tasks without more than normal supervision.

In addition, you must also obtain an average score of two (2) for the following elements for this position as addressed through the online question in order to be considered minimally qualified. Your application will be evaluated in the following areas:

  • Ability to do the Work of the Position Without More Than Normal Supervision (Screen out)
  • Technical Practices (theoretical, precise, artistic)
  • Ability To Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (other than blueprints)
  • Ability To Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment

Interview: Upon completion of the Rating process, the candidates moving forward will be interviewed and given a three-hour timed practical drawing exercise.

Additional information

OTHER INFORMATION:

  • We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
  • This is a Bargaining unit position. Local 32- International Plate Printing, Die, Stampers & Engravers Union of North America (Engravers)
  • During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
  • The facility typically shuts down annually between Christmas and New Year's Day. As such, all BEP employees must take leave for workdays during the shutdown period.
  • A one-year probationary period may be required.
  • Public Trust - Background Investigation will be required.
  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
  • This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with Treasury. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow Treasury to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time. For more information about individual rights, Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights - FBI, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI, and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov).
  • Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
  • If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
  • Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
  • Obtain and use a government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
  • Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.
  • Pass a pre-employment physical examination.
  • Wear required safety clothing and/or equipment required by the position. This may include safety shoes, hard hats, hearing protection, gloves, masks, etc.
  • Shift Work: This facility operates on a 24 hour per day, three-shift basis. Assignment to a specific shift cannot be guaranteed. The successful applicant must be available to work on all three shifts on a rotational basis.
  • Weekend work and overtime, if applicable, will be scheduled when needed based on production requirements as determined by Management.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application includes your résumé, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your résumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your résumé may result in a "not qualified" determination.

*** PLEASE READ CAREFULLY***
Rating: A Two-phase rating method will be used. In using this method, answers to the online application questions will constitute 25% of your overall rating. The remaining 75% will be determined by your artwork.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated in the following areas:
  • Ability to do the Work of the Position Without More Than Normal Supervision (Screen out)
  • Technical Practices (theoretical, precise, artistic)
  • Ability To Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (other than blueprints)
  • Ability To Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment

**Failure to submit artwork will disqualify applicants. Submit your 4 pieces of artwork to LetterandScript@bep.gov in either a JPEG or PDF format.

Your artwork will be evaluated by a Subject Matter Expert (SME)/Art panel in the following areas: Composition/Layout, Draftsmanship, Rendering, Perspective and Proficiency.

**Failure to meet the minimum art panel score of 60 out of 100 will remove you from consideration

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)) you must be assigned the top category or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes:

Four pieces of artwork, in the following categories: Still Life, Portrait, Landscape, Lettering or Figure. Do not submit more than four pieces of artwork. Please identify what method or medium was used to create each piece of art that is submitted in your portfolio. Please submit your artwork to LetterandScript@bep.gov in either a JPEG or PDF format. To meet file size limitations, applicants may send separate emails for each submittal. *Failure to submit artwork will disqualify applicants.

All applicants must submit a résumé showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed. All applicants are required to submit arésumé either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your résumé to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view résume tips.

All applicants must submit a Performance Appraisal or explanation: a copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating. If it is not dated within the last 18 months, or if you have not received a performance appraisal, please explain why in your application. Note that 'N/A' is not an acceptable answer. If you do not provide a copy of the performance appraisal, or a statement advising why it is unavailable, you will be removed from further consideration.

All applicants must submit vacancy assessment question responses: All applicants are required to complete vacancy question responses by clicking the apply online button of this vacancy announcement.

CURRENT AND FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES -- Documentation Relating to Your Federal Employment:- Submit a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which shows your current (or most recent) grade and competitive service status. (The "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2".)
- If you are currently on a Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA), submit a copy of an SF-50 showing that. Also, you must submit a copy of your DD214 or other documentation showing dates of service and type of discharge and any other applicable documents such as SF-15, VA letters, etc.
- Indicate on your application the highest permanent grade you have held; if this grade is different from your current grade, submit a copy of an additional SF-50 showing this grade.
- Federal employees must submit a copy of their latest SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" that reflects career or career-conditional tenure showing position title, series, grade and tenure (please do not submit an Award SF-50 as it does not provide the needed information) and, if different, an SF-50 showing highest permanent grade ever held or you may not be considered under the merit promotion process. https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/service/SF-50/

CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) OR INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP) DOCUMENTATION: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents you must submit in order to be eligible.

NON-COMPETITIVE REINSTATEMENT: If you are a former federal employee that has been separated for at least 1 year and wish to be non-competitively reinstated to a higher grade or full performance level than which you left federal employment, you MUST provide a copy of your separation SF50 (the "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2") AND you MUST submit a qualifying performance appraisal from your most recent career or career-conditional position of at least Fully Successful (or equivalent). You will NOT be given consideration for non-competitive reinstatement, under this option, if a performance appraisal document is not submitted.

If you are applying under a special hiring authority (e.g. Military Spouses, Interchange Agreement, VEOA, VRA, Schedule A Disability, etc.), please see applicant guide for required documentation. In order to be eligible under one of these authorities, you must submit all required documentation as outlined in the applicant guide.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has partnered with the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide certain personnel services to its organization. Fiscal Service's responsibilities include advertising vacancies, accepting and handling applications, and extending job offers.

You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date.

Are you unsure how to write your federal resume? We are here to help. The Treasury Recruitment Service regularly offers Writing Your Federal Resume training sessions, and other career-related information sessions, to assist you in your career search journey. To register for a session, click here to go to our Career Information Sessions webpage.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

  • To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
  • Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
If you wish to make changes/updates to your application and the vacancy is still open, you can click on the job announcement and "Update Application" to be taken back to your application.

No updates can be made once the announcement has closed.

For additional information on how to apply, please visit the Partnership for Public Service's Go Government website.

For additional information on the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the ADA, please click on the links below:

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Treasury and its bureaus from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Treasury by email at, FairChanceAct@treasury.gov.

To learn more, please visit our page at: Treasury.gov/fairchanceact.

To preview the assessment questionnaire: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12621500

Agency contact information

Applicant Call Center
Address
Associate Director - Manufacturing
Administrative Resource Center
Parkersburg, WV 26101
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application. Once the job has been located, click the "Track this application" link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can scroll down and review any notifications the agency has sent you. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated.

For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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