No matter what skill set you’re trying to build or improve, UCOP Learning and Development can help. Start growing your career today with free workshops!

Select each course name to register. All listings reflect Pacific Time. Classes are virtual unless otherwise indicated.

Personal and professional growth

Delivery Skills for Connecting with Your Audience
May 8, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
No matter who you’re presenting to, how you share your information matters. This interactive workshop will help you gain the skills to make your next presentation succeed. We’ll identify common presentation and public-speaking anxieties, then learn to prepare for and overcome them; explore presentation styles and techniques to keep your audience engaged; and discover new tips and tricks to make your presentations stand out!

Leading Across Difference: Understanding Self, Understanding Leadership
May 10 & May 17, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Learn how to disrupt racial bias and anti-Blackness; increase your awareness of race-based institutional, structural and systemic inequity; and apply this knowledge to cultivate leadership skills at all levels. Leaders will use the facilitator’s Authentic Leadership model to examine their biases’ structural impact and discover growth areas. The facilitation will follow social-emotional best practices to ensure a supportive environment amidst sensitive content. Key takeaways include:

• A foundational understanding of the historical and social foundations of structural racism and anti-Blackness in America
• Leadership skills to strengthen relationships with colleagues and direct reports
• Contemplative tools for evaluating your leadership capacity on an ongoing basis
• Connections with a community of leaders who are equipped to transform workplace culture

Design Thinking to Focus, Collaborate and Play
May 22, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Design thinking helps build your ability to think creatively and work collaboratively to solve significant problems. In this hands-on, online workshop, you’ll learn the key aspects of design thinking, including working with stakeholders to co-create innovative solutions; participate in a design challenge with colleagues; and learn valuable tips and techniques for collaborating and problem-solving in the workplace and beyond.

Technology

Microsoft Excel Macro and VBA
May 15 and 22, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
In this two-part series, you’ll learn how Macros and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) can help you customize and automate repetitive tasks in Excel. Macros can automate tasks to be repeated and where they are limited, VBA coding can expand your ability to perform necessary tasks. Topics include recording, executing, editing and adding VBAs to Macros; interacting, design-decision-making and looping VBAs; and debugging VBA techniques. Before enrolling you must have completed MS Excel Intermediate or have the requisite skills taught in that class.

PDF Accessibility
May 23, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
This course focuses on Adobe Acrobat and advanced PDF accessibility remediation techniques. You will learn to edit or enhance accessibility within a PDF file and check PDFs with a screen reader.

Safety

UCOP Safety: Basic Awareness
May 14 or June 5, 1 – 2 p.m.
Melissa Collins, Program Manager for Security, Risk and Resilience, will facilitate this live virtual class that will provide basic safety tips to help employees feel informed, alert and safe as they travel to and from the workplace. Extra time will be allotted for questions and feedback.

UCOP Safety: Active Attacker Training
May 23 or June 12, 1 – 2 p.m.
This live virtual class will teach participants skills and strategies to respond if exposed to active attacker situations. The course will review real-life incidents and discuss options in the event of potential similar encounters.

New employees

UCOP STEP Training: Define Criteria
May 1, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
In this instructor-led STEP training, we will expand on the materials presented in the STEP Fundamentals for Employees eCourse by going into detail on the first stage of STEP, called Define Criteria. You will practice writing goals and review strategies for choosing focus competencies.

New Employee Orientation
Oakland, in-person: May 14, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. (PT)
Starting a new job or at a new UC location can be daunting. This session is designed to facilitate your smooth transition to the organization. We’ll cover UC and its history; an overview of UCOP as an organization; employee tools and resources; safety; and compliance. You are encouraged to attend a session as soon as possible; however, your orientation attendance date does not impact your benefits enrollment period (31 days from your benefits eligibility date).

People leaders

GROWing Your Check-In Conversations for Managers
May 2, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
GROW is a popular coaching framework used worldwide for problem-solving, goal-setting and performance improvement. This interactive session allows managers to discuss and practice using the GROW framework as a strategy and tool to support engaging STEP checkpoint conversations. GROW is a simple meeting structure that supports a growth and development stance in employee-manager coaching and feedback conversations. The ecourse “GROWing your Checkpoint Conversations must be taken before this class.”

GROW Plus: Accountability Conversations for Managers
May 9, 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
In the second part of our live, virtual and highly interactive training series on manager and employee performance conversations, we will focus on what to do if your coaching is not improving performance. We’ll cover providing productive critical feedback, managing emotions, creating efficient documentation and holding effective accountability conversations. You will also practice having accountability conversations using the UCOP GROW Plus framework. Previous STEP trainings are all prerequisites to this course.

People Leader Forum: Addressing Conflict in the Workplace
May 17, 1 – 2 p.m.
The People Leader Forum is a monthly opportunity for people managers to connect while developing leadership skills, building community, sharing best practices, swapping strategies for navigating current challenges and learning to support themselves and their teams. In this month’s session, UCOP Ombudsperson Callale Concon will share strategies to address and navigate conflicts in the workplace.

Wellness

For the classes below, register at strive2bfit.com. Download registration instructions (Box log-in required).

Stretch ‘n De-Stress
Fridays: May 3 – May 31, 8:30 – 9 a.m.
Stretch your body and de-stress your mind with this meditative practice. This class is designed to help stretch the muscles, release stress, and focus on calming the mind, blending stretches and deep breathing for a rejuvenating exercise.

Burnout Prevention
May 8, 1 – 1:45 p.m. (PT)
Escape from persistent burnout is within reach! Begin by recognizing the signs, taking proactive steps and embracing mental wellness exercises to cultivate a joyful, healthier environment. This webinar will help you discover the path to a brighter, more balanced life.

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