Eastern’s School of Technology is offering working adults an opportunity to improve their skills and increase their marketability through two graduate certificate programs, said Deborah Woodley, professor for the School of Technology.

The first certificate program, Work Performance Improvement, requires 15 semester hours of study including both required and elective courses, a press release said.

Twelve of the 15 hours include training program development, science and technology of leadership, work performance technology and instructional technology, said Mahyar Izadi, chair of Eastern’s School of Technology.

The three remaining credit hours can be utilized through elective courses from the following areas: sociotechnical design, facilitation dynamics, critical thinking in the workplace, productive work teams, accelerated learning, training and trends along with issues in training and development, he said.

The work perform improvement program can be applied to a master of science in technology degree program offered on-campus and at selected off-campus sites, including the Parkland College District, the press releases said.

“The graduate certificate program in work performance improvement is intended to meet the needs of graduate students as well as training and development practitioners who would like their education preparation in the field of human performance improvement officially endorsed,” Izadi said.

The second program, Quality Systems, will provide graduate students and professionals with focused course work leading to improvement in the quality of products and services to help companies become more competitive in the global market, the press release said.

“Companies continuously seek quality improvements to be competitive in global markets. This graduate certificate will help companies maintain a competitive edge in quality management,” Izadi said.

He also said offering the programs will help the School of Technology better serve the needs of business and industry in Illinois.

Woodley said the areas of concentration in the programs are training and development and supervision and leadership.

These programs can be an asset to adults looking to finish off their degree, she said.

Woodley said often times a working adult needs the programs to get a promotion.

“These programs provide (adults) with valuable tools to have,” Woodley said.