Career Pathways Program
The Career Pathways Program supports SEIU Local 500 unit members to identify career goals, and obtain training and direction to achieve those goals. The Career Pathways Program offers opportunities for employees to improve their knowledge and skills in content areas that will enable them to achieve their career goals, with programs and processes in place to support those objectives.
News and Announcements
Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year!
The Career Pathways Team is here to support your career development needs as you begin your year.
Check out the September edition of the Career Pathways Newsletter!
Career Pathways Newsletter September 2023
UPDATE Career Pathways Leadership Development Program
The Career Pathways Program for supporting services employees is excited to offer staff a new professional learning experience for the 2023-2024 school year. This year-long professional will offer two pathways for permanent staff members based on where they are in their careers with MCPS.
The Career Pathways Program is proud to share a video message from Dr. McKnight, superintendent of schools in support of our leadership cohort participants.
The application for this program for the 2023-2024 school year has closed.
If you could not attend a live session and would like to learn more about the program, please view the slide deck below.
Career Pathways Leadership Program Information Session Deck.pdf
Programs for Supporting Services Employees
The Career Pathways Team has added additional web pages to share information about programs for supporting services employees.
MCPS Mentoring Program for Supporting Services Employees
The Career Pathways Team has expanded and refreshed the mentoring program for supporting services employees. On our new webpage, you will mentors who represent most of the SEIU chapters and have a variety of expertise to share with employees. To learn more about mentors including how to work with one, check out the new Mentoring Program webpage!
Career Pathways Ambassador Program
The Career Pathways Ambassador Program is dedicated to providing support to employees across the organization. Each ambassador uses their unique skills and experience to provide support to employees at their work site and beyond. To learn more about the ambassadors and the work they are doing, visit the new Ambassador Program webpage!
These pages can also be found in the left column, under Career Pathways Program - Quick Links
Higher Education Partnerships
The Career Pathways Program collaborates with Higher Education Partnerships to increase supporting services employees’ participation in teacher prep programs.
Please visit the Higher Education Partnership’s website for more information. Please see below for upcoming information sessions. For complete details and to sign up, log into PDO.
Want to learn how to become a certified teacher in MCPS? Register for the information session below in PDO. For more information view the flyer below:
How to Become a Teacher - October Flyer
How to Become a Teacher in MCPS (PDO Course #87524)
Monday, October 16, 2023 @ 4:30 PM (Virtual)
Upcoming Partnership Information Sessions
Towson University, Master of Art in Teaching (MAT) in Special Education (PDO Course #90585)
September 21, 2023 @ 5:00 P.M. (virtual)
Montgomery College Culturally Responsive Educators Aspiring for Teaching Excellence (CREATE) Program (PDO Course #89298)
October 11, 2023 @ 4:30 P.M. (virtual)
Training Opportunities from Career Pathways
The Career Pathways Program offers training centered around personal and professional development to help employees attain their career goals. See below for training that will be offered this year by Career Pathways.
New Training from Career Pathways
On October 9, 2023, the Career Pathways Program will be hosting several new professional development training sessions open to supporting service employees. For many 10-month supporting services employees, this is a no-pay scheduled day. Eligible employees will be paid the SPT-10 training rate of pay for participating in training on October 9, 2023. All employees are invited to attend regardless of eligibility for the SPT-10 stipend.
To learn more about these new training sessions, view the flyer below.
Career Pathways Training Flyer
Other Training Opportunities
The Supporting Services Professional Growth System provides year-round comprehensive professional development opportunities that support the continuous growth of a skilled and effective workforce. Please see the Supporting Services Training and Development site for more details. Please see below for a snapshot of upcoming training sessions. For complete details and to sign up, log into PDO.
Current Training Opportunities
Introduction to Google Sheets
September 21, In-Person at 15 W. Gude, Sassafras Room
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
The objective of this course is to illustrate to MCPS support professionals the basics of using Google Sheets and how to use the tool to efficiently manage data entry and calculations and create graphs/charts. The class will include a hands-on practice segment, and take-home materials/handouts. By the end of the class, participants will know how to navigate their way around the application and independently create sheets.
PDO Course #91457
Essentials of Word
September 27, Zoom Webinar
4:30 PM – 6:30 PM
This instructor-led course covers the essential skills needed to create documents, manipulate text, apply bold, italics, underline, and other attributes; change line spacing, margins, headers, and footers; and insert page numbers.
PDO Course #85435
Understanding the Supporting Services Professional Growth System for Support Professionals
October 9, In-Person at Upcounty Regional Service Center
*2 sessions offered*
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
This interactive workshop will enable support professionals to better understand components of the Supporting Services Professional Growth System through an examination of the seven core competencies and the evaluation process. Participants will learn about opportunities for professional growth and how the Performance Improvement Process supports employees.
PDO Course #91965
Contact Us
Nathalie Bourdereau – Career Pathways Program Manager
Heather Harman – Career Pathways Program Specialist
Department of Human Capital Management
Office of Human Resources and Development
45 W. Gude Dr.
Rockville, MD 20853