Skills Development Symposium is hosted annually by the BC Federation of Students to bring student activists together to develop skills for the day-to-day operations of a students’ union. Participants will emerge from the Skills Development Symposium with a greater understanding of their role as elected student activists and the information and skills necessary to do their job effectively.
Our next Symposium will be May 31 to June 2, 2019 in Victoria.
All students’ unions are invited to send participants to our Symposium. If you’re interested in attending, send us an email for more information!
sessions FROM previous years INCLUDE:
Introduction to Post-Secondary Education in BC: Decisions affecting students are made every day at the federal, provincial and local levels. To be an effective voice in decision-making, students must know what decisions are made at each level, and must understand the structure of the systems in which we work in. This session reviews the BC post-secondary system and the governance of post-secondary education in Canada.
Understanding Students’ Union Finances: Responsible financial management and oversight is an essential part of the inner workings of a students’ union. This workshop aims to provide participants with an understanding of the basic financial concepts used by students’ unions – big or small. In addition, this workshop reviews best practices for budget and financial management to ensure a successful year.
Strategic Planning to Achieve Your Goals: Between running the students’ union’s ongoing operations, learning the positions to which you were elected, and keeping up with your school work; it can be difficult to realize the goals you originally ran to achieve. Strategic planning can help! This workshop aims to teach skills in evaluating the climate in which you work, setting realistic goals, establishing reasonable timelines, and prioritizing work into sets of tasks you can get done.
Media Relations for the Individual Director: Media relations skills aren’t just for the spokesperson of the students’ union; it takes the work of all board members to effectively spread the word of the good work being done on campaigns and services. An effective message box can ensure that you set the agenda in a debate and offers you a head start in countering your opponents’ message. This workshop helps participants understand how to craft a message box and stick to it. This workshop also helps you understand your audience, identify effective use of traditional and social media as tools to discuss students’ issues.
Other workshops at the Symposium have included: Facilitating Effective Meetings; Students’ Union Rights and Responsibilities; Working Collectively with Staff and Volunteers; and Effective Campaign Organizing.
