The USD Community College for Sioux Falls will start adding courses for professionals this month, with a schedule that includes classes on business writing, presentations and supervision.

The one- and two-day courses are designed for individual contributors, supervisors and managers who want to gain new skills to help them and their employers succeed, said Linda Halliburton, associate dean of workforce education and professional development for the USD Community College for Sioux Falls.

“We’re serving people who want to get better at what they do,” she said.

“No community college mission would be complete without a recognition of the importance of noncredit training and “development. We work closely with area businesses to identify professional development opportunities that we can deliver through a just in time model, with flexible scheduling and pricing.”

The classes are held at the Community College’s location in northwest Sioux Falls. Here’s the fall schedule:

• Making Your Case: Better Business Writing Skills for Today – Sept. 19
• Principles of Supervision – Sept. 25 and 26
• Connecting With Your Audience: Presentation Skills that Matter – Oct. 10
• Strategic Workforce Planning – Oct. 22
• Coaching for Excellence – Nov. 6

Topics are based on what employers say they need for their organization to be successful, Halliburton said.

“We are in a very competitive market with not enough people for the work that needs to be done. Investing in current employees’ growth is a key differentiator and a way beat the competition and become an employer of choice,” she said.

“Communication, whether in writing or presenting, is often at the top of employers’ lists. Making sure that people are equipped to take on new roles of leadership successfully is always critical. And as our HR and business leaders continue to struggle with finding talent, being strategic with how they plan their workforce pipeline takes on increased importance.”

The hope is that courses will be offered at prices that are attractive to businesses and that they appeal to people who want to learn as much by staying town as they would from traveling to a one-day conference, she said.

“Because we are the Community College, our instructors can be drawn from across the region’s universities as well as from practitioners who are experts in their field,” Halliburton said.

The courses do not take the place of executive education programs, which will continue to be offered through the USD Beacom School of Business in Sioux Falls.

The Community College for Sioux Falls will evolve its professional development offerings with help from a subcommittee of business leaders formed through the Community College’s joint advisory council. The plan is to offer another round of classes in the spring.

“We have great flexibility with when and where we offer courses,” Halliburton added. “While we certainly can and will offer them during the day on our campus, we can take them anywhere that a group of learners wants to meet.”