City U Strategic Direction: to provide high-quality comprehensive training to all City personnel and to serve as a resource for information and tools to enhance the productivity and professionalism of our employees.

City U Vision: that the City of Tyler will have a well-trained, highly-skilled workforce that embraces opportunities for life-long learning and growth.

The City of Tyler’s greatest asset is its employees. Therefore, the continuous improvement of the workforce is vital to Tyler’s productivity and growth. City University is the City of Tyler’s continuing education program for employees and the

2013 winner for the Texas Municipal League's Management Innovation Award

City University is open to all employees and offers classes in everything from customer service and how to lead a meeting to personal finance and business ethics.

City U allows employees to access courses within six tracks:

1. Core Competency Track
2. Innovation Track
3. Professional Development Track
4. Leadership Development Track
5. Life Management Track
6. Workforce Track

The Core Competency Track

This track addresses the basic skills needed by all employees of the City of Tyler such as New Employee Orientation, Cash Handling, Budget training and classes on City Policy.

New Employee Orientation is held the second Wednesday of every month. During this class, new hires meet with several different department representatives and learn important policies and procedures from Communications, Lean Six Sigma, Human Resources, Risk and Legal.

During the City Council meeting new hires are introduced to the community by the Mayor and Council Members and they receive a City of Tyler lapel pin.

The Innovation Track

Classes in this track focus on providing computer and technical courses to City employees, who have varying ranges of computer knowledge. City U allows staff that are more computer literate to take advanced and upper level computer courses while allowing beginners to start at a level that is comfortable for them. The City utilizes Tyler Junior College’s Continuing Education Program to provide the majority of computer courses at the City's on site training room.

The Professional Development Track

Using both employee subject matter experts and contracted outside resources, continuing education classes are offered to employees to enhance their professional skills.

The Leadership Development Track

This track provides continuing education for employees who are currently in supervisory roles or those who wish to transition into a leadership role. The majority of these courses are contracted to consultants with experience in the specific topics. Some courses specific to the City of Tyler or city government are taught by City of Tyler personnel.

The Life Management Track

This track focuses on the financial and physical health of each employee.

The Workforce Track

Employees engaged in this track are provided the continuing education needed to successfully implement industry and safety standards set by the City of Tyler and Texas Department of Transportation.

Other City U Programs

Leadership Academy

This is a selective program that focuses on training the next generation of leaders for the City of Tyler. This is accomplished through 12 leadership training classes, monthly discussion sessions, mentoring and a capstone project.
The Leadership Academy class spends one year together developing skills that will help prepare them to fill critical leadership roles in the future. The group reads "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" with the Assistant City Manager and she conducts a book discussion with the group prior to each class. She provides insight on how to apply the lessons from the book to their everyday work life. Leadership Academy participants chose a City Leader as a mentor and met with them monthly to discuss their strengths and weaknesses and how they could improve upon their leadership skills. The monthly discussion sessions allow the group to network with each other, review what they learned in their training class and explore their thoughts.

Lean Six Sigma

Visit the main Lean Six Sigma page

Tuition Reimbursement

Financial assistance will be considered for employees who complete educational courses which will benefit both the employee and City by improving current job skills. An employee must work for the City for six months to be eligible for this program. City will reimburse eligible employees for tuition and required fees according to the following schedule:

Toastmasters

The success of the City of Tyler depends in large part on how well our employees communicate with each other, as well as with citizens. Most people are shy or nervous about speaking in public. That is why since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped millions of men and women become more confident in front of an audience. Toastmasters is where people meet once a week to learn how to speak in public, lead meetings efficiently, offer constructive feedback and diplomatically deal with a wide range of people.

The City of Tyler officially started the “Blueprint Toasters” Club on Oct. 29, 2009. The club currently has 26 members and meets every Thursday at City U.