SIPTU College is Ireland’s only trade union college and has responsibility for the training, education and upskilling of activists and staff.
Trade union education in its broadest sense refers to the ‘tools’ required to be an effective union activist and awareness of the current social, political and economic ‘issues’ that form the background.
So, training union representatives is our core task but SIPTU College also aims to provide a second chance at education for union members while focusing on courses and programmes useful for social activism as much as for work.
It is said that ‘education is no load to carry’, meaning that participation in training and education opportunities and advancing your learning may be a beneficial encounter, regardless of your life stage, as it can facilitate the development of critical thinking as a means of advancing wider trade union goals.
With the world of work constantly changing, SIPTU College is continually developing and designing new and innovative training programmes to ensure our shop stewards have the necessary skills and confidence to meet the challenges they face in their workplace.
The College has several learning centres with excellent training facilities located right around the country, including Tullamore, Sligo, Galway and Limerick with Learning Coordinators running training and education programmes from those centres.
A new schedule of courses will be available for the Autumn semester, so keep an eye on the SIPTU College Facebook page and speak to your Industrial Organiser if you are interested in attending any of our advertised courses.
By Eira Gallagher, Head of SIPTU College