Workers' Activities

About the Training Activities

The development of the Program is facilitated by guidelines established in discussions with the Workers’ Group of the Governing Body of the ILO (see the meeting report of the Trade Union Training Committee and with the support of the ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV).

Residential training activities are mainly developed at the campus of the International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin, Italy. The Centre’s resources include: classrooms, learning resource centres, computer laboratories, video conferencing facilities and a documentation centre.

The normal duration of residential courses is between three to five weeks. Training courses deal with specific subject areas and are based on active leraning methods. This participant-centred approach encourages the full participation of each course member in programme activities and validates the union experience of the participants.

Courses begin by drawing on the experience, skills, knowledge and attitudes of the participants. Each participant prepares a country report before coming to Turin and it is discussed in the first sessions of the course. A comparative exercise between the different trade union structures represented by the participants is then developed.

(This part of the course also includes courses presentations on topics such as ILO/ACTRAV, international labour standards, the Declaration on Fundamental Rights and its Followup and the rights of women workers.)

The comparative analysis of the different countries and sub-regions represented in the course is the first step in calibrating the training needs of the participants and the course’s objectives. The goal behind this process is to make sure that training objectives are related to the technical content of the course, supported by suitable teaching methods.

This approach leads to continuous adaptation of the course’s pace and content within the group and with the trainers. In other words, trainers are responsive to participant’s needs which arise during the course.

The programme content is always presented with training materials prepared by the Programme and the trainers. A large number of practical exercises accompany the presentation of subject matters in order to facilitate knowledge assimilation and the exchange of experiences and information between the participants and trainers.

The final phase of a course is always the preparation of work-plans which will be implemented at the national or local level.

The last week of a course is usually a study visit to a major union centre where the participants can learn how their subject area is being addressed in real-life conditions.

The Programme’s educational approach, as outlined above, is based on active learning methods and is continuously monitored by means of course meetings and weekly evaluations.

The cost of conducting the courses is borne by the ILO and other sponsors, including national trade union organizations.

In addition to course at the Centre, the Programme also organizes followup seminars in the field. These seminars are conducted in order to advance the skills of the participants and assess the contribution of the Programme’s contribution to the achievement of the participant’s objectives.

Regional activities are also jointly developed with ACTRAV’s staff members in the field who are responsible for workers’ education.