Towards an ETI Training Programme

Executive Summary

• Purpose
• Background
• Rationale and aims
• Timeframe
• Principles of the training programme
• Who will deliver the training?
• What will the training include?
• Who is it for?
• Review

Source:
Executive Summary of ETI internal report Towards an ETI Training Programme

 

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to outline the overall scope and direction of ETI’s training programme.
  

Background

A tripartite Working Group of 15 members has been consulted closely on the development of the strategy since December 2002. It will continue to be involved in development of the training modules and will be supplemented by other experts from each caucus.
 

 

Rationale and aims

For ETI, the aim of improving the lives of workers in supplier countries is key. The task of influencing corporate business behaviour in order to achieve significant change must be the main purpose of the training objectives. This will involve knowing and understanding what is ‘good practice’ in applying the ETI code of practice but also changing the way many companies relate to suppliers in persuading them to observe international labour standards.

This training programme will serve 3 organisational priorities

• Establishing the ETI as a Centre of Excellence in communicating good practice
• Strengthening ETI members’ commitment to and ability to implement ethical trade
• Contributing to ETI’s objective to develop monitoring and verification capacity in supplier countries 

Specifically the ETI aims [1] for its training programme are:

• Providing guidance and skills in the implementation of the base code within member companies and their supply chains
• Providing opportunities for knowledge and skills development in supplier countries
   

 

Timeframe

The training programme will be developed in three phases

• Phase 1: Develop a detailed training strategy for ETI that takes into account the TOR (Completed)
• Phase 2: Develop training modules and processes to implement the training strategy. Pilot the draft training modules and revise accordingly. (2004)
• Phase 3: Implementation including training trainers (2004)
   

 

Principles of the training programme

The training programme has been developed based on the following principles:

• Dissemination of the ETI Base Code
• Promoting International Labour Standards
• Encourage social dialogue
• Create opportunities to listen to workers and their organisations
• Focus on skills sharing and skills building to build competencies
• Promote multi-stakeholder approaches/building partnerships where appropriate
   

 

Who will deliver the training?

A training team will be established to develop the modules and provide the initial training. It is expected that this will comprise the following.

To develop and pilot content:

• Tripartite representation of members with specific expertise
• Experts, for example, ILO staff, other multi-stakeholder initiatives, to be identified.
• ETI staff

To structure the training:

• Training experts, to be identified

ETI Secretariat will have a co-ordinating role. It may be that a Training Officer will need to be appointed. This has not yet been decided.

Thereafter it is important for ETI to develop a group of Approved Trained Trainers capable of delivering this training programme. To meet this need a Training the Trainers module will be designed to prepare 10-20 trainers in the early stages of Phase 3.

As the ETI will approve those trainers who are deemed to be able to deliver the training modules effectively, an approval process will need to be put in place.

 

What will the training include?

The strategy has identified four levels of training to be developed concurrently and reviewed during Phase 2:

Level 1: Provides an Orientation to Ethical Trade. The key element of this will be the Induction Programme, development of which will closely involve the Membership Development Manager. Areas it will cover will include:

• What is ethical trading?
• What is the ETI?
• What are the ETI Code and labour standards?
• Getting Started.

Level 2: Will comprise a series of modules on Organisational Strategies and Structure and Understanding the ETI Base Code. Modules on building understanding and skill to implement codes and standards within corporations will include, for example:

• Terms of employment: (including: freely chosen employment; no discrimination; appropriate treatment, regular employment)
• Freedom of association and collective bargaining
• Wages and hours
• Working conditions (health and safety)
• Child labour
• Gender

Modules on adapting companies to ethical sourcing needs, will include:

• Building internal governance structures, winning support and generating commitment for ethical sourcing
• Building a risk assessment tool
• Setting up in-house policies, indicators and reporting procedures

Modules on wider implications, to include:

• Models for sustainability
• Examining the case for social partnership

Level 3: These modules will focus on Measuring and Applying the Code in Practice and will cover, for example:

• Managing communications with suppliers
• Engaging local stakeholders, building social partnerships
• Working with external verifiers and resource providers
• Inspection procedures
• Conducting worker interviews
• Impact assessment
• Corrective actions

Level 4: This level, Supply Chain Development, will comprise induction, training and capacity building targeted at suppliers, other multi-stakeholder initiatives, non-corporate members and workers’ representatives. A consultation with the NGO and TU members will help share the direction of this group of modules.

 

Who is it for?

The training is targeted at:

• Corporate members
• Suppliers
• Non-corporate stakeholder organisations / institutions
   

Review

Following Phase 2, a Training Committee will need to be put in place to conduct regular review of the training programme, individual modules and trainers to ensure the programme and quality of delivery remain high. This will conduct an annual review of the training course evaluations and the training materials and would randomly observe some of the training in situ. It is expected that it would produce an annual series of recommendations for module adaptation and delivery mechanisms. This Committee should consist of ETI members, staff and at least two external training specialists.
 

See Also:

ETI Activities

 

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Notes

1. These have been adapted from a number of existing ETI policy documents:
   1. From Good Intentions to Good Practice: ETI’s Funding Proposal to DFID 2002 and ETI’s Public Strategy Document 2001-04 of the same title.
   2. Training in Ethical Sourcing: A report prepared for the ETI by Income Data Services February 2002.
   3. Raising the Stakes: ETI’s Annual Report 2001/02
   4. About the ETI South Africa Wine Industry Project (1998-2001)
   5. Participatory Social Auditing of Labour Standards: A handbook for good practice implementers (AEAAZ - Zimbabwe Horticulture)
   6. ETI Communications Strategy, November 2001
   7. ETI Corporate Learning Needs Analysis Sept 2001
   8. ETI Workbook
       
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