International Programs

The U.S. Census Bureau offers customized courses and workshops on a wide variety of topics. The training program emphasizes the practical skills necessary to improve the statistical capacity of individuals and institutions. The Census Bureau leverages the broad expertise of the agency to train national statistical organizations throughout the world. The Census Bureau’s program reflects over six decades of training experience, as well as current and emerging “best practices” on how to acquire, maintain, and apply new knowledge and skills.

Training is delivered internationally or through donor agency-sponsored study tours at the Census Bureau headquarters near Washington, D.C., and online through an interactive e-learning program currently under development. All e-learning courses will be interactive and free of charge.

Instructors

The Census Bureau has a permanent international training staff and part-time instructors drawn from the Census Bureau and other institutions in the Washington, D.C. area. Instructors have experience working overseas and, typically, a number of years of experience with other operational divisions of the Census Bureau. The international staff consists of demographers, mathematical statisticians, survey statisticians, computer specialists, social science analysts, geographers, and other professionals.

Participants

Training programs cover both technical and non-technical skills. Course levels range from basic to advanced, and are appropriate for high and mid-level management, and technical staff (data analysts, programmers, GIS specialists, statisticians).

Training for statisticians and technicians is designed for participants who have had some working experience (at least a year) in national statistical programs. Formal educational background may vary from high school graduation to advanced university degrees. Depending on the subject of the workshop, academic training in mathematics, statistics, and demography or economics is desirable. Specialized programs, such as advanced geography workshops, require participants to have more specific skills. For programs conducted in English, the ability to communicate in English in speech and writing is also required.

Training for GIS specialists, geographers, and cartographers is designed for participants who either already have work or educational experience in GIS or are experienced with paper-based mapping. Academic training in geography is desirable. Programs can cover a range of GIS and mapping techniques, cartography and map/atlas design, and web mapping and web GIS.

Funding

Participants must have funding to cover all costs in order to attend a training program. The Census Bureau cannot provide funding for participants, nor can it make recommendations to a sponsoring agency on behalf of a prospective participant.