Personnel Training Goes On In Two Programs at Harvard

There is a sign above a desk in the Office of Personnel Training that states: "Every organization pays for a training program ... whether it has one or not." Harvard University apparently chooses to pay for its personnel training directly, sponsoring several programs for personnel education and job-related training.

Harvard has four basic training programs for employees who are interested in job-related training: clerical skills improvement courses; basic, intermediate, and advanced courses in English as a second language; and, a course in supervisory training. All of these are administered by the Personnel Training Center.

Within the Department of Buildings and Grounds there is an apprenticeship program designed to train employees as licensed electricians, plumbers, carpenters, sheet metal workers, etc.

In addition to these training programs, the University offers its full-time employees with at least three months service the opportunity to take one course per term during the year and at summer school with no charge other than the normal registration fee, if the employee can fit the classes into his work schedule.

Finally, Harvard will reimburse any full-time regular employee who successfully completes a previously approved job-related course at an accredited school or college for 50 per cent of all tuition, registration, and laboratory fees.

"Harvard is an educational institution. As an employer, it has a responsibility to induce and condone upward mobility and self-improvement in its employees," William Lee, personnel administrator for Buildings and Grounds, said last week.

Each of the University's training programs are designed to enable employees to progress to higher job, wage, and productivity levels. "The University doesn't want to force employees to remain in a mold for 30 years," Lee said. "Its concern is that it's making a better way of life for those who want it."