76th Atlantic Regional Council - Training Committee Report
ATLANTIC REGIONAL TRAINING COMMITTEE REPORT
May 24-25, 2019
The mandate for the Regional Training Committee is outlined in the National Training Policy. To quote the policy:
“The Regional Training Committee will determine basic and special training needs, prepare and submit regional training plans, review and recommend training content, review training evaluations, and implement a regional program of steward mentorship.”
I am truly honoured that the Regional Executive elected me as the training committee chair for a second year.
The success of the committee in meeting its mandate this year is due to the hard work and dedication of the committee members and regional staff.
First I would like to take this opportunity to thank the committee members for their support, commitment, knowledge and guidance over the last year: Kim Skanes, Phil Wilson, Mike Pauley, Marcel Journeay, and Jason Rioux. It was a pleasure working with you and I thank you for keeping me on my toes and helping me find my lost words. In all seriousness, it was through your dedication and hard work that we were able to accomplish our goals this year. Great TEAM work.
Second, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Regional Office staff with whom the committee works in conjunction with to provide training to the region’s members and stewards. The success of the activities we have hosted over this past year would not be possible without Catherine Pinks and Donna Davis. We thank you for your patience, dedication, and the expertise that you provide to members. We truly appreciate the behind the scenes work you both do to enable members to attend training events and meetings.
To Paul and Max thank you for continuing to provide exemplary training sessions for our members. We send a special thank you to John Hanrahan an ERO from the Edmonton Office and our own happily relocated to Ottawa, Barry Hebert, who co-facilitated with Paul and Max at the Atlantic Training School this past April.
In the Atlantic Region, we have successfully completed the following training sessions over the past year:
- September 20-22, 2018: Basic Steward Training in St. John, NB with 14 participants, 4 of who were refreshers.
- October 2018: Atlantic Steward Council hosted 130 participants.
- November 23-24, 2018: Constituent Body Training in Charlottetown, PEI with 15 participants.
- February 21-23, 2019: Basic Steward Training in Dartmouth, NS with 19 participants, 6 of whom were refreshers.
- April 2018: Regional Training School in Annapolis Valley NS with 44 participants.
All of these training events received positive feedback from our members. We appreciate member feedback as it enables us to continue to improve our future training events.
Since the 2018 ARC report the region has trained 48 new stewards. We currently have 217 stewards in the Atlantic Region.
Our yearly Steward Council is an important event for the stewards in the region as it provides training, updates on current issues and provides stewards an opportunity to network with stewards from other provinces and departments/agencies. The 2018 Steward Council theme of Harassment and guest speaker presentations were positively “rosy” as noted in the event evaluations. We are currently in the process of finalizing the 2019 Steward Council themes, training, speakers and hospitality events. It promises to be an educational and fun event.
The Training Committee budget includes funding for Lunch and Learn sessions. Since last ARC, I have approved 25 Lunch and Learn requests. Topics covered included: PIPSC and you; Service Plus; Employee Wellness Support Plan; International Day of Persons with a Disability; Pensions; Heathy Living, and Workplace Violence and Bullying. Please note the Atlantic Region has seven members who have completed the Pensions Lunch and Learn facilitator training. If you are planning a Pensions Lunch and Learn, please contact me, or the Education section to connect you with a facilitator in your area.
I am pleased to advise you that the Lunch and Learn request process is updated to include an on-line application form. The new on-line form can be found on the PIPSC website under the education tab at:
Upon completion, the form is automatically submitted to Education, who subsequently sends the request to the regional training committee chair for approval. The approval email is housed by education and automatically sent to finance when an expense claim is submitted.
*A friendly reminder to cc the training committee chair when submitting the lunch and learn expense claim and, to complete the lunch and learn evaluation form. Please note, the lunch and learn evaluation form will be available as an on-line form in the near future.
We encourage anyone wishing to host a Lunch and Learn session to contact a member of the Training Committee for more information or consult the PIPSC webpage for details at the following address:
Education welcomes and encourages members’ suggestions for new lunch and learn topics. Please feel free to bring forward any suggestions for consideration to myself or Kim Skanes, Training and Education Committee Chair.
As your representative at the National Training and Education Committee, I am happy to report that we continue to work on the PIPSC Training Program revamp. To date we have completed the Steward and Training Policies, which are in final approval stage; provided input on the new leadership and harassment courses, which we piloted this year; and continued to include regional feedback on the training program revamp. As of February 2019, the committee has been tasked with the new “Steward Framework” initiative. This project is a continuation and expansion of the training revamp that we have been working on over the past year with a focus on Steward Renewal, Stewards General, Steward Recognition, Steward Application/Recruitment, and Steward Training. We are moving forward at a rapid pace and aim to meet our 2019 milestones as set.
It has been my pleasure to serve as Chair of the Training Committee this past year. Thanks again to the committee members and staff for your support and guidance over the past year. I look forward to what can be accomplished in the coming year. The Training Committee pledges to carry out its mandate to the best of their ability.
In Solidarity,
Carolyn Hynes
Chair, Atlantic Regional Training Committee