News > Cave Hill launches MSc in labour relations
Published February 14, 2008
AS TRADE UNIONISTS, human resource officials, employers and workers try to negotiate a sometimes complex and volatile industrial climate, the Cave Hill campus is leading an initiative that could bring enlightenment and greater mutuality to industrial relations.
The Faculty of Social Sciences, as part of its strategic programme for the development of postgraduate studies, has launched the Master of Science in Labour and Employment Relations. The first cohort of students has been accepted to start the programme.
The rationale of the programme arises from the emerging national, regional and international forces that impact on employment relations at organisational and wider macro-economic environments in the Caribbean, and the need for developing a cadre of professionals to influence strategic and day to day responses to such phenomena in shaping the labour and employment relations agenda in the region.
The basic objective is the strengthening of participants’ knowledge and practical experience in employment relations issues. Hence, the programme is intended to enhances their preparedness for careers in such fields as human resource management, labour and industrial relations, labour economics, trade union practice and labour research.
Against this background, the primary objectives of the programme entail development of a cadre of graduate students who will be provided with a comprehensive level of understanding of labour history and employment issues in the workplace.
In acquiring this understanding, students will develop advanced abilities in analysis and independent work which will equip them for response to emerging circumstances and issues in the workplace. The knowledge and skills acquired in the programme will provide graduates with the necessary tools for contributing to improved management of employment relations at the enterprise and wider levels of the economy.
The programme will span twelve months of full time study including core courses, electives, a practicum or dissertation. Full-time students will be required to complete eight courses over a span of two semesters inclusive of coursework assignments and end of semester examinations. Part-time students will be allowed to complete their course requirements over a period of two years or more, as appropriate.
The three-month practicum component will commence after participants have completed the first semester’s courses. On the other hand, the dissertation will start in semester two thus enabling participants to incorporate their educational and practical experiences in the research paper.
In order to graduate, students are required to earn thirty-nine overall credits – eight courses (three credits each), two compulsory workshops in research methods (six credits) and the practicum (nine credits) or the dissertation (nine credits).
In semester one, students will be required to complete four core courses and a compulsory research methods workshop. In semester two, they will complete a fifth and final core course, three electives, the second compulsory workshop and the practicum or dissertation.
The programme structure includes the following core courses: (a) Labour History (b) Employment Relations in a Global Environment (c). International Labour Law (d) Collective Bargaining and Disputes Resolution and (e) Compensation and Benefits Policy
There is also a compulsory workshop in research methods while electives may be drawn from Gender and Work, Organizational and Industrial Psychology Occupational Safety, Health and the Environment, (d) Labour Economics, Human Resources Information Systems, Contemporary Issues in Employment Policy, Human Resource Management Strategy, Issues in Labour Migration, and Sociology of Work and Labour.
The costs for participants entering the Masters in Labour and Employment Relations is BDS$20,000.
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