Western on the Peninsulas to Offer New Continuing Education Courses this Spring

Western Washington University on the Peninsulas will offer professional development courses in its new Continuing Education program this spring; each course is open to the public and will be held at Olympic College’s Poulsbo campus.

The five spring Continuing Education courses highlight important topics for working professionals in supervisory or managerial roles, offering tips and techniques for marketing, hiring new employees and more.

The first course, “Employment Law and Business: What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You,” will begin on Thursday, April 9 and is taught by experienced employment law attorney, James McCanna. The course covers employment law basics for those responsible for applying it within a business setting.

McCanna, an expert in regulatory compliance-related challenges and human resource issues, will give participants an overview of Department of Labor Standards, job descriptions (exempt vs. non-exempt), employee claims, unemployment, employer/employee relations, the Fair Labor Standard Act, the Family Medical Leave Act and Department of Licensing audits.

Interested participants are encouraged to attend McCanna’s free Western Lecture Series event, titled “Marijuana Law and Its Impact on Employers,” as a preview of his Continuing Education course. The free lecture will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 2 in Olympic College Poulsbo Room 105.

Current or future business owners, managers, supervisors, human resource professionals and project managers are encouraged to register for “Employment Law and Business” online before the April 7 registration deadline.

“Performance Management: How to Help Your Employees and Your Business be Successful” will begin on Friday, April 17 and is taught by Human Resources expert, Paula Willems. The course focuses on techniques that will help with managing and coaching employee performance.

“Multiple Generations in the Workplace: Working Together Effectively” will begin on Friday, April 24 and is also taught by Paula Willems. The course reviews background information on various generations, learning the best practices for coaching, motivating and communicating with employees of all ages.

“Marketing to Compound Your Results: ‘What Next’ Thinking” will begin on Tuesday, April 7 and will be taught by professional speaker, Dave Mitchell. The course covers methods for better understanding of ideal customers, help with developing strategies to communicate personal values and communication strategies that turn customers into repeat buyers.

“From Hire to Hero: Training Employees to Become Superstars” will begin on Tuesday, May 5 and is also taught by Dave Mitchell. The course focuses on how to develop a workplace culture committed to excellence through methods for hiring successful employees, effective strategies for use in employee trainings and tools for utilizing the skills of employees in order to create competency within positions.

In partnership with Olympic College, Western on the Peninsulas offers four-year degrees, free educational lectures, local literature book groups and Continuing Education courses.

For more information on Continuing Education or the programs listed above, please visit wwu.edu/Poulsbo, call (360)394-2733, or e-mail Western.Peninsulas@wwu.edu.