SOUTH EAST REGIONAL EDUCATION
A Message to Unite Members
Dear Colleague,
Welcome to the 2024-2025 Unite Education Programme for the South East Region. This course programme outlines the wide range of courses available to you as a Unite activist in the South East. In today’s world of work, it can be challenging being a representative. Our Education programme is designed to make sure you have the skills to support and empower our members in their day to day working lives and fight for decent Jobs, Pay and Conditions.
Our workplace reps courses and health and safety courses are all accredited by Ruskin College Oxford. All our courses are delivered using either online virtual Google Classroom platform or face to face in a Unite Office. Offering both these platforms of learning has been a great success in how we have delivered our training to the South East regional representatives and an important part of our training model.
The courses are arranged into four blocks each with five days in each block and run throughout the year at various locations in the region. In addition to this we are piloting evening classes for reps who want to engage in the training but struggle with time off during the day. We are going to be running these courses from 6pm-9pm over 10 evenings for each course.
At the moment we are offering this just for the Workplace Reps course and will review to extend the offer when we see the uptake. These will be run online with tutor support and details are in the brochure.
Another addition to the core training are bitesize workshops that are available to both reps and Unite Members. Detail of the types of workshops we plan to run are in the brochure. Regular mail outs will be sent out periodically with details on times and dates. Again these will be offered both during the day and evenings.
Any courses that don’t recruit sufficiently will be merged and converted to a course running on Google Classroom. As well as gaining knowledge, everyone on the course is encouraged to share their experiences and develop problem solving skills that they can take back to assist them in their efforts in the workplace. In addition to the courses outlined in this brochure we can also offer short courses tailored to the needs of individual workplaces or activists.
We are also keen to develop new courses to reflect specific strategic, industrial or political goals. For more information please contact myself and our Education team in the South East Regional Centre.
Education is the backbone of all of our efforts to organise and grow in the workplace, so please sign up for these courses either online or by emailing [email protected].
In solidarity
Rebecca Carr
South East Regional Education Organiser
To download our new brochure for 2023/2024, click here.
As an elected Workplace Representative it is essential you access your initial training as soon after election as possible. Your initial training consists of Module 1A and 1B. It is best to book both courses at the same time to ensure you have a place reserved on each course.
Workplace Representatives Module 1A - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
This course is designed to be the core initial training for Unite workplace reps. The course covers the wide range of knowledge and skills needed by the new Rep including:
• Key skills for organising your workplace
• Handling discipline and grievance cases
• Communication skills
• Introduction to Employment Law Equality at Work
Workplace Representatives Module 1B - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
For reps who have completed Module 1A.
This course covers:
• Evaluating and assessing your experience since the Stage 1 course
• Understanding the concept of ‘good work’
• Understanding and dealing with Issues around Dignity and Respect in the workplace
• Problem solving skills
• Bargaining skills
• Work-life balance• Building a strong workplace union
Workplace Representatives Module 2A - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
For reps who have completed Modules 1A & 1B.
The course covers:
• Improving confidence and knowledge in exploring, questioning and using employment law
• Exploring research skills and developing the ability to find out how legal provisions impact on your members rights in the workplace
• How changes to employment law impact on your workplace rights
• Planning alternative solutions other than employment law to your workplace issues
• Working as a team to develop collective actions
Workplace Representatives Module 2B - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
The course is designed for representatives as follow on training for those that have completed Modules 1A, 1B and 2A.
This course covers:
• Rights to information
• Workplace Rights
• Collective Bargaining
• Agreements
• The Case for Collective Agreements
• Planning for getting an agreement
• Collective Bargaining and Negotiation
As an elected Health & Safety Representative it is essential you access your initial training as soon after election as possible. Your initial training consists of Module 1A and 1B. It is best to book both courses at the same time to ensure you have a place reserved on each course.
Health & Safety Representatives Module 1A - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
This course is the essential course for all new Unite Health and Safety Representatives. It is designed to help you build the skills, knowledge and confidence to organise effectively in order to carry out your work as a Safety Rep as well as to create understanding of how economic and others aspects affect the working lives, health, safety and welfare of working people.
