Businesses become technologically savvy

Community and Continuing Education is planning to offer new training programs this fall in response to community needs.

Their goal is to enrich the lives of participants, keep them at the forefront of technological and educational advances and strengthen the regional community and economy.

“We offer two types of classes for the community. Professional development and training courses and enrichment classes,” said Diana Hunter, Senior Director of the program. “We have several hundred new classes a year according to the community demand. We watch which classes are having high enrollment and meet with businesses and citizens to find out what kind of classes they need.” The staff also meet with businesses and community members before planning courses for the year. All courses are taught by professionals and are non-credit.

Firm Advantage is the first of these new classes, created by Becky Sanderson, the Workforce Development Coordinator.

“After finding that most small business members who attended our courses had similar needs, we developed Firm Advantage,” said Sanderson. Training covers areas like understanding generational differences in the workplace, creating fierce customer to client loyalty, marketing with Facebook and Twitter for a social media presence and building a more efficient workplace through organization.

Classes are the first Tuesday of every month and provide not only great tools for business owners but networking opportunities as well, all for only $20 per session.

Sanderson has also created Fiber Optic Certification courses. “It is a focus point of the Obama administration to have the country on a fiber optic network,” said Sanderson. “It is important to us to provide training that is forward-thinking and long lasting.”

Students may be certified as Fiber Optic Technicians (CFOT), Fiber Optic Specialists in Testing (CFOS/T) or Fiber Optic Specialists in Splicing (CFOS/S), and cost between $675 to $700. Classes are offered between Oct. 19 and 27 and may be taken in succession for multiple certifications.

This attention to the dynamic nature of technology and the community that propels it is what makes these classes so successful. The Community Education program is the first and only in the state to have a Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) certification, being added this fall. Students who completed certification had a 100 percent pass rate on the rigorous Senior Professional in Human Resources exam as compared to the national pass rate for the exam at 54 percent. Classes are $995 and run from September-November.

To register for classes and learn more about class prices and times or to view all course listings visit http://www.uvu.edu/ce/

Prior to the beginning of each term, the Discover brochure also has a list of all classes and is distributed throughout the community. Copies are also available at multiple locations on the UVU Orem Campus. To learn more or to subscribe visit http://www.uvsc.edu/conted/optin/