Local leaders from Niagara Region have completed the first continuing education program offered through a unique partnership with Brock University.

Denise Murphy, director of resident care at the T. Roy Adams Centre for Dementia and Convalescent Care at Linhaven, one of Niagara Region’s long-term care homes, knows the value of professional development.

“The Region has afforded me the opportunity to grow in my role and progress in my career,” she says.

Murphy is among the first group to benefit from a new continuing education partnership between Brock’s Goodman School of Business and Niagara Region through the Professional Leadership Certificate, a customized program offered exclusive to Niagara Region employees.

Offered through Goodman’s Centre for Innovation, Management and Enterprise Education (CIMEE), the partnership outlines a set of five professional seminars aligned with Niagara Region’s learning focus and covers topics such as collaboration, managing performance, innovation and communications.

Fourteen Niagara Region employees successfully completed the training and were awarded certificates on April 26 by Ernest Biktimirov, associate dean, research and graduate programs, Goodman School of Business; Abdul Rahimi, director, CIMEE; and Fiona Peacefull, director, people services and organizational development, Niagara Region.

Having worked at Niagara Region as a registered nurse (RN) for a short time, Murphy has since moved to the administrative side of the healthcare field and says the program has helped her to become better at her job, especially since she does not have a business background.

“I can apply the skills and strategies I’ve learned through these sessions every day at my job,” she said.

The CIMEE programming allows Niagara Region employees to participate as a cohort, allowing for increased collaboration and application to their jobs, something that Murphy emphasizes is extremely valuable.

“Going through the program as a cohort with my colleagues has allowed us to learn from clear examples, we can converse and recognise how we can apply these skills to our work at the Region,” she said. “It also promotes the one team philosophy of Niagara Region by coming together with our colleagues across different sectors within the organization,” she said.

Biktimirov commends the Region on its proactive approach to developing their leaders.

“The success of this program shows the Region’s commitment to investing in its employees to help them improve their skill sets,” he said.