The course covers:
• Understanding the role of a Unite Safety Rep
• The legal framework of Health and Safety
• Rights of Safety Reps
• Involving the members in Health and Safety
• Accident Investigations – Risk Assessments
Health & Safety Representatives Module 1B - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
The course develops the skills and knowledge learnt in Module 1A:
• Examining your workplace risk assessment and evaluating them
• Understanding health & safety audits and company accident statistics
• Appreciate health & safety legislation including aspects of criminal and civil law
Health & Safety Representatives Module 2A - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
Module 2A of Unites Health & Safety training builds upon the knowledge learnt in Modules 1A and 1B.
The course covers:
• Assessment of workplace action plan
• Understanding COSHH and related hazards
• Carrying out a workplace audit
• Explore manual handing and ergonomic risks
• Creating a healthier work environment
Health & Safety Representatives Module 2B - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
Module 2B of Unites Health & Safety training builds upon the knowledge learnt in Modules 1A, 1B and 2A.
This course covers:
• Assessment of workplace action plan
• Understanding accidents and finding route cause
• Investigation techniques
• Managing risks and incidents
Course description:
Designed to give all Unite Reps the confidence and knowledge to address equality and diversity issues, the course provides a comprehensive overview of equality in the workplace.
On completion of the course Reps should be able to:
• Recognise equality issues within the workplace
• Know what constitutes discrimination, harassment and bullying
• Challenge their perception of equality & diversity
• Understand the key points of new equalities legislation, measures and legal decisions
• Decide how best to support workers in response to new equalities legislation
• Use interviewing techniques to deal with individual and workplace equality issues• Develop equality policies and practice
Course description:
This course is designed to be the core initial training for all Unite Union Learning Reps (ULRs). It helps them develop the basic knowledge and skills needed as a new Rep, enabling them
to work with colleagues in the workplace to analyse training needs. The course forms a solid foundation for the new ULR to develop their skills and their own personal development.
We offer a wide range of additional courses open to representatives. You may find some of these suitable for enhancing your existing skills. We advice that you complete your initial reps training before accessing these additional courses.
Mental Health Awareness - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
This course will help Reps develop a better understanding on mental health issues and how they affect members in the workplace. You will develop a better understanding of Disability Discrimination Law and how it applies to people with mental health illnesses. The training will enable you to develop a strategy to deal with workplace mental health issues and ensure employees are not discriminated against.
Bus Scheduling - 4 Consecutive Days
Course description:
This course is designed to better equip bus schedule reps with the skills and confidence to enable them to successfully negotiate improvements in working conditions and organising around these issues.
This course includes:
• Raising awareness of different workplace terms and conditions
• Developing skills to encourage a greater understanding of schedule rep functions
• Examining issues arising from the introduction of a new route
• Constructing a working timetable and blocks of driving time. Analysing information held on a flat line graph
• Understanding duty compilations, roster formulas, rest day patterns and transferring this information onto a roster
• Scheduling costing
• Examining issues surrounding the law and union policies
• Devising and implementing strategies to improve health and safety cultures
Branch Secretaries Course - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
The Branch Secretary is a key player in the Unite team. The concept of this course is to develop Branch Secretaries within Unite by providing them with the knowledge and skills, and nurturing their passion, to drive forward the ideology of our union, to develop our activist base and grow and strengthen our membership. This course is designed for all new Branch Secretaries, and for those who have not attended the course recently.
The course covers:
• The administrative role of the Branch Secretary
• How the union works
• How ‘lay democracy’ starts at local branch level
• Understanding organisation procedures
• Encouraging active participation within the Unite structure
• Branch Finance
• Understanding the ‘Strategy for Growth’ and the crucial role that the branch plays
• Setting out a local ‘strategy for growth’ for recruitment, retention and participation in branch life
• Branch Portal
• Chairing and Organising Skills
Employment Law & Industrial Relations - 5 Consecutive Days
Course description:
The course ideally is for reps that have completed Workplace Reps 1A & 1B to enhance their knowledge around Employment
law and Industrial relations.
Negotiating Skills -1 Day
Course description:
This course examines the art of negotiation, considers different styles of negotiation and is designed for Unite Workplace Reps, Safety Reps, ULR’s, Equality Reps and branch officials involved in negotiations.