Who we are?

WHO WE ARE?

The school Julián Besteiro is the confederal training centre of the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), and the first trade union school existing in Spain after the return to democracy. It was established on June 28, 1988 and began its activities in the autumn of that year. Since then it has been mainly engaged in implementing the training programs scheduled by the Confederal Executive Committee, monitoring its due development and systematically evaluating results hand-in-hand with the different UGT organisations, especially the national industry federations and services and confederal Departments.

The centre provides a broad range of training: labour legislation, economics, health and safety at work, working conditions, environment, etc. Training methodologies implemented include traditional residential courses, as well as more innovative methods like blended-learning or e-learning, which respond to what society demands and to the training and technological innovations that are continually being produced.

On the other hand, as a confederal training centre, our school constitutes a key reference point for the confederation’s training activities as a whole. For this reason, its facilities and equipment are available for the different federations, confederal secretariats and UGT´s departments and foundations.

In addition to providing training, the school also carries out and delivers complementary cultural activities, with the aim of opening its doors not only to UGT affiliates but also to different citizen groups through literary meetings, Theater group,  conferences, seminars, art exhibitions and book presentations. Being the major outcome the annual institutionalisation of the Julián Besteiro Arts & Letters Awards -bestowed on Spanish artists and writers as recognition of their artistic and cultural contributions. Moreover, conferences and seminars on literature, trade unionism and society are organised with important political and cultural personalities taking part.

AIMS

The internal regulations of the 43rd UGT Congress establish that the Julián Besteiro School, as the Confederation's union training school, is in charge of training, at its different levels, the cadres, and the delegates and delegates of the UGT. Under the direction of the Confederal Executive Commission, it carries out its functions, in coordination with the FFEE and the UCAS, through its governing council. The Julián Besteiro School will cooperate with union schools of organizations affiliated to the CES and CSI and with the rest of the UGT union schools.

FACILITIES

Escuela Julián Besteiro’s address is Azcona, n. 53, in the centre of Madrid, on urban grounds with 8.000 square meters. An immense, perfectly trimmed garden (the inner courtyard grows four large magnolia trees given away by 1950's Argentinian popular heroine Eva Peron) decorates the compact that includes two buildings- a main one and a side one, supported by parking and space for meditation and relaxation. 

 The main building distribution is as follows:

 • Basement floor (archives, kitchen, cold storage-room, warehouse, maintenance store-room and engine room).

• The ground floor (management and administration offices, the pedagogical department, the library, the computer department, cafeteria and restaurant, leisure room, reception desk, and the International Room equipped with simultaneous interpretation booths for multilingual conferences in up to four languages.

• The first and second floors are equipped with residential bedrooms, conference centre, classrooms courses, meetings and seminars, and a computer laboratory, featuring local area network, Internet and electronic mail and 12 computers -extended to 16- ready for the development of training programmes.

To support the activities developed, Escuela Julián Besteiro counts on 52 sleeping rooms, restaurant for 140 guests, 11 classrooms available for 140 trainees and a Conference Centre with up to 114 seats. All of it managed through the Administration area. 

ADMINISTRATION

The Administration Department co-ordinates all the residential services (reception, room service, kitchen, maintenance) and external services (cafeteria, gardening, cleaning, security), as well as bookings (classrooms, bedrooms, dinners...). All of them indispensable for the development of the activities contracted, the billing process, the facilities maintenance, dealing with suppliers, etc. 

TRADE UNION TRAINING

The strategic value awarded to trade union training at the UGT is unquestionable. That is why our training model is hit by a constant revision and updating processes.