Training
By Jim Boyd, Training Services As we start a new fiscal year, my sense is that it’s a good time to write about and review the development opportunities afforded to employees through WYDOT University. First however, I want to discuss the reasons why employees should care about employee development. As the manager of the training program, I’ve heard many comments about employee development over the years. One of the most common perceptions I’ve run into has to do with the disconnect between engaging in a development opportunity and advancing into higher level positions. Essentially, why should one spend time on employee development when they see little to no advancement opportunities? To be honest, it’s a fair question. Employee development, like attending a workshop or program, completing an online class, or even going back to school, takes time, may or may not be specifically related to one’s occupation, and may end up not being what was expected. Plus, this doesn’t even cover whether the effort ended in anything tangible. My short answer is this; development is ultimately not about advancement. Instead, it’s about improvement. A by-product of development might be to advance in a career, either at WYDOT or elsewhere. However, even if it doesn’t go that route, it still matters. For example, taking a course about productivity might not help increase your salary, but it might give you some techniques to better manage your workload so that you can handle those days when things seem unbearable. Attending a webinar on the latest design techniques might help you bring back some innovative ideas to your work team, and going through our new supervisor program, WY Supervise, may end up giving you the tools and techniques you need to have the most difficult conversations with employees turn into the most productive ones. My belief is that employee development matters. At WYDOT, if you’re looking for employee development opportunities, you should start by accessing the WYDOT Employee Learning Library, or WELL. Employees are automatically assigned an account in the WELL upon hire and should receive a message with your username and password. Once in the WELL system, you can find all types of training. A good place to start is by clicking on the “Find Training” button. There, you have 3 catalogs, Internal, External, and Additional Training. The Internal Training catalog contains training you can register for and/or complete IN THE WELL. Here are a few to look for: Workshops: filter by “Enrollments” to find workshops that have been scheduled throughout the year as well as find workshops that can be offered as soon as we have enough interest (these are called “Wish list” classes). eLearning: filter by “Course” to find training you can take at your computer. Start one and stop it at your own pace. When you come back, look in the “My Learning” section to find it and resume where you left off. Programs: filter by “Learning Plan” to find a collection of
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October 2021
Photo: Rick Carpenter
WYDOT’s employee development
A WYDOT U classroom filled with employees attending a new supervisor’s training.
learning based on a subject. For example, you can find learning themes, tracks, and pathways like WY Supervise here. If you return to the “Find Training” button, you can select the External Course Catalog which contains training that’s hosted by our partners and that is EXTERNAL TO THE WELL. Once you find a course, you will be redirected to a different site where you will need to register and enroll. Think of this like a SMART TV. It’ll take you to Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu, but you’ll need an account for each one to access the content. However, once you’ve signed up, you’ll have full access to everything our partners offer! Here again, are a few to look for: Transportation Learning Network (TLN): filter by “TLN” to find current transportation related (and some soft skills) webinars you can watch on your computer. Transportation Curriculum Coordination Council (TC3): filter where you see “TC3” to find eLearning transportation related curriculum you can take anytime. Lastly, return to the “Find Training” button one more time, and you can select the Additional Training Resources section. This is where you can find other sources for safety, technical, and vocational training. Here finally, are a few to look for: Google Apps: Click the Google link to find self paced training guides for everything Google. LinkedIn Learning State Library: As a state employee, you have access to LinkedIn Learning’s suite of online classes. You’ll need your library card and password to enter. Readitfor.me: WYDOT employees have access to hundreds of non-fiction employee and leadership development book summaries. This is a great way to learn a little bit about all sorts of topics in only a little bit of time. Job aids are available on the WELL to help you set up accounts for any development opportunity that’s external to the WELL. As always, please contact any team member with Training Services, or through dot-training@wyo.gov if you have additional questions. We’re here to support you. n
