Partnership Strengthens Lifelong Learning Opportunities for Tech Employees
Structural change to have a lasting impact on professional development for staff and faculty across Georgia Tech
Members of the Georgia Tech Human Resources (GTHR) and Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE) leadership teams met last month to finalize a structural change that will have a lasting impact on professional development for staff and faculty across Georgia Tech.
Workplace Learning & Professional Development (WLPD), a department that facilitates learning opportunities for Georgia Tech employees, has transitioned from GTHR to GTPE, the Institute’s lifelong learning arm, consolidating all professional learning under one unit in alignment with the Institute’s strategic focus on efficiency and workforce development. The organizational shift went into effect December 1.
“We saw a clear opportunity to align with the Institute’s strategic plan and lead by example to create a culture of deliberate innovation specifically in our learning practices,” said Kim D. Harrington, Georgia Tech’s chief human resources officer. “With this shift, we are forging a new matrixed organization through a strong partnership with GTPE focused on learning and development opportunities for the people of Georgia Tech.”
"GTPE is no stranger to building a world class workforce for industry partners, and we see this as a perfect opportunity to do the same for Georgia Tech, said Nelson Baker, dean of professional education. “We welcome our WLPD colleagues to the GTPE family and we look forward to collaborating on how to collectively provide the best professional development for all Institute employees.”
As an academic division of Georgia Tech, GTPE offers lifelong learning opportunities for professionals on-campus, online and at employer worksites. They possess the content development, deployment, and technology infrastructure to deliver professional development opportunities to adult learner audiences.
Given this infrastructure, centralizing and consolidating lifelong learning efforts and moving WLPD into GTPE was identified as a way to amplify learning opportunities for Tech employees.
With this transition, Georgia Tech employees will eventually be able to access more than 600 business, leadership, and industry-specific courses and certificates in GTPE’s extensive professional education portfolio, as well as experience the same dynamic, interactive programming WLPD is known for, including:
- New Employee Experience
- A six-month program designed to help new employees get acclimated to Georgia Tech.
- Professional Development Circles
- A small, organized group of professionals who gather to build connections and enhance management skills.
- MentorTech Partnerships
- A professional partnership program designed to cultivate dynamic leaders.
- Learning Resources
- An annual catalog of curated, self-directed learning resources available to all employees.
For more information about GTPE programs, visit https://pe.gatech.edu/.
