Local government will witness significant retirements over the next few years. As renowned academic and author Linda Duxbury notes, organizations will be forced to compete for replacements from a much smaller pool of candidates as the baby boomers retire. Where will local government find the employees to fill these vacant positions and how will they compete with all the other organizations looking to fill their vacancies? The answer may be much closer than one expects. There is a hidden pool of talent in the municipal organization that may simply need the encouragement and the opportunity to develop the necessary skills and confidence to assume greater responsibility within the organization.
Who Should Take This Certificate?
This certificate is the prerequisite for all concentrations, and is the entry-level certificate for the Local Government Program. On its own, it would be beneficial for those who work in the technical fields of local government to gain a working knowledge of the history, organization, challenges, and opportunities for local government.
How Will You Benefit?
This Associate Certificate is intended to give students the knowledge and skills to effectively interact with municipal staff at all levels of the organization, the municipal council and the citizenry.
Certificate Requirements
The Associate Certificate can be completed in about nine months, depending upon how many courses you take each term. It consists of three (3) courses over 90 hours. The three required courses are:
- OLCD-LGOV0014 Local Government
- OLCD-LGOV0015 Municipal Law
- OLCD-PALS0016 Finance Essentials for Public Sector Leaders (formerly OLCD-LGOV0022 Local Government Finance)
This is only a suggested sequence of courses. Students may take the courses in any order.
Fees and Schedule
See each course for the applicable tuition fee. Courses start in September, January and April. Each course is offered at least once a year.
Do you have prior learning or experience relevant to this certificate?
It may be possible to receive advanced standing in this certificate based on your prior learning from work or life experience. We provide two types of recognition of prior learning:
- Prior Certified Learning: Assessment of prior coursework or training through a provider, that is neither a university or college, for the purpose of advanced standing. Examples of certified learning may include military courses, accredited certificates, workplace training programs, etc.
- Prior Experiential Learning: Assessment of previous work and life learning that may be equivalent to learning outcomes of university courses / programs, for the purpose of advanced standing. Relevant prior learning may come from work or volunteer experience, participation on committees or boards, independent study, etc.
To discuss how to use your prior learning to apply for advanced standing, please contact rpl@dal.ca.