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Certificate Programs

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PDS Certificate Series

Develop your professional and leadership skills through one of our certificate series! PDS offers four certificate programs as well as the discontinuance of the PDC, APDC, LDC, and ALDC certificate series for those that began the series prior to July 1, 2020. See the courses within each series below. All courses within a series must be completed within a five-year period. Enroll in courses through the LMS, and track your progress using the enrollment forms linked below. Upon the completion of your series, obtain the necessary signatures on the enrollment form verifying your completion, and PDS will issue your signed certificate!

Based on feedback over the past two years, we have updated our courses, introduced new courses and are now ready to launch our new certificate series! You will find classes from the previous certificate series--plus a few new ones!
 

New certificate series:

    -The Talent Development Certificate (TDC) is geared toward employees new to public sector employment but is open to any state employee.
    -The target audience for the Advanced Talent Development Certificate (ATDC) is employees who have been a public sector employee more than two years.
    -The Leadership Capacity Building Development Certificate (LCBDC) is for those interested in developing their leadership skills or leading initiatives as well as those new to leadership positions within the last two years.
    -The Management Development Certificate (MDC) is offered only to State of Iowa employees who are classified as a manager or supervisor. We encourage you to explore any of our course offerings to further your professional development.
 

NEW! FY23 Certificates and Dates at a Glance

 

Talent Development Certificate

(TDC)

 

Advanced Talent Development Certificate

(ATDC)

 

Leadership Capacity Building Development Certificate

(LCBDC)

 

Management Development Certificate*

(MDC)

*The MDC series is only available to employees classified as a manager or supervisor.

Cultural Competency

Customer Experience

Dimensions of Behavior

Diversity Training for Employees

Ethical Issues in Today's Workplace

Generational Diversity

Listening Skills

Professional Impact

Project Management Fundamentals

Preventing Sexual Harassment for Employees

State Government Foundations

Advanced Principles of Communication - Part 1 : Authenticity

Advanced Principles of Communication - Part 2 : Coaching

Creating a Violence Free Workplace

Enhancing Team Membership

Getting Things Done

Managing Stress & Workplace Accountability 

Role of the Lead Worker

Strategies for Achieving Work/Life Balance

Thriving on Change

Crucial Conversations

Dimensions of Leadership

Ethics of Leadership & Influence

From Interview to Hire

Financial Budgeting

Fundamentals of Supervision

Managing Effective Meetings

Performance Evaluation

Shaping Effective & Engaged Teams

The Servant Leader

Workplace Harassment

Americans with Disabilities Act

Crucial Accountability

Creative Thinking

Developing Employees

Discipline, Grievance, & the Merit System

Diversity Training for Managers & Supervisors

Emotional Intelligence

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action & Anti-Discrimination

Investigating Employee Misconduct

Leading Through Change

Managing Conflict & Resistance in the Workplace

Preventing Sexual Harassment for Supervisors

Project Management Seminar

*Advanced Thinking for Problem Solving Managers

(*formerly Strategic Planning and Problem Solving)
 

Substance Abuse Policy

TDC Enrollment Form ATDC Enrollment Form LCBDC Enrollment Form MDC Enrollment Form

IMPORTANT NOTICE

As of July 1, 2020 the following certificate series have been discontinued and anyone looking to complete a certificate series will need to complete the new ones. If you have already began one of the 4 following certificate series prior to July 1, 2020, you have 5 years to complete the courses from the date of the first course you have successfully completed in that series. All the courses in these certificates are currently still being offered.  

  • Professional Development Certificate (PDC) - No longer offered effective July 1, 2020
  • Advanced Development Certificate (APDC)No longer offered effective July 1, 2020
    • Must have completed all courses under the PDC certificate column before receiving the APDC certificate
    • Enrollment Form
  • Leadership Development Certificate (LDC - No longer offered effective July 1, 2020
  • Advanced Leadership Development Certificate (ALDC) -No longer offered effective July 1, 2020
    • The courses under the ALDC certificate are only available to employees classified as a manger or supervisor.
    • Must earn the LDC certificate before earning the ALDC Certificate, but managers and supervisors are encourage to enroll in coursework most encouraged by their agency.
    • Enrollment Form
       

Certificate Issuance

Course work must be completed within five (5) years of enrollment into the series. Upon completion of all course work within the same series, employees should notify their department's Training Liaison. PDS will then issue a certificate of completion signed by the Governor. Courses may be taken in any order, but the APDC cannot be issued before the PDC is issued, the ALDC cannot be issued before the LDC is issued, and the MDC cannot be issued before the LCBC is issued.
 

Iowa Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program

Performance & Development Solutions and Drake University have partnered to offer a CPM Program for Iowa. The purpose of the program is to guide public managers to incorporate best-practice management techniques into their everyday management strategies.