Course List
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This class will start on April 29, 2025 and end on July 8, 2025
Welcome!
We are excited to announce the launching of the New Public Sector HR Essentials course.
Thank you for your course registration. We are so excited you have looked to PSHRA® to help you grow in your career.
Whether you want to sharpen your skills, transitioning to public sector, want a refresher, this is the place you belong.
With this change, the PSHRA-CP certification component will operate separately with a brand-new proctored exam and certification process. The course, exam, and certification will no longer be packaged together. There will be separate fee to take the CP Exam and become certified.
The new course includes:
- Condensed 10-week format
- Flexible schedule and learn at your own pace, anytime, anywhere and 24/7
- Public Sector Focused – Tailored for you
- Delivered online and asynchronously
- 4 Live Zoom Course Check-ins and 1 hour in length
- Get Personalized feedback and support
- Course Dashboard contains everything you need – no third-party textbook to buy.
All your course materials are included on your course dashboard (no textbook to buy).
Don’t hesitate to contact us:
- PSHRA – Debbie Tankersely-Snook, Associate Director, Member Programs, Membership - meetings@pshra.org
Making public sector work better®.
PSHRA’s Public Sector HR Essentials Certificate Course Syllabus
Please let us know if you run into any problems or have questions as soon as possible. We want to make sure you are to have the best possible learning experience.
Course Material (All you need is on your dashboard)
- PSHRE Workbook (PDF and Word Versions)
- Public Sector HR Essentials Lessons Summary
- HR20/20 Report
Meetings and Discussions:
- Course Cohort Meetings take place in Zoom Events – You will receive your Individual Zoom Link once the course starts.
- Course Discussion Board take place in Your Course’s Engage Community – You will be automatically enrolled into this community. Your course’s community Link is - Coming Soon.
Course Design:
The course spans ten weeks and follows a specific timeline with a sequence of lessons and cohort sessions. You will receive details about the dates, times, and locations of cohort sessions.
Time Commitment:
Plan for 1 hours for each online lesson to read, complete activities, and prepare for cohort sessions. Individuals have varying learning paces, so it might take more or less time for each person. We recommend completing lessons a day or two before the cohort sessions to allow time for reflection on what you've learned and the development of your plans. All course materials are included on your course dashboard (no textbook is required).
Course Cohort Session Schedule (subject to change):
- Start Date: 4/29/2025
- Completion Date: 7/8/2025
- Cohort Session 1: 5/14/2025 - 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm ET
- Cohort Session 2: 5/28/2025 - 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm ET
- Cohort Session 3: 6/11/2025 - 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm ET
- Cohort Session 4: 6/25/2025 - 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm ET
Course Content:
Week 1 - Introduction
Week 2 - Lesson 1: Public Sector Basics
Week 3 - Lesson 2: Recruitment
Cohort Session 1: Public Sector HR Basics & Recruitment
Week 4 - Lesson 3: Selection
Week 5 - Lesson 4: Classification and Compensation
Cohort Session 2: Selection, Classification & Compensation
Week 6 - Lesson 5: Benefits
Week 7 - Lesson 6: Labor and Employee Relations
Cohort Session 3: Benefits and Labor Management Relations
Week 8 - Lesson 7: Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity
Week 9 - Lesson 8: Organizational Development
Cohort Session 3: Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity, Organization and Final
Week 10 - Lesson 9: Course Summary
Certificate of Attendance:
You will earn a Certificate of Completion upon completion of the course.
Cancellation Policy:
Professional Development Cancelation Policy
Making public sector work better®.
Michele Voelkert
Human Resources Analyst
Calbright College
Michele Massio-Voelkert is an Human Resources Analyst with Calbright College, a California Community College. Michele has over 20 years of HR experience in both the public and private sector, with 13 years in local government. Michele specializes in training, development, and recruitment and holds a B.S. in Business Management and an M.S. in Human Resources. Michele also holds a SHRM California Employment Law Credential as well as an IPMA-CP. Michele lives in California with her husband and teenage daughter. In her free time, Michele enjoys reading mysteries and traveling.
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This course is open from April 22, 2025 to June 6, 2025
Syllabus: Public Sector HR Executive Leadership Certificate Program
Start Date: April 22, 2025
End Date: June 6, 2025
Instructor: Bernadette Costello, Ed.D., PCC, SHRM-CP, Managing Partner, BCC Consulting
PSHRA Contact: Debbie Tankersely-Snook, tankersely@pshra.org
Welcome:
Welcome to PSHRA's Public Sector HR Executive Leadership Certificate Program. This course will enhance your HR public sector leadership skills and help you develop targeted initiatives to improve your agency.
Your first live Cohort meeting will be held on April 24th at 2:30 pm ET. You will be sent a Zoom Event Link before the start of your course.
Course Outcomes
This course is designed to help you build your HR competencies and help you strategically position HR as a transformative business partner and leader in the organization.
