Courses and Programs
As part of Santa Barbara County Human Resources, the Employees’ University works in collaboration with our customers to develop, support and retain an ethical, diverse and high-performing workforce dedicated to providing excellent service to the community. The Employees’ University offers a variety of learning opportunities in north and south county. All employees, from line staff to executives, can take advantage of online, half-day, full-day, and multi-day sessions that help to build competencies and hone skills in alignment with the County's core values of customer-focus, accountability, and efficiency (ACE). Topics include computer skills, workplace communication, conflict resolution, presentation skills, strategic and operational leadership, administrative office skills and more. In 1998, the Employees' University established a partnership with Santa Barbara City College. Through this partnership employees are able to earn academic credit for many EU classes.
The Employees' University also offers a suite of classes specifically designed for employees in the administrative, financial, and legal office professional job categories. The instructor-led and online classes are listed on the office professional matrices and can also be accessed through the Office Professional Opportunities Board (SBC Intranet). The online courses for office professionals are available through Mindleaders.
Our highly successful Foundations of Operational Leadership (for rising leaders) and Foundations of Strategic Leadership (for supervisors, managers, and executives) have become recognized as the standard for leadership training in the region. Participants learn strategies to inspire and motivate staff while effectively adapting to change, enabling them to reach greater heights in quality public service.
A list of courses currently offered may be viewed on the current course schedule page or on the What's Coming Up page.
View Course Descriptions.
| Customized Training (Specialized training for County departments and external agencies) |
Customized training is a method that provides training tailored to the specific needs of departments or employees, when standard Employees' University classes are not the answer. If your department wants a group of employees to take the same EU class, at the same time, it can be arranged, just-in-time, to fit your schedule.
Classes can be held at a location of your choice or at the EU training center and classes can be customized to fit your unique business objectives. The EU can conduct a single class or a series of classes just for your department.
A minimum of 12 participants is required and discounts apply for large groups.
SBC departments: Click here for request form and rates.
External agencies: Click here for request form and rates.
A variety of computer classes are offered at the Employees' University in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria. Classes are offered in MS Office 2007 and include MS Project, PowerPoint, Outlook, Word, and Excel. Our computer lab consists of 20 PC's. North county classes are held at the Public Works Conference Room.
| Office Professional Skill Training Requirements |
These skill training matrices identify courses required for Office Professionals to progress in the class series.
Administrative Office Professional MatrixFinancial Office Professional MatrixLegal Office Professional Matrix
The EU hosts a Master of Public Administration in Public Sector Management degree completion program offered through the California State University at Northridge. This is a two year program and since 2007 approximately 57 participants have graduated. This program is open to County and non-County employees. Classes are held one night a week at the EU. For more information regarding this program, contact Patti Burleson at patti.burleson@csun.edu or check their web site at http://tsengcollege.csun.edu/mpaapply.