PSC Learning Platform
Business, leadership, management and communication training for everyone in a Canadian surveying company, from the field crew to the owner’s office.
Explore the platformSee the Learning PathsProfessional development for the company-running side of surveying
Most professional development in our profession covers standards, technology and regulation. The PSC Learning Platform covers what sits around that work: leading people, managing teams, communicating well, understanding the numbers and designing a company that runs well.
It is PSC’s CPD program, and the only CPD that PSC provides. It was built with input from surveying leaders across Canada. It is grounded in the economics and roles of Canadian surveying companies, including the Canadian tax and wealth content that most American material doesn’t cover.
Two shifts in how we think about professional development
From surveyors to the whole company
Professional development in our profession has mostly been for the licensed surveyor. But a company runs on everyone in it. The PSC Learning Platform is built for the people who lead crews, run projects, manage offices and keep the business moving, as well as the surveyors and owners who lead them. When everyone shares the same language for good work, the whole company gets stronger.
From CPD credits to company capability
CPD credits matter, and courses are CPD-creditable for licensed surveyors. But in our experience, credits are the by-product, not the goal. The goal is a company that runs better: managers who develop their people, leaders who make good decisions close to the work, teams that communicate well, and owners who see their numbers clearly. Every lesson ends with a practical tool that learners can put to work that week.
Built for everyone who makes the company work
Owners and CEOs
See the business clearly, plan with intent, and build a company that doesn’t need you for every decision.
Branch managers and senior surveyors
Lead with clarity and make good decisions close to the work.
Project managers and supervisors
Build engaged, efficient teams through delegation, coaching and the conversations that drive performance.
Crew chiefs and party chiefs
Lead a field crew with confidence: clear expectations, good handoffs, respectful feedback.
Drafting, CAD and technical leads
Develop the people coming up behind you and hand work off well.
Office managers and administrative staff
Communicate with skill across the team and with clients, and see how your work creates value.
Every employee
Soft skills and personal development. Understand how the company makes money and where your work fits.
Five areas, connected Learning Paths
Short Learning Paths curated for a specific role and a specific problem, plus stand-alone courses for a single need. Many courses appear in more than one path, and new courses are added regularly.
Business
How the company creates value, plans and runs.
Business Fundamentals
How a surveying company creates value, and the financial mechanics everyone running it needs to understand.
Business Planning
A twelve-month and five-year planning rhythm, so the plan lives in the company and not only in the owner’s head.
Operational Excellence
See the work, design the system and hand it to the team.
Leadership
The identity, judgment and choices of a company leader.
Leadership
The inner game of leading a well-run company: agency, values, judgment and the bench beneath you.
People, Productivity & Profit Blueprint
Design the company on purpose with the Working Org Chart™, fair compensation and the drivers of gross margin.
Management
The craft of getting great work done through people.
Coaching & Communication
Management for the New Manager, The Manager as Coach and Crucial Communications.
Management Fundamentals
Motivation, delegation, coaching, strengths, rhythm and the conversations that drive performance.
Stand-alone courses
Focused courses such as Delegation and Preventing Burnout, for a specific need.
Personal Development
The skills beneath good work, for everyone.
Ten Soft Skills You Need
Communication, collaboration and the interpersonal skills every role depends on.
Personal Development
Understand how you work best, and how to work well with people who work differently.
Wealth
Canadian financial clarity for owners and employees.
Financial Wizardry
From employee and business finance through Corporate Wealth Wizardry: the Canadian tax and wealth strategies that matter to owners.
Suggested routes by role
Not everyone needs everything. Most managers never need the wealth material, and most owners don’t start with supervision. These are common starting routes, not requirements.
Owner or principal
Branch or regional leader
General manager
Manager, supervisor or crew chief
Not sure where to start?
Tradewinds Group can help your company with a Training Needs Assessment, a structured look at what each role needs and where the platform fits.
Built to change how the company runs
Short video lessons
Each course is a small set of focused lessons, taught by Cher Cunningham and Jim Pelot of Tradewinds Group or by a vetted guest instructor.
A tool every time
Every lesson ends with a worksheet, template or calculator that learners can use in the company that week.
One company, followed throughout
A composite Canadian surveying company runs through the courses, so learners see the ideas at work in a company like theirs.
CPD-creditable
Courses count toward CPD for licensed surveyors. For everyone else, they count toward how the company runs.
Four ways to use the platform
A single course
Pick the one topic that matters most right now, for one person or a few.
A Learning Path
A short, connected sequence curated for a role and a problem.
A live cohort
Live online sessions where your team works through the material together.
A custom bundle
Paths selected for your roles and offices, with team reporting. You choose it for convenience, customization and reporting, not for a lower price.
The recommended way to use it
In our experience, a course taken alone changes what one person knows. A course followed up by their manager changes what the company does. When learners see what they’ve learned reflected in the company, they know they’re allowed to use it.
- Start with one course and one conversation. Choose a course, then sit down with the learner before and after it.
- Ask what they’ll try. A short follow-up tells people they have permission to use what they learned, and that you expect them to.
- Make it visible. Bring the tools into the meetings you already hold, such as a monthly manager meeting or a weekly operations check-in.
- Build from there. Once one course has taken hold, add the next course or a Learning Path.
What the platform doesn’t cover
A real look at your company’s training needs will surface technical, regulatory, software and safety training. That work matters, and other providers serve it well. The PSC Learning Platform focuses on business, leadership, management, communication and wealth, and aims to do those well. A Training Needs Assessment with Tradewinds Group maps all of your needs, including the ones we don’t cover.
A partnership built for the profession
Professional Surveyors Canada
Canada’s national association of professional surveyors, bringing the platform to its members and guiding it with input from surveying leaders.
Tradewinds Group
Content developed by Cher Cunningham and Jim Pelot, drawing on their work advising and coaching owner-managed professional services companies, including surveying companies.
Syllogi
The team that built and runs the platform, and supports companies using it.
Vetted guest instructors
Specialists who teach in their own field, such as Olivia of Peninsula HR Canada. Each is vetted before joining the platform.
Bring the platform to your company
Visit the platform to browse courses. To talk about the best starting point for your team, including a Training Needs Assessment with Tradewinds Group, contact PSC.