We offer introductory training for new activists in UNISON. This is designed to give you the skills and knowledge you need to carry out your role with confidence.
The length and format of the course depends on the role that you’ve decided to take on. Courses for the representative roles (workplace rep/steward, health and safety rep, and union learning rep) run regularly, while courses for branch officers are usually run annually, in late spring or early summer.
UNISON courses are friendly and informal, and designed on the principle that everybody has an equal right to participate in, benefit from, and contribute to them.
Your introductory course will probably be delivered by your regional education team, but we offer some introductory courses nationally too. Take a look at your regional education programme to see which are coming up in your area, or find out about national courses on our events page.
While you’re waiting, you can get ahead by having a go at some of our e-learning modules. You’ll find these on our e-learning site. To get access to this, you’ll need to create a My.UNISON account if you haven’t already done so.
All UNISON activists need to complete the Data Protection module, and we have modules which get you started in some of the various activist roles.
Once you’ve completed your introductory training, you can undertake further courses to help you develop in your role. Look at our U-Train guide to see where you might go next.
Find out more about…
Training for workplace representatives (stewards)
Training for health and safety reps
Training for union learning reps (ULRs)