Professional Skills Development Center
Empowering Education Through Training, Certification, and Collaboration
The Professional Skills Development Center (PSDC) at SDSU Imperial Valley is dedicated to promoting academic excellence, linguistic development, and professional growth through specialized training and certification programs. Founded in 1984, the PSDC has become a recognized leader in teacher training, English language evaluation, and professional development, serving both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border. Its mission is to bridge educational communities through binational cooperation, innovative learning solutions, and cutting-edge digital education.
Supplemental Job Displacement Benefits Voucher Program
Provides a non-transferable voucher for injured California workers with a permanent partial disability who are unable to return to their regular, modified, or alternative work due to a work-related injury. The program is designed to help individuals gain new skills or receive training that supports re-entry into the workforce in a new role or capacity.
- Used for education-related retraining, skill enhancement, or both, at a California public school or with a provider certified on the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL).
- Eligible Injured Worker / Supplemental Displacement Participant: A worker who qualifies for the SJDB voucher.
- Vocational Return-to-Work Counselor (VRTWC): A professional who assists injured workers in using their SJDB voucher effectively.
- State-Approved Schools: The voucher can only be used at institutions listed on the state’s approved ETPL.
Program Goals
- Improve English fluency and communication for professional use.
- Build confidence in job-related conversations, interviews, and presentations.
- Strengthen writing, listening, and speaking skills through practical applications.
- Support bilingual individuals preparing to enter or advance in the U.S. workforce.
Delivery Options
- Online or Hybrid Format – accessible for working adults.
- Small Group Sessions – with personalized feedback from bilingual instructors.
- Practical Projects – real-life simulations to apply learned skills.
Courses
- Basic Computer – Spanish
- English as a Second Language and Introduction to Basic Computers
- Introduction to Basic Computers
Contact Information
[email protected]
(760) 768-5550
720 Heber Avenue, Calexico, CA 92231
Binational Programs
For more than 30 years, PSDC has worked in Mexico promoting academic and linguistic excellence through comprehensive training for teachers, students, and professionals across various sectors.
Customized Training Solutions
At the Professional Skills Development Center (PSDC) of SDSU Imperial Valley, we specialize in creating customized courses, workshops, lectures, and certification programs tailored to meet the specific needs of each institution, organization, or client.
- Our team designs every program based on the objectives, audience, and professional context of our partners—ensuring relevance, quality, and measurable results.
- We believe that effective learning starts with understanding our clients’ goals—then transforming them into innovative educational experiences.
Main Areas of Development
Designed to strengthen communication skills for both academic and professional contexts. Through conversational, vocational, and teacher-training courses, participants develop confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in English. Our programs combine innovative methodologies, interactive activities, and bilingual support to ensure measurable progress and practical fluency for real-world use.
Designed to enhance the pedagogical and linguistic competencies of English instructors. Through innovative methodologies, digital tools, and evidence-based practices, teachers strengthen their classroom strategies. These professional development courses empower educators to create engaging, inclusive, and results-driven English learning environments.
Focuses on improving participants’ technological skills to enhance teaching, learning, and workplace performance. Through courses such as Basic and Intermediate Computer Skills, Educational Technology Integration, and AI for Educators, participants gain confidence using digital tools, online platforms, and multimedia resources. This program empowers teachers, students, and professionals to adapt to today’s digital landscape and to incorporate technology effectively in education and professional environments.
Focuses on promoting well-being, emotional balance, and human-centered education. Through specialized courses and workshops, participants explore topics such as mental health awareness, socioemotional learning, stress management, and wellness in educational settings. These programs are designed for educators, counselors, and professionals committed to fostering healthier, more empathetic, and resilient learning communities.
The Renewable Energy and Environmental Research Program encourages awareness and innovation in sustainable development. Through consulting sessions, research projects, and academic seminars, participants learn about solar energy, lithium potential in regional industries, and the impact of renewable resources in the Imperial and Mexicali valleys. This program connects education, technology, and environmental responsibility—aligning PSDC’s mission with global sustainability goals.
Provides specialized training on social responsibility, environmental awareness, and community well-being. Through short courses and seminars, participants explore topics such as school safety, crisis prevention, environmental education, and sustainable practices that promote safer and more resilient communities. This category reflects PSDC’s commitment to fostering a culture of prevention, sustainability, and civic responsibility across educational and professional contexts.
Specialized training to strengthen soft skills, leadership capacity, and professional growth. Through seminars, workshops, and short courses, participants develop competencies in communication, teamwork, problem-solving, leadership, and emotional intelligence — essential skills for success in academic and workplace settings. These programs are tailored for educators, administrators, and professionals seeking continuous improvement and effective leadership in multicultural and bilingual environments.
