Courses in the Northern region
Representing courses
Organising courses
Health & safety courses
Equality courses
Bargaining courses
Specialist courses
Course for the Northern region will be published shortly. Please wait until courses for your particular region are showing before booking courses in other regions. All course will be showing by early July 2025.
These are the courses for branch reps and activists currently running in Northern region.
If there are no dates listed for the course you'd like to attend, or if you'd like to be made aware of further dates, please register your interest here.

Effective negotiating & bargaining skills: November 2025, In Person, Newcastle
This course is for those who are negotiating with management or those in the branch who want to learn more about the negotiating process. You will learn about the phases of negotiation, how to represent members effectively, how to develop arguments, define a bargaining strategy and respond to unfair tactics. This course will also touch on some of the practices taught in both strike school and organising for power.

Equality Reps: Introduction - July, 2026, In Person
This course is aimed at new Equality reps and those who have been doing the role sometime but have not yet attended the Equality reps introduction. This course is the first part of a two day programme for all equality reps and there is an expectation that you will attend both sequentially. This course will help you explore equality through an allyship lens, understand your rights as a UCU Equality Rep, and gain practical tools to engage members and influence change. You will look at legal frameworks, intersectionality, branch organising, and the social model of disability. This course will underpin concepts explored further in day 2 (Bargaining for Equality). If day 2 is not currently advertised in your area you may attend in alternative regions/devolved nations.

Job evaluation: A collective approach - November 2025, UK wide course, online
This one day course is for branch reps and activists who are involved and interested in learning more about the importance of trade union involvement and representation in job evaluation schemes. The focus of the course will be around the use of collective action wherever possible.

Job evaluation: A collective approach, - April 2025, in person,
This one day course is for branch reps and activists who are involved and interested in learning more about the importance of trade union involvement and representation in job evaluation schemes. The focus of the course will be around the use of collective action wherever possible.

Rep 1: UCU reps induction - March 2026, In person
This classroom based course is aimed at new reps/caseworkers and activists who will be undertaking this role in the near future. Existing reps who have not attended training before are also encouraged to attend. You should complete this course prior to applying for the Rep 2 course. Throughout the course, we will explore key themes including how to organise around equality issues, deepen your understanding of UCU's democratic structures, and clarify your rights and responsibilities as a rep. You will develop core skills in member communication, recruitment, and organising, emphasis will be placed on building collective responses.

Rep 2: Representing UCU members - June, 2026, In Person
This classroom course is for reps who have completed UCU's Rep 1 course, H&S 1 or UCU's introduction to case work and are now actively engaged in representing individual members. The course assumes you are actively engaged with your branch and understand UCU's democratic structures both in the branch and nationally. This comprehensive introduction is designed specifically for trade union representatives seeking to develop their ability to support and represent members effectively.

Workload rep training 1: introduction to the workload campaign and the role of the workload rep - October 2025, Online
This half day course is open to UCU activists and reps who want to build upon their knowledge of workload as a health and safety hazard in the workplace. You should ensure you have branch approval prior to attending and tick the relevant box on the application form. The UCU workload campaign gives us the tools to tackle increasing workloads and working hours. The failure of employers to protect staff from excessive workloads and stress is damaging our health, our students' education, and our ability to organise to defend ourselves and our sector. This course will give you a generic overview of workload campaign and the role of the workload rep. You must complete workload reps 1 before attending workload reps 2.

Workload rep training 2: Workload campaign in action, inspections and investigation - November, Online
This short course is open to UCU activists and reps who want to build upon their knowledge of workload as a health and safety hazard in the workplace. The UCU workload campaign gives us the tools to tackle increasing workloads and working hours. The failure of employers to protect staff from excessive workloads and stress is damaging our health, our students' education, and our ability to organise to defend ourselves and our sector In this course you will work through practical examples and explore ideas around how to use the safety rep functions to identify and reduce excessive workloads.
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