The recently launched Working in Partnership training programme is "the first concrete product on partnership" to teach individual enterprises how to make partnership happen at workplace level, according to the National Centre for Partnership (NCP).
Mr Cormac McConnell of the centre, which is based at the Department of An Taoiseach, says the programme shows individual enterprises how to "go out there" and prove how partnership can be implemented at workplace level.
The programme was conceived jointly by the employers' body IBEC, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the NCP, the board of which comprises components of IBEC and ICTU, the Department of Finance and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
IBEC and ICTU came together on many projects over the years "but nothing that was going to be a living document or a living programme. This is going to be around for many years to come" and it is "the first concrete product on partnership", he says.
The employers and unions have given the programme their seal of approval. They worked hard to come up with a product that they both agreed with. "It's like developing a new agreement in a sense. It's quite revolutionary," he says.
It's "a new way of doing IR [industrial relations] and changing from this adversarial role to this sort of partnership role is all new stuff". It involves "for the first time management and trade union officials or representatives sitting around the table" as fellow participants doing a module.
Although pitched at all companies, it is expected to focus initially on companies with 100 employees or more. It will cost between £750£1,500 per day, paid for by the companies.
The new training programme covers the following areas:
Understanding and developing partnership in competitive enterprises: two days. Up to 16 participants. An interactive workshop with tutor-led case studies, discussion groups and problem-solving exercises which aims to apply partnership arrangements into specific workplaces.
Business awareness and the changing world of work: one day. Five to 20 participants. It seeks to heighten awareness about the changing nature of work in Ireland and how it affects employees, industrial relations and the changing business environment.
Systems of rewards and recognition: one, two or more days. Eight to 10 participants. Among other things, it looks at ways of integrating business requirements and the aspirations of the workforce; and how to achieve agreement on the design, implementation, monitoring and review of rewards systems.
Improving the quality of working life: one day. Up to 12 participants. It explores what factors influence the quality of working life and discusses approaches and strategies to achieve this within a given workplace.
Understanding financial information: two half-day sessions. Eight to 10 participants. Described as a highly interactive module, it seeks to increase participants' understanding of and "comfort with" key financial information in their organisation.
Joint project management: two to three days. Ten to 20 participants. It aims to "ensure" a successful outcome to a project from visualising a goal at the outset through joint project leadership to realising "the prize".
Leadership skills: two days. Sixteen to 20 participants. It seeks to identify, understand and practice the skills of effective leadership within the organisational context of the specific enterprises in which the participants work.
Joint problem solving and consensus decision-making: three days "but can be delivered in units of two to three hours". Maximum of 16 participants. It seeks to develop a win-win approach to problem solving rather than adopting an adversarial approach. Its module content includes "attitudes, skills and knowledge appropriate to the conduct of industrial relations in Partnership enterprises".
Team skills: two days. Eight to 12 participants. It looks at the nature and benefits of teamwork and how to communicate and solve conflicts within teams.
Running effective meetings. Half day. Up to 12 participants.
Communication skills: one day. Up to 12 participants. It aims to increase competence and confidence when communicating with others.
Effective presentation skills: one day. Up to 12 participants. It aims to develop participants' understanding, skills and competence in making presentations to groups.
Facilitation skills and techniques: one day. Eight to 16 participants. It includes exploration of leadership competencies and traits of a facilitator, aspects of negotiation and persuasion, consensus decision-making and planning and conducting a session.
Readers can find out more about this training programme by contacting Mr Cormac McConnell, National Centre for Partnership, Department of An Taoiseach, Government Buildings, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2. Telephone: 01 619 4407. Fax: 01 619 4404. E-mail: ncp.cmc@indigo.ie
