This department recognizes that our most important and valuable resources is the men and women it employs. The department realizes also that the better trained and better educated they are the more valuable they become to the department, the community they serve and to themselves and their families. It is incumbent therefore, upon the department and its employees alike to develop and seek opportunities to enhance individual growth by the furtherance and achievement of career and personal goals.
To promote these ends the department has initiated a program of career development designed to assist employees with improving their ability to perform their current job and prepare for movement upward or laterally in the organization. This process will help prepare employees to achieve their desired career objectives such as promotion and/or specialization and will provide opportunities for individual growth and stimulation at all levels.
Program Components:
In-service training -- two forms: In-service training is an important component of the departments career development program. The department will hold regular in-service training in which members take classes in work-related topics.
- Proficiency training is intended to keep the employee up-to-date on the duties and responsibilities of the job presently being performed and to enhance the employees skills beyond the minimum level and thereby increase the potential for upward mobility.
- Specialty training is designed to stimulate employees to prepare for new areas of interest and specialization, to maintain and enhance the skills of members already assigned to specialized units and to increase the overall potential of the employee to advance in the department.
Included in the above is specialty training in management and supervision offered by both the department and the City of Saint Paul Office of Human Resources which is designed to assist our personnel in continued advancement in these positions.
Higher education: Higher education is perhaps the most satisfying component of the career development program as it allows department personnel to gain a more insightful understanding of society, to communicate more effectively and to engage in the exploration of new ideas and concepts. All personnel are encouraged to receive a bachelors degree from an accredited college or university and are urged to make use of the citys tuition and reimbursement plan in the pursuit thereof.
Objectives of Career Development:
- To improve the departments utilization of each employees skills, knowledge and abilities.
- To encourage all employees to further their education and training in the skills, knowledge and abilities of their current position and in areas of expressed interest.
- To assist employees in preparing themselves for accepting positions of greater or differing responsibility.
- To guide each employees self-assessment relative to her/his career goals (such as promotion, specialization, etc.)
- To identify the potential number of personnel benefiting from the utilization of the career development program.
- To ensure that the department is providing career development opportunities consistent with the objectives set forth for equal employment opportunity and affirmative action objectives as promulgated in the affirmative action and equal employment opportunity program adopted by the city.
o The Saint Paul Police Department actively encourages minority and female persons to apply for positions within the organization.
o Minority and female employees are afforded equal opportunity for self-development and advancement within the organization.
Program Administration:
Authority and responsibility for the administration of the career development program is vested in the commander of the training unit. The commander is authorized to manage both the programs operation and direction and shall provide for the following.
- To establish requirements for and provide the necessary training for all personnel assigned to conduct career development activities. This training should provide increased knowledge and skills in at least the following areas:
o General counseling techniques.
o Assessment techniques for determining skills, knowledge and abilities.
o Salary, benefits and training opportunities of the department.
o Educational opportunities and incentive programs.
o Awareness of cultural backgrounds of ethnic groups in the program.
o Record keeping techniques.
o Career development programs of other jurisdictions.
o Availability of outside resources.
- Maintenance of an annual inventory of the skills, knowledge and abilities of each employee. The individual inventories shall be completed during the annual career development/employee evaluation interview.
- Establish and maintain on file an inventory of career specialties within the department including the skills, knowledge and abilities (SKAs) needed for each specialty. Career specialty in-service training shall be based on these SKAs. This inventory shall be made available to all program participants.
- Maintenance of an annual inventory of resources used to develop in-service training requirements of the career development program. This inventory shall list the external and internal resources of the training classes and should include a brief description of the training offered by the resources.
- Maintenance and distribution of information regarding requirements, procedures and opportunities for promotion and/or transfer.
- Administration and implementation of the mandatory and career development in-service training programs to consist of proficiency and specialty training.
o All sworn employees of the department shall be required to attend in-service training on an annual basis. The in-service training module which should contain both required and elective courses of study are designed to test the employees proficiency in previously acquired skills, knowledge and abilities as well as to impart new skills, knowledge and abilities. An additional dimension of the in-service training module should focus on imparting knowledge about specialized assignments to employees currently considered generalists. An interested employee should be provided the opportunity to obtain knowledge necessary for her/him to pursue a specialized assignment.
o Career specialty training courses are provided by in-house training staff or through the utilization of outside resources. Specialty training in management techniques and supervision, which is designed to assist our personnel to improve and advance in these positions, is offered by both the Saint Paul Police Human Resources Unit and the City of Saint Paul Office of Human Resources department and shall be required of all supervisory level employees. Additionally, attendance at skill development courses is required of all sworn personnel upon promotion. Attendance at appropriate courses in the management development program offered by the office of human resources will satisfy the supervisor aspects of this requirement but operational specialty courses may also be required, e.g., investigative techniques, Drug Enforcement Administration course, etc.
- Maintain written records of all proficiency and career specialty in-service training of personnel. These records will be made available to supervisors/counselors for use in conducting the career counseling and performance evaluation interview. Supervisors are encouraged to make recommendations to training staff for improvements and specific needs in the departments training programs based on the counseling sessions.
- Liaison with administration to implement, where practical, the temporary assignment of personnel to specialized work units as a career development training assignment.
- To conduct a continuous monitoring and review of the career development program and to provide administration and employees with up-to-date information regarding requirements for achieving program goals. To conduct an annual evaluation of the career development program plan and submit a written report including any proposed revisions to the management team prior to the annual budget process.
Advanced Training and Higher Education:
Educational leave is established and authorized when absence from duty or employment is granted to an employee to undertake academic or vocational instruction as part of in-service training. Paid leave or absence from duty may be authorized to attend outside workshops, seminars or formal academic programs in the furtherance of departmental excellence. Procedures governing these activities are governed by General Order 336.10: Outside Schools Travel / Training Guidelines.
Tuition Reimbursement Program:
The City of Saint Paul has made available to all city employees a tuition reimbursement program. The policies and procedures regulating this program can be found on the city's intranet site.
All police department employees are strongly encouraged to utilize this educational opportunity in the pursuit of their career and personal enhancement.
Higher Education:
All personnel are encouraged to achieve a bachelors degree from an accredited college or university. In order to enhance academic study, department administration, within reason and whenever practical, will accommodate modification of employee shift assignments where otherwise irresolvable conflicts occur and when to do so is not in conflict with established labor contracts.
Revised July 1, 2011