The California State Parks System once operated on the premise that experience is the best teacher. Most skills in park management, operations, maintenance, interpretation, safety, and law enforcement were acquired on the job. In 1969, a pioneer park management and operations training program began in a small cottage on the Asilomar Conference Grounds. That program proved its worth; in 1973, const
ruction of the William Penn Mott Jr. Training Center was completed. From those first efforts in 1969, the Training Center has grown to provide many different programs to meet the increasingly complex and diverse job performance requirements of employees in the park and recreation field.