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 Home Get Active Successful Organising
Academy team help union power ahead12 September 2005The Usdaw academy continues to pay off as four thousand new members have signed up thanks to the sterling efforts of the 23 academy organisers. Organising officers are selected from the union’s growing number of activists who have had some experience of recruiting and organising. They are seconded to the Academy for six months. Here they combine on-the-job training with a series of classroom based sessions to help them organise recruitment campaigns in their area. Each organiser is assigned their own Usdaw official to offer guidance. The training programme includes a series of sessions at the National Training Centre in Warrington, on; recruiting one-to-one, mapping the workplace, inductions, an organising approach, planning and reviewing campaigns and building teams of reps. Basic IT training on computers and the internet is also given. Network caught up with two of the 23 recruits as they passed the three-month mark. “It’s been a real eye-opener for me,” said Peter Millward, 40, who is based at the Andover office. “On my first day I walked into a store and told them I was from the union – I was asked ‘what’s a union?’. I was horrified, I thought it was a joke at first, but this was a recurring theme. "There are literally thousands of workers out there who don’t know they can join a union. I’ve relished the challenge. It can be very frustrating when you don’t get the results you want but this is always offset by the success stories. “The Academy has been a fantastic experience and has helped me to grow and improve my skills.” Sarah France, at 23 the youngest member of the team, said: “The three months have flown by. You need to plan and organise your campaigns properly to get the maximum success – that’s the key. “I recruited 85 per cent of the staff at the Tesco Express store in Gee Cross, Hyde in Cheshire. All I had to do was ask them to join! After I’d spent half an hour explaining the benefits of union membership they were more than happy to sign up. The next step is to elect a shop steward, organise their training and then together we can fully support the membership within the store.”
Do you have what it takes to join the Academy team?Usdaw is always on the look out for committed, enthusiastic, and talented reps who want to make a bigger contribution to the union. The Academy offers reps a unique opportunity of first-class training, and valuable on-the-job experience. It will also help you develop as an individual giving you more confidence and skills as you progress. It’s not for the faint-hearted. You have to be a self-starter, able to take the rough with the smooth and possess a belief in your ability to help recruit and organise members across the whole range of Usdaw trades. It could be just what you are looking for. For more Academy information visit www.usdaw.org.uk/getactive/academy or contact Carl Parker at Central Office Tel: 0161 224 2804. Contact Details Media and Communications Department Ph: 0161 224 2804 Fax: 0161 248 8588 communications@usdaw.org.uk http://www.usdaw.org.uk/getactive/  Printer Friendly Page  Email to a Friend
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