At PSEA we are proud to offer learning opportunities in two formats to ensure you have options.
We are offering our learning workshops through both in-person sessions and online formats.
Typically our in-person learning opportunities take you out of the office for a full day while we break the online learning into three-hour timeslots over multiple weeks.
Experienced professionals facilitate our sessions. These sessions include real-life examples, practical learnings and opportunities to meet and learn with peers in the sector.
Our learning is sector focused and designed for non-unionized members. We understand the sector's unique challenges and designed our workshops to specifically build labour relations capabilities and capacity in the post-secondary sector.
Most sessions are included in your PSEA membership.
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Due to rising costs, we are introducing a small, shared cost recovery fee for some of our offerings. PSEA continues to see high usage of our learning program, with our learning events identified by member institutions as one of the top-valued PSEA services. To continue to develop and deliver timely, relevant learning offerings, we are introducing a fee for some learning events. These fees will cover the costs for meal expenses and recover part of the costs for external presenters and development of new learning events.
Sometimes, PSEA needs to cancel a workshop, webinar, or academy. We will try to provide at least one week's notice for such occasions; however, there may be a last-minute cancellation due to the presenter's illness. PSEA will notify each registrant by email. PSEA will not be responsible for travel reimbursement or any other expenses incurred by the registrant before the specified cancellation date, but will refund the session cost.
Cancellations by registrants must be communicated in writing to learning@psea.bc.ca at least ten business days in advance of the session. A full refund, minus the processing fee, will be issued for cancellations received in writing ten or more business days before the session. If a registrant cannot attend, you may substitute another excluded employee from your institution to attend in your place; please let us know in writing about any substitution to learning@psea.bc.ca before the event.
WORKSHOPS
Please note: These learning events are intended solely for excluded employees.
We are entering a potentially busy time. All offerings may be subject to change, however, adequate notice will be given to participants.
We are excited to share that PSEA will launch a new website and learning platform this fall!
This will streamline registrations and allow you to pull reports on your team's learning.
In 2025, you can continue using the PDF catalogue and the existing website. However, watch for details on our new and exciting platform later this year!
This two-day workshop is recommended for people leaders new to their role and/or new to the post-secondary sector.
During the workshop, participants will learn foundational labour relations principles and practices as they apply to the post-secondary sector. Through this workshop, participants will:
The workshop provides participants with opportunities to apply their knowledge and understanding of labour relations principles directly through group work and real-life examples.
This workshop is recommended for people leaders, human resources, and labour relations practitioners seeking a refresher on progressive discipline's core principles and practices.
Leaders can find managing employee performance daunting, especially when managing performance concerns. This workshop seeks to demystify handling both culpable and non-culpable behaviour in the workplace. During the workshop, participants will learn when to establish performance expectations and determine an appropriate corrective response.
This workshop is recommended for people leaders, human resources, and labour relations practitioners seeking a refresher on the core principles and practices of managing grievances.
During the workshop, participants will learn the role of managers, union representatives, Human Resources and PSEA in the grievance/arbitration process and the technical aspects of grievance handling, such as identifying, preparing for, and participating in grievance discussions.
This workshop is recommended for people leaders, human resources, and labour relations practitioners.
During this workshop, participants will learn the basics of contract language and interpretation, including understanding the collective agreement, key steps to interpretation, knowledge of past practice, and how it applies in day-to-day practice.
We recommend this workshop to people leaders, human resources, and labour relations practitioners.
During the workshop, participants will learn communication skills to help them set expectations and address workplace issues constructively, leading to positive outcomes. These skills include active listening, empathetic communication, and conflict resolution techniques. By incorporating these skills into their day-to-day work, participants can become effective leaders who successfully manage people's issues in a unionized environment.
This 3-day workshop is recommended for people leaders, human resources, and labour relations practitioners.
In collaboration with the Justice Institute of BC, PSEA is pleased to offer this foundational course in effective and practical ways to engage collaboratively in interpersonal conflict that can arise in the post-secondary sector workplace. By examining sources of conflict attitudes and beliefs, conflict styles, and the role of assumptions and emotions, you will gain insight into conflict dynamics and practice evidence-based collaboration strategies.
This workshop presents an overview of effective communication in the face of change and increasing diversity in the workplace. You will explore the dynamics of conflict that infuse today’s diverse workplace and the barriers to communication that these can cause in yourself and others. You will learn ways to acknowledge differences and gain concrete skills to communicate effectively in this setting to help create a climate of respect and understanding.
