Classes for Professional Investigators, Personal Fitness Trainers and Business Continuity Specialists Target Fast-Growing Occupations

DePaul University’s Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) division will offer new certificate programs for three of the economy’s fastest growing occupations: professional investigator, personal fitness trainer and business continuity specialist.

“Each program is uniquely designed to provide students with up-to-date and practical skills and knowledge,” said Chuck Freilich, director of program development for CPE. “Drawing on DePaul’s extensive resources in a wide variety of academic disciplines, these programs are particularly well-suited for adult career changers.”

Despite the profession’s cloak-and-dagger reputation, contemporary professional investigators are more likely to be staking out the Internet than dark alleys. DePaul’s professional investigator program - which is taught by investigators, attorneys and law enforcement officers among other legal experts - focuses on skills in research, interviewing, surveillance, legal process service, evidence gathering, ethics, writing, testifying, locating missing persons and photography/videography.

“There is a great deal of interest in professional investigation careers in part because of the enormous popularity of television programs such as “CSI”,” said Freilich. “But a more significant factor has been the major growth of opportunities in the field.”

Participants will learn about the wide range of investigative work in areas such as criminal and civil case investigations, document review, crime scene investigation, court testimony, and report writing. They will also study different types of specific investigations, including auto accidents, product liability, malpractice, fraud, missing persons, pre-employment screening, workplace compensation, domestic violence and infidelity, and homicide.

Fueled by aging baby boomers’ increased attention to physical fitness and preventive medicine, employment opportunities for personal trainers are expected to grow by 44 percent in the next decade, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics. The DePaul personal fitness trainer program covers all of the basic areas offered in traditional programs, including individual assessment and exercise design and training, but it is distinguished by an emphasis on the mental component in successful training and coaching in areas such as interpersonal communication, exercise psychology, motivation and behavior modification. The program will also cover a wide range of other topics, such as nutrition, injury prevention, emergency care, legal liability, and general business management.

Job growth in business continuity, disaster recovery and emergency management has been significant in the wake of recent disasters, including the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina. Since 9/11, federal government spending alone on information technology and disaster recovery has increased threefold and now exceeds $5 billion annually. A number of smaller local disasters—such as the LaSalle Bank fire and the recent power outages in the Loop—have called attention to the fact that every business needs to have in place a thorough continuity or disaster plan.

The business continuity program will immerse students in the methods used to develop continuity plans so that organizations can quickly recover from business disruptions ranging from equipment failures to terrorist attacks. Students will learn techniques to help businesses quickly resume normal operations including analyzing and prioritizing risks, evaluating financial and non-financial losses, and determining a strategy and basic plan for institutional survival. Case-studies will be used to help students apply best-practice methodologies.

All three of these new certificate programs will begin in mid-September with classes meeting conveniently on Saturdays or weekday evenings. A new certificate program in paralegal studies is also planned to launch in the fall quarter, and a Spanish-English interpreting program is planned for spring 2007.

DePaul’s Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) is a leading provider of educational programs for individuals seeking focused learning and organizations seeking to increase employee knowledge and skills. CPE offers more than 150 certificate programs, professional development programs, and customized company training programs that annually educate and train more than 3,000 students from approximately 1,100 area employers. Other CPE offerings include financial planning, human resources, management development, marketing communications, mediation training, defense investigation, dispute resolution, organizational development and project management. CPE also offers many online certificate programs.

For additional information and registration for new program offerings, call (312) 362-8916. For a complete catalog of continuing education courses offered by DePaul, visit www.learning.depaul.edu.