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Background to the Department

CED’s commitment to providing high-quality training and development rests on its belief that the Palestinian community is eager to learn and improve its skills and develop its institutions. CED seeks to contribute to creating and building a cadre of skilled personnel who can provide effective organizational and institutional management. CED also strives to blend Palestinian culture, values and traditions with modern technological and scientific developments in its training activities and services.

The educational/training activities of CED range from seminars, workshops, short and long training courses to special application diploma programs consisting of a number of modules in a specific field targeting the development and upgrading of a specific skill. These programs are designed on the basis of ongoing needs assessments within the community. CED improves its programs through a continuous process of monitoring and evaluation of its training activities and their graduates. The main focus in all these activities is placed on providing hands-on training, emphasizing the concept of learning by doing.

CED prides itself in offering a unique blend of components in order to provide high quality training activities and consulting services. Needs assessments are conducted on a continuous basis and are used to design and develop CED courses and workshops. These needs assessments are based on completed surveys and studies by local and international organizations or through direct requests.

Specialized professionals are recruited on a project-by-project basis and are responsible for course design and instruction. Additional personnel may also be selected from among a pool of qualified professionals from the University and the community at large.

Continuous follow up and evaluation play an integral part of CED's operation. Evaluation focuses on sustainability of skills acquired in training in the work environment, applicability of training to the actual work setting, and impact on quality of participants’ performance. Participants provide immediate feedback that is used to improve future training programs.

Off the Shelf Training Activities

These activities are designed according to CED’s ongoing needs assessments within the community. Evaluations of previous training programs are used to design programs that enhance knowledge and skills in both management and technical fields.

Tailor Made Activities

These activities are especially designed programs geared to meet the specific training needs of an institution to help it achieve its long-term goals. Tailor-made training activities cover global topics in industry, commerce, trade, business, environmental and social sciences. Special emphasis is placed on providing hands-on skill training for participants.

Consulting Services

CED offers consulting services to local, private and public institutions as well as international development organizations. Services cover the following fields:

• Develop management strategies to meet company's long-term goals and objectives.
• Provide organizational re-engineering for companies and institutions.
• Design management information systems and assess automation possibilities.
• Assist in human resource development; prepare job profiles and development plans.
• Design production plans and quality control systems.
• Prepare financial policies and plans.
• Assess and evaluate new investment opportunities.

CED has a large pool of highly qualified professionals and consultants with a high profile of practical experience to meet a strict criteria of selection. CED trainers and consultants have the capacity and are trained to assess and diagnose real problems, define the cause of a problem and its symptoms and guide management into solving or suggesting alternate solutions. CED also contracts outside trainers and consultants.

Training Techniques

CED believes that using the lecture format alone is not the most effective way to meet different training needs and objectives. Therefore, CED has adopted a wide variety of innovative techniques.

Computer training has become an integral part of the services offered to organizations seeking to enhance the professional training level of their employees on the managerial and administrative levels. Courses in computer programs are competitive and focus on hands-on training. All of CED’s computer courses are given in the department’s fully equipped computer laboratory located on the campus of Birzeit University.