The purpose of Trade Union training and education is to empower our representatives and equip them to secure better outcomes for our members.  

Trade Union education is different from other forms of education because it is group oriented and grounded in the experiences, and needs of participants.

Trade union training is non-academic and focuses on developing key skills for effective representation, recognising that our representatives are the experts in their field. All the learning is practical, applicable, and relevant to participants.

The Fórsa Skills Academy works to enhance members’ knowledge, skills and attitudes with high quality, accessible training and learning events, and activist development opportunities.

Our programmes are about supporting local leaders, developing competent representatives, and supporting our activists.  How?  By creating a simple pathway of learning for representatives to travel.

A quick overview of our main programmes is contained in the diagram below, represented as a series of blocks forming a learning pathway, from new member to workplace representative and then on to branch executive officer.  Additional courses are being added all the time to this pathway.

 
We survey all participants in our training courses to ensure we can adjust our training to ensure they are as effective as possible and to ensure we continue to support members on their learning pathway. 

The Application Process 

It’s important that training applications are received in a timely fashion to enable all courses to proceed as scheduled.  The Branch Executive Committee and Officials should be made aware of those seeking training, so that they can advise and provide support accordingly.

Keep an eye on your Divisional ebulletin for further articles about training and education in Fórsa.  If you have a specific question or clarification on our training programmes, please don’t hesitate to contact Judith in the Skills Academy office in Cork at skillsacademy@forsa.ie

We look forward to welcoming you at our next training programme and leave you with a wonderful quote from the indomitable Maya Angelou: “I did then what I knew how to do.  Now that I know better, I do better”.