Workforce Development

The Workforce Development Division (WD) aims to support talented, diverse individuals to join, stay, and grow in the City and County of San Francisco’s workforce. DHR provides centralized human resources services to all City departments. DHR’s WD division accordingly provides workforce development services- including training and career development services- for the City’s entire workforce, consisting of over 36,000 employees. Additionally, the WD division leads citywide talent acquisition efforts, including diversity recruitment efforts and career pathway programs. The WD division collaborates extensively with community partners and numerous City departments to accomplish its goals. The DHR Workforce Development Division consists of the following four integrated work units:

Diversity Recruitment

DHR’s Diversity Recruitment Team (DRT) strives to ensure City employment is attainable and accessible to a variety of jobseekers. The DRT implements the Access to City Employment (ACE) program, a program that provides City employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. The DRT actively partners with community organizations and educational institutions to promote City job opportunities, and provides guidance to community members on how to apply for City jobs. The DRT provides leadership to other City departments in innovative outreach and recruitment activities that reach diverse, qualified candidates.

Talent Acquisition and Career Pathway Programs

The Talent Acquisition and Career Pathway Programs Unit manages several programs that provide multiple pathways into City employment for diverse, qualified candidates, including individuals entering or re-entering the workforce. These programs include apprenticeship programs in the skilled crafts and trades, and fellowship programs connected to the City’s administrative analyst and human resources analyst job classifications. Additionally, this Unit partners with other departments to provide career development services for City employees, and implements programs that support employees’ educational attainment, mobility, and retention within the City workforce.

Learn more about DHR’s Career Pathway Programs:

Learn more about programs that support City employees’ educational attainment, visit:

Learning and Development

DHR’s Learning and Development Unit provides dynamic, cost effective, convenient in-house consulting and training services targeted specifically to meet the professional development needs of City leaders and staff. The Learning and Development team provides instructor-led courses that develop a variety of critical skills for success in City jobs, including public speaking, project management, customer service, and emotional intelligence skills. The team also delivers several key programs focused on developing effective, equitable management skills for City supervisors and managers at all levels, including the 24 Plus Program and citywide leadership development programs. Through delivery of Managing Implicit Bias and Communicating Across Cultures workshops, and through development of customized team building sessions that support diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, DHR’s Learning and Development Unit actively supports City departments in creating positive workplaces where all employees feel respected and experience a strong sense of belonging.

Instructional Design

DHR’s Instructional Design team collaborates with subject matter experts in DHR and other City departments to create eLearning modules that help City employees understand important citywide policies and expectations such as the City’s telecommuting policies, workplace ergonomic standards, performance management processes, and COVID-19 health and safety protocols. DHR’s Instructional Design team has also created important eLearning modules like Introduction to Implicit Bias and Fairness In Hiring that reinforce expectations for a fair and inclusive workplace within the City and County of San Francisco. DHR’s eLearning modules are accessible to all City employees through the City’s learning management system, SF Learning.

To learn more about DHR’s eLearning modules and workplace online training requirements, visit the Workplace Online Training page.

Learning and Development Newsletters:

DHR Workforce Development produces a bi-montly newsletter that highlights various ongoing efforts of our division:

For more information: Email: wd.dhr@sfgov.org