Toronto – January 16, 2019 – UFCW Canada's ground-breaking online education program, webCampusPLUS, is launching two new courses that can help you build your skills in health and safety and retail communication.

Beginning January 16, the free online courses are being offered in English and are available to all UFCW Canada members and their family members, as well as our community partners.

The new courses are described as follows:

Mental Health Matters: Part Three – Being the Support (Health & Safety)

When you first realize that someone you are close to may have a mental illness, it can be a confusing and frightening time. You may fear where this illness may lead. Suddenly you are called upon to provide special support, for which you feel completely unprepared.  What can you do? Who can you talk to?

This course is the third in our “Mental Health Matters” series. It will help you gain the knowledge, insight, and tools needed to support friends and family members who are living with mental health issues.

After completing this course, you will have the tools to: have a meaningful conversation with someone about mental health; support a friend or loved one who is experiencing a mental health problem; and care for the caregiver.

Retail Communication Skills – Part One (Food & Retail)

Good communication skills are important in every profession, but they are especially vital in the retail industry. As a worker in the retail sector, your success depends on your ability to communicate professionally with your customers, your co-workers, and your managers.

This course reviews essential communication skills, the impact of unclear communication, verbal vs. non-verbal communication, and overcoming barriers. Upon completing this course, you will understand the importance of first impressions, how to ask the right questions and diffuse anger, and how to communicate effectively with customers.

Registration for the “Mental Health Matters: Part Three” and “Retail Communication Skills – Part One” courses is now open. To register for these free online courses, and to find more out more about the webCampusPLUS program, visit the webCampusPLUS website.