Mandatory DLSE training

There's this phrase of "Train the Trainer," where XYZ Corp. (or the US military) will make sure that whoever trains others is certified as such. In California state service, there's an official title/slot known as the Training Officer, and in DLSE it does not exist.

So what we have are a few, select desk-donkies and pencil-pushers thinking up stuff to make our lives more miserable. They then proceed to put such bad ideas into action.

Lupe Almaraz kicked Nance Steffen into Wage Claim Adjudication training for her peeps, so she then kicked her DLC IIIs (front-line supervisors) into giving class lectures. Nance Steffen and Robert Jones spoke about receiving complaints from the public, but failed to discuss the DLSE policies and procedures in play to handle such complaints, much less give their staff training on ways to reduce such potential complaints. They also failed to give their staff any conflict diffusion/resolution training (call it limited liability exposure, like the DLSE sexual harrassment 'training'). What did the staff receive? An almost 3-hour lecture on the proper completion of the DLSE Form 1. Classic: I wouldn't expect anything less from this crew.

We must swallow the direction and vision they shove down our throats. Unfortunately, their cluelessness kicks it right back to us and requests, "if you have any ideas for future training, give them to your supervisor." How's that for Leadership? I know, quite pathetic. On its appearance, it looks like they're solitciting ideas from their staff and making everyone part of an interactive process. In reality, that is not the way it happens. If someone brings up a critically important topic, then that person is targeted: as a troublemaker, as something other than a team player. Only the dummies raise such issues, so nothing imperative is ever brought to their attention. Since apathy and laziness are parts of our DLSE gene pool, the puppet-heads cannot figure this out on their own.

If I wanted a class lecture, I would have gone to my local community college and paid money to sit in some class while some professor brays like an old goat for two hours. At the compulsory DLSE training, we had two days' worth. That insolent supervisor Dan Cornet actually had the stones to tell someone (who had a question) that "they were on a tight schedule and to hold off on questions." Nice! They should have him teach the DLSE team-building.

They are wasting money on obsolete training methods, training topics, and dinosaur-like Power Point presentations. Next time, they should video their lecturers and burn it to a dvd, where they can hand them out like lollipops to their staff. It will save the state a sh*tload of money and the staff will learn just as much from it, like that excellent Ethics Training video/booklet that DLSE staff is ordered to watch/read.