Accordion
Courses and Trainings
- Academic excellence in the teaching of the English language
- Activating the ESL brain through movement
- Active and disruptive methodologies and material design for English teachers
- Active teaching and learning
- Back to basics
- Children´s books and comprehension strategies
- Children´s music and learning
- Classroom creativity
- Classroom management
- Content-based instruction
- Cooperative learning
- Critical thinking and the thinking process
- Developing instructional material
- Diversified instructional planning for students with outstanding aptitudes
- STEAM education as a pedagogic initiative
- Effective communication between teachers and students in the classroom through the English language
- Emotional intelligence in the classroom
- Empowering English language learners
- English language teaching methods/strategies
- Enhancing English language teaching
- Enjoying grammar (painless grammar)
- Games and activities in the learning process
- Language acquisition
- Multiple intelligences
- Phonics
- Positive discipline
- Reading and writing
- Returning to values and traditions with ESL
- Strengthening school communities through
- Teaching English through music
- Teaching through projects
- Teaching vocabulary and grammar
- Teaching with fun and interactive blended strategies
- The brain and emotional intelligence
- The learning process
- The natural/communicative approach
- The power of memory
- Using the arts to promote learning
- Using the media as a teaching tool
- Whole language/thematic units
- Curso de inglés conversacional nivel básico
- Curso de inglés conversacional segundo nivel
- Capacitación clasificación de tatuajes
- Cuidado de la salud socioemocional en los niños con autismo y tdah / add
- Curso internacional en turismo médico veterinario: innovación y excelencia
- Derechos humanos en el aula y la mejora de la Convivencia escolar
- Desarrollo de habilidades socioemocionales en educación básica y atención plena
- Diplomado de atención a alumnos sobresalientes
- Diplomado de atención a alumnos con autismo
- Diplomado de atención a alumnos con TDAH
- Educación para la paz y habilidades socioemocionales a través de la pedagogía de la ternura
- El entorno para preservar la salud socioemocional de las y los estudiantes
- Estrategias de comunicación del idioma inglés como lengua extranjera
- Estrategias didácticas centradas en la enseñanza-aprendizaje del inglés en educación básica
- Estrategias didácticas en el aula para la nueva escuela mexicana
- Estrategias para identificar,atender y dar seguimiento en el aula a las condiciones del trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad (TDAH).
- Evaluación en el aula: métodos y estrategias
- Habilidades para entrevistas e interrogatorios en la aplicación de la ley
- Herramientas básicas para el docente matemático de hoy
- Herramientas de tecnología educativa y estrategias creativas para la enseñanza en línea
- Herramientas google
- Herramientas ofimáticas - excel
- Herramientas para la intervención educativa para alumnos con trastorno del espectro autista (tea)
- Innovación y mercadotecnia
- La enseñanza del inglés en educación básica a través del aprendizaje basado en proyectos
- Las habilidades socioemocionales en el trabajo del aula
- Liderazgo en innovación: transformando el entorno profesional con inteligencia artificial
- Los docentes y los programas de estudio nuevas miradas y nuevas relaciones
- Maltrato animal
- Medidas de prevención y autoprotección en un tiroteo escolar
- Modelo STEAM con nuevas tecnologías.
- Más allá de la gramática y el vocabulario: utilizando la competencia cultural al enseñar idiomas extranjeros
- Perfilación criminal especializado en asesinos múltiples
- Prevención sobre tiradores activos para educadores
- Segmentación basada en tendencias y situaciones específicas del consumidor
- Tendencias de marketing
- Uso de canva como herramienta
- Bullying in schools: K-12
- Safe school
- Content marketing
- Digital marketing strategies
- Executive leadership “learning society” program
- Executive program for global business
- Executive program for global tourism management
- Leadership and soft skills for the global workforce
- Marketing trends (marketing program 2023)
- Professionalization program: dynamic leadership and marketing skills
- Segmentación basada en tendencias
- Social media marketing
- The importance of business in our community
- The importance of leadership inside and outside the classroom
- Global health
- Conversational Spanish in an academic setting
- Painless public speaking
- Self-esteem
- Spanish course
- English skills for educational psychology students in the healthcare field
- Essential leadership program for educational leaders
- International innovation leadership course: transforming the professional environment with AI.
- International professional development for engineers through communication and soft skills
- Putting my social-emotional skills into practice
- Introduction to renewable and sustainable energy
- Lithium and its future in our valley
- Renewable energy
- Renewable energy integration
- Renewable energy integration into smart grid
Offers vocational and technical training that combines English language learning, digital literacy, and job-readiness skills to prepare participants for immediate employment in high demand U.S. industries.
Works with key agencies such as the Imperial County Department of Social Services, CalWORKs, IVROP, and America’s Job Center of California to provide workforce preparation and employment support.
Offers training, strengthens English proficiency, and computer skills necessary for success in both the workplace and everyday life.
Contact Information
[email protected]
(760) 595-4859
720 Heber Avenue, Calexico, CA 92231
English Language Diagnostic Exam
The English Language Diagnostic Exam by the Professional Skills Development Center (PSDC) at San Diego State University – Imperial Valley is a 100% online assessment tool designed to measure the English proficiency of students, teachers, and professionals. It provides accurate results aligned with international standards and helps institutions identify linguistic strengths, challenges, and progress over time.
To evaluate the participant's English language proficiency across grammar, reading, listening, writing, and speaking, providing clear data for instructional planning and progress tracking.
- Grammar
- Reading
- Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- 100% Online
- Available for all educational levels – from elementary to higher education
- Flexible scheduling adapted to institutional calendars
- Individual or institutional administration options
Each participant receives a detailed individual report, while institutions receive a comprehensive diagnostic summary.
Accordion
English Language Assessment and Certification
English is the closest thing to a universal language that we have. Therefore, it is the logical choice for a second language. Throughout Latin America and the greater modern world, there is a need for certifying the English language proficiency of students, educators, and program coordinators.
SDSU’s English Language Skills Certification has created a set of online instruments and exams capable of certifying students' English proficiency at any of the six levels established by the Common European Framework of Reference. The exams evaluate the English language skills of students and teachers in such areas as language structure, writing, reading, speaking, and listening comprehension. All aspects of the assessments are conducted online, using the specifically designed digital platform created by Excellence Certification.
The following handbook contains pertinent information regarding our background, the aims and goals of our program, and characteristics of our Certification Exams.
For more information regarding any of our services, please contact us:
ELS CERTIFICATION
[email protected]
