At Essex SU we never stand still, and we expect that our staff will keep moving too. We are on an amazing adventure to become the worlds’ most student centred organisation and we won’t reach our destination without ambitious, talented and well developed staff. Regardless of where you are within the organisation we expect that you are committed to being part of that adventure and to developing yourself along the way. Everyone who becomes a part of the permanent SU family will work their way through an induction ‘bootcamp’ programme and ‘their essential training in the first six months of joining. This will take priority over other training that might be available. You’ll have plenty of time to get this completed during work time, and it will be part of a successful probation period. We’ll mix it up; there’ll be face to face and group sessions as well as on-line training to keep it interesting. Different roles have different essential training requirements, but all the training will help you settle in, feel confident in your role and become a fab member of our vibrant campus community.
The info below will give you everything you need to know about the essential training for your role, and what happens next.
ESSENTIAL TRAINING FOR ALL
This training will help you understand the obligations you have as a member of the SU family, and the standards that we will expect you to meet. Getting this completed is an essential part of your induction journey and you’ll be able to chat through these with your Line Manager.
SAFEGUARDING
We all have an essential role to play in the safeguarding of children and adults at risk, this training module will highlight some of the risks that children and adults at risk might experience and how we can support.
Equality & Diversity Essentials
This course will help you find out about the basic concepts of equal opportunities and diversity, something at the very heart of the SU. You’ll find an overview of the protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage & civil partnership, pregnancy & maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation) and you’ll also find info about the main legislation and its implications.
Consent/Bystander
This training provides an introduction into mental health. By the end of the course you’ll be able to define mental health and some of the common mental health issues. Identify stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health issues, support people in distress and look after your own mental health.
GDPR ESSENTIALS
This session will develop your understanding of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other relevant legislation (DPA, PECR) and develop your knowledge of ways in which we can process data securely.
It will also help you understand how to apply it to our day-to-day work and your role in ensuring we are compliant as an organisation
Health & Safety Essentials
This course will give you an intro into staying safe in the workplace. It covers your responsibilities as a staff member, and our responsibilities as your employer. You’ll also get guidance on common health & safety risks.
Unconscious Bias Training
This session explores the impact that unconscious bias can have on your day to day life, and will help you to understand where it comes from and how to overcome it.
Fire Safety Essentials
The Students’ Union actively tries to prevent people from burning and discourages anyone from believing they are The Prodigy. This quick course will teach you everything you need to know about what to do in a fire but most importantly how to evacuate safely.
Manual Handling
You’ll learn about the benefits of good manual handling and the impact of poor manual handling, practise safe lifting and posture techniques for your day to day work life.
This session will also, briefly covers working at heights and DSE.
FINANCE OVERVIEW
Aimed to give an overview of how the accounting and finance function works at the SU.
ESSENTIAL TRAINING FOR SPECIFIC ROLES
Food Hygiene
This is another obvious one. If your role means that you are handling, preparing or serving food then you’ll need to do this one, perhaps at Level 2, or maybe even Level 3 if you have overall responsibility for a food service area.
MEDIA LAW
This training is not just about what you can’t do, it also aims to equip you with a sound knowledge of what you can do safely, so you can reap the benefits of engaging with your audiences.
Ladders & Step Ladders
This one does exactly what it says. If your role involves you using ladders or step ladders this course will show how to use them safely.
You are encouraged to get all your training completed as soon as possible as this will help you get off to a great start.
If you have any questions the HR office door is (almost) always open.
ESSENTIAL TRAINING FOR SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Leadership Programme
This programme is delivered by an external trainer over 6 sessions that will help build your confidence and skills to be an awesome SU leader.
Advanced GDPR
This session will cover all content within GDPR Essentials with a little bit more info around LIAS and the other information you need to know as a Senior Manager.
Finance Training
Spread over two sessions this training will give you an intro to budgeting and forecasting and our policies and procedures. You’ll get to explore the exciting world of risk management as well as being able to interpret our management accounts.
WHAT NEXT?
Now that you’ve worked your way through your essential training what happens next? All SU staff members should be committed to their own personal and professional development to make sure that our adventure is a success. Whether this is through networking, online training, attending conferences, formal qualifications, face to face sessions or simply keeping up to date with developments in your area through reading articles and publications. All this exciting stuff is included in our L&D policy and you will be able to discuss the options for further development with your Line Manager.