Trade Union Studies

TUC Health and Safety Stage 1

Level 1 - Certificate

What is Level 1?

This is equivalent to GCSE Grades 3-1 / D-G or O Level grades D-G

Health and Safety at work is always a major issue for all employees. Workplaces that have trade union health and safety reps have a significantly lower rate of accidents. On this course you will find out what it means to be a union health and safety rep, how to investigate hazards, raise issues with organisations, how best to represent members effectively and how to take up both collective and individual health and safety issues with your employer.

Prefer to talk? Call 01226 776000 or email advice@northern.ac.uk and one of our team will get back to you.

Level 1

This is equivalent to GCSE Grades 3-1 / D-G or O Level grades D-G

Find out about progression

Course description

The aims of the course are to enable health and safety reps to work effectively by organising for health & safety, building a broad knowledge and understanding of how to improve workplace safety, balance negotiating with employers to prevent accidents and ill health whilst applying H&S legislation.

Course content

This course will be delivered over 10 weeks in a classroom every week.

Course Content

The course will help you to:

Organise for health & safety
Negotiate with employers to improve workplace safety
Prevent accidents and ill health
Apply H&S legislation

What can this course lead to?

The Next Steps for Safety Reps (Health and Safety Stage 2)

Course session dates

Tailored Learning Objective

Preparation for further learning

Useful information

Monday 20^th January 2025 – Monday 31^st March 2025 (No classes 17^th February).

This course will be delivered at Northern College

Thursday 1^st May – Thursday 10^th July (No classes 29^th May).

This course will be delivered in Leeds City Centre, Merrion House, Woodhouse Lane, LS2 8LX

When does this start and end?

We have 2 different start dates for this course:

20 January 2025 - 31 March 2025
1 May 2025 - 10 July 2025

What are the entry requirements?

Students must be trade union representatives.

Trade Union Education at Northern College is meaningful, purposeful, accessible and rewarding. There are no exams, or long lectures, the education programme involves practical activities where you will work with your peers. This is an opportunity to step back from your job and your activist work to think and learn. Skills development and confidence building are essential elements of all Trade Union courses.

“Northern College changed my life. A year into studying here I got a job and then became a supervisor.” - Michelle
Learn more about Michelle's story

The Education sector employs 59,000 people in South Yorkshire - that's 10.4% of the work force.

Staying residential at Northern College gave me time to breathe. Most of the learning would come about when talking with others, over meals and our free time. Walking in the garden before breakfast is inspirational.

Did you know? Working-age graduates earned £10,000 more than non-graduates in 2018 and had higher employment rates.