Approval Process
Training offered through the Bureau of Engineering, Bureau-wide. Any employee interested in any training offered on a Bureau-wide basis should only require approval to attend from their immediate supervisor/manager. The employee would need to complete a " Internal Training Request Form" form and submit it to his/her immediate supervisor for approval. Once approval is obtained, the training coordinator for the Group will facilitate attendance of the employee in the training (Attachment B and C for the flow chart and appropriate form).
Training offered through the Bureau of Engineering, Group sponsored. A person interested in training that is offered through a specific group should follow the same procedure as outlined for Bureau-wide training. In instances where seating for the training is limited, priority is given to the sponsoring group’s employees.
Training offered through outside sources. A person interested in training that is offered outside the Bureau must submit a "Specialized Training" form requesting the training to his or her supervisor stating the nature of the training, the cost, the timing of the course, where the training will be given, and the offering institution. The employee’s supervisor/manager would review this form and make a recommendation to the Group Manager. In making this recommendation, the supervisor/manager should consider the appropriateness of the training for the employee and employee’s workload. The Group Manager considers the supervisor/manager’s recommendation and approves or denies the request. If the training is approved within the group, it will then go to the Training Manager who will review the request, taking into account the funding required and the availability of the program through another source. The Training Manager needs to be notified at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the class, which implies that the supervisor should be notified at least 60 days prior to the class, to ensure timely processing.
Attendance and Tracking
It is the responsibility of the instructor to turn in the attendance sheet (for internal training) or the employee to notify their Training Coordinator or the Bureau Training Coordinator (for external training) to ensure that the Finance and Administration Program, Training Section receives documentation of training attended by employees. The Finance and Administration Program, Training Section staff then enters the information into the central BOE training database. A report is generated on a quarterly basis for the City’s Personnel Department that includes data on gender and ethnicity. Other quarterly reports list how many employees have taken training classes, and the training that was offered by groups. Other reports can be made available as requested by Group Managers or the City Engineer. Training requests are taken seriously. Once approved for class, an employee must attend the class unless they have notified the Bureau Training Coordinator of their inability to attend no later than 48 hours before the beginning of class. In case of an emergency, the employee should notify their supervisor of the reason for non-attendance of the class.