As a single parent, how can I better balance my shift work with the needs of my children? With my poor health, I can no longer work as a driver, what alternatives are there for me in the company? Some of the questions that employees of Bremer Straßenbahn AG come to works council member Sandra Werner. The works council is often the first point of contact for the approximately 2300 employees for all kinds of problems. “Everyone is different, so you have to react individually. Conducting conversations is particularly important with personal matters so that my counterpart opens up. The course helps me not to do my work intuitively, but to reflect on and improve it with methods”, says Werner.
The 53-year-old is studying “work-advice-organization” at the University of Bremen, the only master’s course in Germany for elected interest groups. This course, which has only existed since 2019, is offered part-time for works councils, staff councils, employee representatives, representatives for the severely disabled and equality representatives and lasts for four years. In the first year of study, the focus was on the theory and practice of advising individuals and groups, while in the second year of study, the focus was on questions of personnel and organizational development. This also included the analysis of a practical project.
Works councils have to work out their own solutions – this is practiced at the university
At Bremer Straßenbahn AG, Werner and other works council members developed a concept to reorganize vehicle cleaning and improve working conditions. Physically strenuous activities were shifted from night to day and reduced through the use of aids. In addition, healthier cleaning agents were used, which also save water and energy. “We fought for the management of this project for two years. During implementation, we initially encountered resistance from many employees who had previously often made the experience that changes lead to deterioration for them. We were then able to convince them with a pilot project “says Werner.
For the trained tram driver, this project is an example of the fact that works council work today is much more than reacting to steps taken by company management: “As a works council, we are more and more challenged to help shape things: we have to make suggestions ourselves, concepts write and explain the pros and cons with appropriate evidence. “
For Simone Hocke it is clear that this increasingly complex work can be all the more successful the more works councils have the chance to base their actions on current scientific knowledge. At the Center for Work and Politics at the University of Bremen, the educational scientist designed the course of study and ensured that neither a bachelor’s degree nor a high school diploma are a prerequisite for admission. It is crucial for Hocke that applicants can prove important activities from their works council work, for example preparing and leading meetings, negotiating with employers, developing concepts and putting them into practice. “In a research project, we found that works councils acquire many competencies that are not documented anywhere. After leaving the works council, the majority go back to their old job and are overqualified and often unhappy Demonstrate skills and thus increase your chances of finding a qualified position, “explains Hocke.
Instead of the complete master, you can do a certificate program
There are different study models. In 2019/20 twelve women and men from all over Germany took part in the one-year study area “work-related counseling”. “Participatory Personnel and Organizational Development” followed in 2020/21. In September 14 students started with the field of “Work / Technology Design and Participation” – among other things, the focus here is on how to deal with employees’ concerns about changes in the world of work and how to involve them in decisions. After these three years of study, you can write your master’s thesis. However, it is also possible to study just one or two of them and complete each of them with a certificate. The complete master’s course costs 19,200 euros, for a year of study with a certificate you pay 5600 euros. Up to now, employers have usually covered these costs.
Most of the students are in their mid to late forties, and systematic learning was a long time ago for them. “During your studies you have to do with completely new topics and lots of theoretical texts. That is challenging, but manageable, because I enjoy it. I am also used to learning from my job and from ongoing training for the works council”, says Michael Adebar. He is chairman of the works council of the Leibniz Institute for Material-Oriented Technology in Bremen. The 40-year-old worked there as a building materials inspector after completing his vocational training and high school diploma, before being elected to the works council for the first time in 2014.
Reflecting on different leadership styles is also part of the training
Like Sandra Werner, Adebar is also released from his professional activity in order to be able to take care of the needs of the workforce on a full-time basis. This includes, for example, drawing up and concluding a company agreement on mobile working or improving the conditions for the scientists at the institute, who are usually only employed on a temporary basis. Adebar is more than busy with such and similar tasks. “That means that I study in my free time for my studies, in the evenings after work and on the weekends. You have to think about that very carefully and discuss it with your partner or family in advance,” says Adebar. At least 55 days of attendance are planned for the master’s degree. Every one to two weeks you also meet in small study groups.
Adebar likes dealing with company hierarchies with the help of various theories, reflecting on leadership styles, and discussing the background to management actions. “You get to know new methods of dealing with groups, you can work more effectively through your studies and you also benefit from the current online studies for works council work, where we currently only meet online due to corona,” he says.
Works council elections will take place again in 2022. Adebar wants to run again. He could imagine being chairman of the works council at the Leibniz Institute, which has more than 200 employees. He doesn’t know what comes next. But one thing is clear to him: “The longer the leave of absence, the more I distance myself from my actual job. That is why the qualification through my studies is important for a new job with my employer.”
More information about the part-time master’s program “Work – Advice – Organization” can be found online in the Course description of the University of Bremen. An online information event on the offer will take place on November 23 at 5 p.m.