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In Person and LIVEOnline: We’re in the People Business

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Coronavirus has changed the world dramatically, including the way in which we learn.

For the vast majority of the population, from schoolchildren and college students to business professionals, the new “normal” has emerged as a hybrid — a mix of in-person and online instruction. It’s an approach that the Manufacturer & Business Association (MBA), a regional leader in professional development training, has been quick to adopt, as well.

Today, the MBA offers a wide array of professional development and HR courses both in person and LIVEOnline to meet this growing demand, including its highly recommended leadership courses — Supervisory Skills, Leadership for Team Leaders and HR Essential Certification Series. The MBA also has enhanced its online learning offerings with classes tailored to timely teleworking topics, such as Coaching Employees Remotely, Applied Decision Making, and Managing Stress for Positive Results. Eight new classes, including two-hour courses such as Outlook and Workplace Civility, have been added as micro learning options, with many more specialized options to be rolled out.

According to Tracy Daggett, PHR, manager of Professional Development Training Services at the MBA, adapting the traditional curriculum to the online format has allowed the Association to not only expand its offerings, but also provide interactive, engaging learning that MBA members have come to expect from its inperson courses. Microsoft Teams and GoToWebinar are both widely considered industry leaders in collaboration software programs and widely used by the MBA.

“If there’s any good news in this pandemic, it’s that it has made our training department more versatile with even more offerings for our members,” Daggett explains. “For instance, we have a demand from employers in the
Pittsburgh market that don’t have the ability to come all the way up to our Erie or Cranberry locations. Now they have ability to join us in the comfort of their own home or their own organization.”

Read more in the 2020 Annual Report.