Residential Courses
Residential training activities are mainly developed at the Campus of the International Training Center 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 four weeks. Training courses deal with specific subject areas and are based on active learning 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 - normally the first week or first few days of a programme - also includes presentations and discussions on main cross-cutting issues for workers, such as ILO/ACTRAV, international labour standards, the Declaration on Fundamental Rights and its Followup, gender equality and mainstreaming, the informatl economy, rights of migrant workers and HIV/AIDS. The topics of the international labour conference are also introduced and discussed during this period.
The comparative analysis of the different countries and sub-regions represented in the course is the first step in identifying the training needs of the participants and setting the specific course's objectives. The goal behind this process is to make sure that the training objectives and specific expectations of participants are linked to the technical contents of the course, and that suitable teaching methods are deployed for their achievements.
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 workplans which will be implemented at the national or local level upon partcipants' return to their organization.
The last week of a course is usually a study visit to a trade 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.
