In order that county officials may be better informed about the numerous training and professional development opportunities available to them, NACo has moved its National Training Clearinghouse from InfoRamp to its site on the World Wide Web.
The impetus for this clearinghouse came from two NACo Training Division surveys sent out in late 1994 to more than 2,000 officials and state association training directors. Of those responding, 92 percent agreed that this should be a priority for NACo’s Training Division. Since its inception in the fall of 1995, the clearinghouse has featured hundreds of training and educational sessions from universities, colleges, state associations, outside organizations, NACo and NACo affiliates.
To access the clearinghouse, go to NACo’s World Wide Web site at http://www.PoliticsUSA.com/NACo. Once on the NACo home page, click on the services button located underneath the brief introduction. Under services, click on the County Service Dept. listing. Finally, click on the Training listing.
Within a few seconds, a listing of educational opportunities appear. When you find a listing that interests you, click on that listing and you receive specific information regarding the training session.
Currently, plans are to arrange the information according to training category and state. This system will allow officials from throughout the country to take advantage of activities nationwide. This will be especially helpful to officials who can afford to travel to nearby areas and states but not long distances.
Although many states specify content and skills for county officials and their training is based on state law, other educational events are general and useful to the county elected generalist, such as leadership and presentation skills.
While the clearinghouse has gotten off to a tremendous start, the ultimate success of this project will depend on the participation of state and county officials. If you are aware of any training or educational programs that may be beneficial to county officials in your area, or nationwide, please send, fax or e-mail information to John Bonkowski, NACo training assistant, 440 First St., N.W., Washington, DC 20001, fax: 202/737-0480, e-mail: <jbonkows@spaceworks.com>.
If there are any comments, complaints or suggestions regarding this project, please call John at 202/942-4216.