Effective Teamwork

Managing Time Effectively

Project management

Career management

Being and becoming a researcher

Using nvivo software

Promoting Creativity, Enterprise and Democracy through the Curriculum for Excellence

Anti-Territorial and Youth Gang Education

Effective Teamwork

Staff in both the private and public sectors are often required to work both as project managers and leaders as well as team members. An understanding of the principles of team dynamics and effective teamwork is therefore a key competence. This course aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills required for effective teamworking, drawing upon positive illustrations from business and sport. Course participants will engage in reflective approaches towards identifying their own preferred team roles and methods of leadership. They will develop improved skills in team motivation and directing team development. Communication skills and co-operative team-building skills will also emerge.

On completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• identify the characteristics of effective and under-performing teams;
• describe and influence the typical stages of team development;
• identify and critically examine the impact of the preferred roles adopted be team members;
• identify and critically examine their own preferred role;
• identify and assess teamwork problems and develop methods of improving team effort;
• identify and take account of issues relating to style, support, trust,
  co-operation, stress and conflict in teams.
  

Features of course

• A range of practical group exercises, tutor-led and client led discussion and video-based simulations.
• A course pack, full of practical resources that can be used in the workplace.
• A certificate of training course attendance.

Duration

One full day; one half day or one 2-hour workshop (depending on client needs)

Managing Time Effectively

Course Content

This course aims to equip managers in both the private and public sectors with the skills required to manage their time effectively through self-discipline and prioritisation. Participants will analyse and interpret how time is actually spent in terms of relevance to their overall job purpose and will gain new skills in personal organisation.

Specifically, the course will enable participants to:

• identify their own time management weaknesses and apply appropriate techniques to improve their practice;
• develop enhanced skills in managing paperwork, communications and meetings;
• improve personal efficiency in task completion;
• gain practical resources which will enable them to manage time more effectively.

Features of course

• A range of practical group exercises, tutor-led and client-led discussion and video-based simulations.
• A course pack, full of practical resources that can be used in the workplace.
• A certificate of training course attendance.

Duration

One full day; one half day or one 2-hour workshop (depending on client needs)

Project management

This course is appropriate for individuals or groups of people with little or no experience of project management, but who now find themselves working as part of a project team or working individually on a high-intensity project in the public or private sector. The course aims to equip participants with generic project management skills and to give them the confidence to plan and organise projects with efficiency.

Specifically, the course will enable participants to:

• consider what makes a successful project and how this success criteria can be applied to their own work situation;
• define the scope of their project, drawing upon techniques such as ‘mindmapping’ and ‘drill down’;
• draw upon risk management techniques and strategies;
• learn how to use long-term and short-term project management tools such as Gantt Charts, weekly and daily planning formats;
• apply project management techniques to their own work situation and learn to manage projects successfully in the future.

Features of course

• A range of practical group exercises, tutor-led and client-led discussion.
• A course pack, full of practical resources that can be used in the workplace.
• A certificate of training course attendance.

Duration

One full day; one half day or one 2-hour workshop (depending on client needs)

Career management

This course is aimed at middle managers who are in the process of making a career
transition and will help them to develop a clearer understanding of their personal
talents and skills and to clarify their vision of their ideal job. The course is suitable for
individuals or groups within the public or private sector who are keen to maximise the
impact of their skills and will enable them to consider how they might make career
progression a reality.

Specifically, the course will enable participants to:

• articulate their career aims and ambitions and their ‘ideal job’;
• reflect critically upon the skills they have developed in their careers to date, considering both strengths and weaknesses;
• gain experience in selling their skills during interviews and marketing themselves in a range of contexts;
• develop the skills of effective time management which will enable them to spend more time boosting their career opportunities;
• learn the basic skills of coaching, as a means of breaking down the barriers towards career progression.

Features of course

• A range of practical group exercises, tutor-led and client-led discussion.
• A course pack, full of practical resources that can be used as a means of personal development.
• A certificate of training course attendance.

Duration

One full day; one half day or one 2-hour workshop (depending on client needs)

Being and becoming a researcher

This course is aimed at individuals and groups who are engaging in research for the first time, whether they are postgraduate students in Higher Education or managers who are attempting to conduct research within a corporate or public sector setting. The course aims to equip participants with the basic skills they will need to carry out small-scale research and provides practical opportunities for clients to explore their research interests and to create initial research ideas and plans.

Specifically, the course will enable participants to:

• understand the characteristics of good research questions and hypotheses and gain experience of how to create these;
• gain experience of using ‘mindmaps’ to explore research ideas and to build projects;
• explore different kinds of research methods;
• create and explore initial research ideas and plans;
• learn how to use long-term and short-term project management tools in a research project;
• explore some of the challenges of being a researcher and gain experience in how to overcome these challenges.

Features of course

• A range of practical group exercises, tutor-led and client led discussion.
• A course pack, full of practical resources that can be used as a means of personal development.
• A certificate of training course attendance.

Duration

One full day; one half day or one 2-hour workshop (depending on client needs)

Using nvivo software

This course is aimed at postgraduate students and staff in Higher Education who are currently engaged in working with qualitative research methods. The course provides an introduction to the use of NVivo software as a tool for assisting researchers in the analysis of qualitative research data. While no previous experience of using NVivo software is necessary, it is essential that course participants have a basic understanding of qualitative research methods.

Specifically, the course will enable participants to:

• gain experience of using NVivo to import qualitative data files and to store and organise data such as interview transcriptions;
• engage in simple methods of coding interview transcriptions using the software;
• gain skills in creating hierarchies and matrices of qualitative data, using both open and axial coding;
• create codebooks for organising data, based on qualitative research methods.

Features of course

• A range of practical exercises using NVivo software.
• Tutor-led and client led discussion.
• A course pack, with basic instructions for using NVivo software and examples of codebooks.
• A certificate of training course attendance.

Duration

One full day; one half day or one 2-hour workshop (depending on client needs)

Promoting Creativity, Enterprise and Democracy through the Curriculum for Excellence

This course is aimed at teachers in the nursery, primary and secondary school sector, and illustrates practical examples of the way in which we can promote education for creativity and enterprising citizenship in the classroom and the wider school. The course highlights case studies of good practice and provides opportunities for hands-on participation in enterprising activities, as well as highlighting the way in which this type of practice addresses the 4 capacity areas of the Curriculum for Excellence.

On completion of this course, participants will:

• have increased understanding and confidence about addressing the capacity areas of A Curriculum for Excellence through enterprise and citizenship education.
• have created a plan for new classroom initiatives which will involve the wider school community and help to address the key priorities in the enterprise and citizenship agendas and the Curriculum for Excellence.

Duration

One full day; one half day or one 2-hour workshop (depending on client needs)

Anti-Territorial and Youth Gang Education

The current concern about territoriality and gang culture in Scotland represents the epitome of the wider anxiety about anti-social youth. The recent explosion of media reports portrays a bleak picture of the highly territorial and violent nature of the most deprived urban landscapes, and the risks this presents to young people. This course aims to challenge some of the myths about gangs, while also creating opportunities for youth workers, teachers and coaches to develop new strategies for diverting young people’s attention away from territorial issues. Through a range of practical activities, simulations and reference to recent research, the course illustrates the reasons why young people can become attracted to street gangs, and explores both the positive and negative influences that gangs can bring to their lives. Participants have the opportunity to explore strategies that can be adopted which enable young people to avoid the risk of becoming involved in gang violence and crime. The course also highlights case studies of social and educational initiatives which are currently having an impact on diverting young people's attention away from gang culture in Glasgow.

Duration

One full day; one half day or one 2-hour workshop (depending on client needs)