This workshop is designed to further efforts that aim to reduce tension in working relationships, increase respect between ethnic and gender groups, decrease incidents of harassment, and increase resolution of conflict.
This series of three sessions is recommended for people leaders, human resources, and labour relations practitioners.
This course consist out of three sessions:
Please note you must have completed sessions 1 and 2 to be eligible to participate in Session 3.
This program will give priority to academic leaders with fewer than two years of experience in an excluded academic leadership role (Typically Dean/Associate Dean/Director level) and/or who are new to working in BC.
During the program, participants work with leaders from across the sector to navigate the challenges of what they are expected to know and be able to do. The program supports leaders in managing the shift from peer to leader and from union member to excluded employee.
This workshop is recommended for people leaders and human resources or labour relations practitioners seeking a refresher on investigating misconduct in the workplace.
During this workshop, participants will learn when a duty to investigate is triggered and what best practices are needed to ensure the investigation is fair, impartial, and legally defensible.
Every workplace investigation will be distinctive in its facts and circumstances; however, your organization should follow general guidelines and principles to mitigate damage and protect positive workplace relationships. Investigations play an essential role in addressing misconduct in the workplace. A clear investigation process ensures your employees know that you will treat all employees fairly. If conducted properly, investigations can help protect the institution's interests by appropriately identifying and responding to misconduct in a fair and unbiased manner.
This workshop is recommended for people leaders, human resources, and labour relations practitioners.
Responding to and investigating workplace harassment complaints can be a complex, high-stakes process with far-reaching implications for teams. The workshop will provide insights from a legal and labour relations perspective and expertise from a Human Resources Leader and a professional investigator. Participants will engage in a first-hand investigation using simulations and role-play to develop their skills while learning to avoid costly pitfalls and legal liabilities.
This workshop is intended for excluded staff interested in the collective bargaining process or who may become involved in bargaining as a member of the bargaining committee in the future.
Participants will leave with an understanding of the collective bargaining process in the post-secondary sector.
This workshop is recommended for people leaders and human resources or labour relations practitioners who will be involved with bargaining at their institution.
Collective bargaining can be complicated, challenging, and, at times, stressful. During the workshop, participants will learn the fundamentals of collective bargaining and experience the bargaining process from start to finish through simulation and role play.
EMERGING ISSUES
In addition to pre-scheduled learning opportunities, PSEA coordinates sessions on emerging issues. These sessions provide members with timely information to address an immediate or emerging concern or topic.
We email emerging issue session alerts to members. If you have questions about these sessions or topic suggestions, please contact us via email at learning@psea.bc.ca.
The Pay Transparency Regulation sets out the requirements for completing pay transparency reports. Employers with less than 1000 employees as of January 1, will need to complete pay transparency reports this year. There is a simple, online reporting tool for employers to create pay transparency reports as well as several helpful resource documents.
The purpose of the session is to provide a brief overview of the requirements that the Pay Transparency Act places on employers and a demonstration of the pay transparency reporting tool.
Does your organization have a long-standing practice that either contradicts the Collective Agreement or goes beyond what is required in the Collective Agreement, or is it just so long-standing you wonder if you can change it? Did someone write an email 15 years ago promising to act in a certain way, but that promise doesn't make sense anymore? Are you unsure if a promise was made or exists?
University and College governance is a complex matter involving multiple interest holders. The College and Institute Act and the University Act set out a bicameral governance model that is sometimes complicated. As legislative bodies operate outside Human Resources, their roles can sometimes be forgotten when responding to grievances or discussing bargaining issues. At times, labour relations issues can creep into decisions that properly belong to the governance bodies.
CUSTOMIZED TRAINING
PSEA supports its members in building the capacity of their staff to manage labour relations issues effectively. PSEA can tailor workshops for your institution's specific needs and develop new workshops based on established labour relations best practices and theory. The advantages of bringing our training in-house include the following:
Here is what one member said about our in-house deliveries:
“Several new labour relations concepts were introduced, and having the chance to practice and engage with the concepts with other leaders from the college and the Human Resources Team was invaluable.”
People Leader, Coast Mountain College
If you are interested in customized training, please email Janet Amos, Director of Learning and Development, at janet@psea.bc.ca.