To achieve this, the course focuses on 3 related areas:
- Your skill set in the 4 HR Lenses: business acumen; innovation; strategic orientation; and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. As part of this course, you will build a personal development plan for these competencies.
- Your skill set in the HR Areas of Focus: leadership, culture, talent, technology, and communication. You will build a personal development plan for these competencies as well.
- Finally, you'll learn strategies for building, presenting, and gaining buy-in for the initiatives you develop to improve how HR is positioned within your agency.
You will finish this course with:
- a personal professional development plan,
- actions you will take to improve how HR is positioned within your agency.
Certificate:
You will earn a Certificate of Executive Leadership from PSHRA with your successful completion of both the online lessons and cohort session.
You may have attended an Executive Leadership in-person course. Welcome! This learning experience will complement and enhance the material from that program and provide additional support as you build your leadership expertise.
Course Design:
This course includes six lessons that you'll take online and three cohort sessions where you'll meet with peers also taking this course. The online lessons will give you an opportunity to assess your development opportunities; teach important concepts, principles, and practices; and will help you begin planning improvement initiatives. Explore the course interactive elements and links to outside references to get the most out of the course. The cohort discussions will give you an opportunity to share ideas and learn from your peers. In the cohort discussions you will further develop and refine the improvement plans you draft in the online sessions.
Time Commitment:
The more dedicated time and effort you put into this course the more you will get out of it.
To read the material, complete the activities, and prepare for the cohort discussions, consider scheduling 60 - 90 minutes for each lesson. Try to take the lesson at least several days before the cohort discussion - to give yourself time to reflect on what you have learned and the plans you have developed.
Online Cohort Schedule (Subject to Change):
Cohort #1 – 4/24/2025 - 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM ET
Cohort #2 – 5/7/2025 - 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET
Cohort #3 -- 5/22/2025 - 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM ET
Cohort #4 -- 6/5/2025 - 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM ET
Week 1:
Online Lesson (self-paced)
Lesson 1: Introduction
Course Introduction.
Cohort Session (virtual)
Session 1: Introduction
Reviewing and discussing the content from the first lesson.
Week 2:
Online Lesson (self-paced)
Lesson 2: Assess Your Skills Through the Critical Lenses
Learn more about business acumen; innovation; strategic orientation; and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Cohort Session (virtual)
Session 2: Introduction and Assess Your Skill Set
Reviewing and discussing the content from the second lesson.
Week 3:
Online Lesson (self-paced)
Lesson 3: Assess Your Skills Through the Areas of Focus
Learn more about leadership, culture, talent, technology, and communication.
Week 4:
Online Lesson (self-paced)
Lesson 4: Your Role as a Trusted Advisor
Learn about executive presence, leading with empathy, and how to build trust to drive collaboration.
Cohort Session (virtual)
Session 3: Area of Focus Skills and Being a Trusted Advisor
Reviewing and discussing the content from the third and fourth lesson.
Week 5:
Online Lesson (self-paced)
Lesson 5: Creating a Personal Development Plan
Take all that you've learned in the online lessons and cohort sessions and create a personal development plan.
Week: 6
Online Lesson (self-paced)
Lesson 6: Leveraging Your Skills
Create a plan to influence agency strategy and short-term projects based upon the skills learned in this course.
Cohort Session (virtual)
Session 4: Personal Development Plan and Leveraging Your Skills
Reviewing and discussing the content from the fifth and sixth lessons.
Course Workbook:
The course includes a workbook. You'll use the workbook throughout the course to reflect on what you're learning, record ideas, plan for future personal development, and plan activities for your agency. There are two versions:
- a PDF version - if you'd like to print it and write your answers and ideas and
- an MS Word version - if you'd prefer to work electronically.
The files have the same content - just differences in page layout. You will use the workbook while taking the online lessons and while attending the cohort sessions.
The workbook is available by selecting the Course Materials tab and then Executive Leadership Workbook.
Making public sector work better®.
Dr. Bernadette Costello
Managing Partner
BCC Consulting
Bernadette Costello is the Managing Partner for BCC Consulting. The foundation of her coaching and consulting practice is “You are Exactly Where You Are Supposed To Be.” Affirming where you are is the first step in any transformation. Transformation is like looking into a labyrinth: a path for discovery, understanding & clarity. One way in & one way out-there are no dead ends. That symbolism expresses Bernadette’s approach to coaching, consulting, learning and the sacred space created with clients to support their journey. Bernadette has over 25 years of talent development, coaching, consulting, and leadership experience in human resources and talent development in the public, non-profit, and higher education sectors. She is also an adjunct faculty member in the George Mason University’s School of Business and Schar School of Policy and Government. Sheis certified in several assessment tools which include Myers Briggs, DiSC, EQi,and Appreciation in the WorkplaceMBA. Bernadette received a Bachelor of Social Work from SIUE, a Masters inPublic Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hilland a doctorate in Higher Education fromGeorge Mason University. She is an ACC certified coach, an Energy LeadershipIndex Master Practitioner and holds a SHRM-SCP certification.
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