This month the Skills Academy are happy to announce the roll-out of an enhanced record system, designed and built by the Fórsa membership team. This system will give the Skills Academy the ability to identify and collate information on branch participation in training, and completion rates for all courses. 

Fórsa director of membership training and development, Fiona Dunne, said “This new system will allow us to more easily access student records and gather a full statistical breakdown of which members are taking up training. This information will allow us to better match what we have on offer with members’ needs, and ensure our resources are being directed where they’re needed.” 

The new interface will cover records from the past three years. Branches that wish to know what training has been undertaken by their representatives during that time can contact the Skills Academy at skillsacademy@forsa.ie.

Coming up in the next few weeks, the Skills Academy has the ever-popular Induction for new members, their first-ever Skills Academy Certificate Award Ceremony, and to celebrate Pride month, an LGBTQIA+ themed Lunch & Learn.  

Fórsa Induction for new members – Online - Wednesday 9th July  

Ideal for new members, Fórsa Induction is a short, informative session designed to unravel some of the mysteries of the union and provide a warm welcome. 

Learn the basics of what exactly a trade union is, the structure of Fórsa and how we operate, and how members can become more engaged, have their voices heard locally, and raise issues at divisional and national levels.   

Register here.

Live: Lunch & Learn – Supporting our LGBTQIA+ colleagues – 1-2pm Friday 27th June – Online  

LGBT Ireland's Pride Talk 2025 will bring you through the history of Pride in Ireland over the past five decades and outline why Pride celebrations in 2025 matter as much now as they did over 40 years ago, when the first Pride parade took place. Allyship is the key way for non-LGBTQIA+ people to express support, provide safety and co-create a fully equal and inclusive workplace, community and society. Allyship is at the heart of why Pride still matters.  

If you are interested, you can register here. Registration will remain open until Thursday 26th June.

Skills Academy Certificate Award Ceremony – 2.30pm 24th June - Nerney’s Court  

The Skills Academy are looking forward to welcoming some of their former students to Nerney’s Court next week for the first-ever Skills Academy certificate award ceremony. This ceremony will see students from several courses receive certificates of completion for courses they took this year. A second ceremony will take place later in the year for the remaining courses. Anyone in and around Nerney’s Court on the day is encouraged to join in celebrating their union colleagues’ achievement. 

Next semester  

The next academic year begins in September with a wide variety of both new and returning courses available for members. Workplace Representative Training levels one and two, Public Speaking, Data Protection, Digital and Social Media, Communications, and more! Applications for each will open over the coming weeks. 

Check out the full schedule for the upcoming academic year here. If you would like to apply for any courses, you can contact your branch committee directly to receive an application link as they become available. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.