GFTU BGCM 2019 Minutes

share ideas and their own experiences whilst learning from each other. In

essence, we are enabling people to train others. The officers in the first cohort

really came out of their shells through the process. There is some classroom

work around the theories of learning and the expectations of the course, but the

bulk of the course is the group splitting up into small groups to develop a mini

brief of a course and a 40 minute session to run with the rest of the group as

guinea pigs on a topic of their choice and boy did they deliver! We had

handouts, PowerPoints, a news bulletin put together and filmed with a member

of the group being the presenter, washing lines, quizzes, the internet minute. I

could go on. The imagination and engagement was second to none.

Every single person fully engaged with the course and, like Mike, I certainly

came away with a few ideas to pinch for our members. At the end of the last

session when all the practical parts had been done every officer in there felt

empowered and able to go away and train reps and members in the areas the

groups had covered. No longer were people asking how they were going to

teach others. Personally, I came away from the course inspired and

approached my own union about running a course for our reps who work at 2

Sisters. We ended up calling it modern day trade unionism. I wanted to call it

dealing with a difficult employer, but we did not think they would get released

for that. But without the train the trainers course I would not have had the

confidence to put it together, let alone deliver it. The feedback from it was

great and some of it I had pinched from the colleagues at PCS, but some of it I

put together myself. The reps that attended found it really useful. It was a

different way of learning. They were jetting off to Northern College. We were

sat in their learning centre doing this course.

I will wrap up, but I am happy to talk about either of the two things over the next

few days, so please grab me and, like I say, please let me have the details of

your young members officers. Thank you. (Applause)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Sarah, thank you very much and thank you for the

work that you do for the GFTU with all our young members. So, colleagues, I

hope you enjoyed all those speeches and presentations as much as I did. It

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