Education

Overview of our Program

The PSAC is proud to offer its members a union education program that ranks among the best and most comprehensive within the Canadian labour movement. Our various courses provide members with learning opportunities to develop knowledge, skills, and personal confidence. Union education encourages participation and promotes mutual respect and understanding between members and the union leadership. A trained membership is an active membership and active members build a strong union. 

PSAC education involves extensive application of modern adult and popular education techniques. Workshops, role plays, case studies, discussion periods, interactive panels, group projects, and audio-visual aids are a few examples of the methods used to share experiences, solve problems, and strategize for the future.  

The Alliance Facilitators' Network (AFN) is also an important and vital part of the PSAC Education Program. Members who receive special training as union facilitators are available to conduct information and education seminars at the workplace and in the Local. These seminars can range in length from one hour to one day, depending on the subject matters and the needs of the Local members. 

To ensure union education is accessible, the PSAC helps defray costs members incur when they attend courses. (See your PSAC Regional Representative and/or your PSAC Regional Education Officer for details). For all courses, no matter the length, members may also be eligible for the Family Care Allowance. 

PSAC education equips members to be active in their union. In each region, broad based consultations take place with members, Locals, regional committees and the regional leadership to develop the Regional Education Plan. Education Staff, working in partnership with Regional Council Education Committees and other PSAC members, develop programs that respond uniquely, to the special needs of each region and at the same time, provide a global perspective, promoting solidarity at both the regional and national levels of our union. 

The PSAC has also made inroads in obtaining employer support for union training. They are recognizing the excellence of the programs we offer, and are seeing the first-hand benefits providing members access to many of our training programs. 

Basic PSAC courses range in length from one or two days up to six days for the more advanced training. Courses may also be conducted in alternate formats (for example in a series of evening or lunch hour sessions), depending on available resources and the needs of the membership.

Here is an overview of the type of training that our programs offer:

• Union Orientation
• Union Building
• Health and Safety
• Grievance Handling and other Representation Skills
• Union Administration
• Equity and Human Rights
• Anti-harassment
• Facilitation skills
• The Changing Workplace
• Classification
• Strike & mobilization training
• Convention Preparation and Procedures
• Political action
• Alliance Facilitators' Training Program (AFTP)
• Leadership Development 
  

The PSAC Education Program has proven highly successful. Over our more than 20-year history thousands of members have enjoyed the learning opportunities available through the union's education program. For more information about PSAC education, please contact your Steward, Local Union Education Contact, the PSAC Regional Office in your area and/or visit our website at http://www.psac-afpc.com 

Additional Educational Opportunities 

In addition to PSAC programs, members have access to union education through their Components, District Labour Councils, and Provincial Federations of Labour. The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) also offers a number of training programs in various locations across Canada. In Québec, the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ) administers the CLC funds for education purposes and offers a wide range of courses. 

The Canadian Labour Congress sponsors a special school for Canadian unionists - the Labour College of Canada.  

The new format for the CLC Labour College of Canada consists of five weeks: one week in the regions and four weeks nationally. The program is multi-disciplinary consisting of four interrelated courses: Economics, Political Science, Labour History and Labour Sociology. The week-long course in the regions is Labour Law. 

Prospective students do not have to take the four-week national program and the one-week regional program in the same year but should normally have both finalized within a five-year period. Limited scholarships and bursaries for the four-week national program are available to help unionists defray the costs of attending the College. These awards are made on the basis of recommendations or decisions of the Labour College Selection Committee. 

In addition, the College offers Labour Studies 202: Labour College of Canada - Introduction to Labour Studies. This new distance learning program, available in English only, is offered by the Labour College in collaboration with Athabasca University and can be taken by home study or on the Internet. Labour Studies 202 replaces the former correspondence course. 

For more information on the Labour College courses, please contact the Labour College of Canada, Suite 200, 2841 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 8N4.
Telephone: (613) 733-9967.