FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. -- The Army's chief of Civilian Training and Leader Development Division spoke to about 300 government civilian employees at a special training session for the Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Signal Command (Army), Jan. 19, in the command's auditorium.

Vicki Brown, from the Department of the Army G-37, provided an update on the Army's current civilian training and leadership development programs.

Brown said the purpose of this briefing is to help civilian employees of the Army gain leadership and management experience and knowledge in order to advance in their careers.

"We have to fight against the mindset of hiring a qualified employee for a specific job, so why is there a need for advanced training'"

One of the goals Brown spoke about was getting government employees to participate in the Army's progressive Civilian Education System training, which includes the Foundation, Basic, Intermediate and Advanced courses.

Brown said helping make both supervisors and employees aware of this training, will help ensure there are opportunities for advancement, and those who advance are trained managers and leaders. Brown said CES courses are easy to apply for and are available to all government civilian employees.

"Many of the leadership courses are now centrally funded," Brown said. "The commands can no longer say things like, 'It costs too much,' or 'We don't have the funding,' any more.

Headquarters, Department of the Army, pays for the tuition, per diem and lodging."

CES courses normally have both distance-learning and resident components, but others are done completely through distance learning for self-development. In some cases, equivalency credit can be given for prior military officer or noncommissioned officer courses.

Other programs available to Army civilians include academic degree training, and professional and long-term training at places such as George Washington University and Harvard University.

For more information on training programs, visit the following Web sites:
www.civiliantraining.army.mil - Army Civilian Training Home
www.amsc.belvoir.army.mil/academic/ces/ - Civilian Education System courses