Courses and events

Courses and events available to the Government Communication Service (GCS) members

Boost your communication skills and knowledge with our free courses and learning resources.

On this page:

learn and develop
booking
webinars and podcasts
online courses with GCSI
day courses with GCS
professional bodies webinars
calendar

Learn and develop

The majority of our courses are delivered by internal trainers from across departments and organisations. Topics include for example, external affairs, internal communications, marketing, media, and strategic communications.

Attending courses is worth CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) points which can be used towards your personal development plan. The learning resources are organised by activities: read, watch and do, in the academy.

Booking

To book your course or watch on-demand webinars, you need to:

ask the development adviser in your department for the GCS passwords or contact us to know their details: gcsbookings@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
there is a password to book events and a different password to watch on-demand webinars

Webinars and podcasts

Online courses with GCSI

We work in partnership with the Government Communication Service International (GCSI) team to offer online modular courses to GCS members.

When you sign up you must commit to the full duration of the course; between 5 to 8 weeks, depending on which course you sign up for.

The courses available are as follow:

Modules are released week by week and you can finish them at your own pace provided this is within the timeframe allowed for the whole course. We will advertise the next course dates through our normal communication channels.

Day courses with GCS

The courses available are as follow, keep checking our calendar for new start dates:

Professional bodies webinars

Watch webinars for free or access resources for a discount through bodies we partner with, such as the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) and the Market Research Society (MRS).

Professional bodies details

Calendar

Course/Event	Start	End
Webinar GCS Leadership month: Introduction to Leadership framework This 30-minute session will introduce you to the GCS Leadership Framework that was launched in 2020.	Tuesday 2 March 10:00 am	Tuesday 2 March 10:30 am
Comms-exchange Comms Exchange: Ask me anything about accessibility Join accessibility experts Richard Morton, Libby Daniels and Louise Harris for a panel discussion around creating inclusive content.	Wednesday 3 March 11:15 am	Wednesday 3 March 12:00 pm
Webinar GCS Leadership month: Introduction to Leadership framework This 30-minute session will introduce you to the GCS Leadership Framework that was launched in 2020.	Wednesday 3 March 3:00 pm	Wednesday 3 March 3:30 pm
Webinar GCS Leadership month: Resilience - Getting through challenging times Developing personal resilience enables us to find a way to move beyond challenges and become stronger.	Thursday 4 March 10:30 am	Thursday 4 March 11:00 am
Webinar Academy: Making digital services more inclusive This workshop will equip you with the knowledge of digital inclusion and some tips on how to improve your daily work and decision-making.	Friday 5 March 10:00 am	Friday 5 March 12:30 pm
Webinar ASA Training for Government A training session to help Government Communicators understand the work of the ASA and how to abide to the Advertising Codes	Tuesday 9 March 9:30 am	Tuesday 9 March 11:30 am
Webinar Leadership Masterclass Series: Connected Leadership Join us for our first online viewing of Professor Paul Willis’ Masterclass series on the GCS Leadership Framework.	Wednesday 10 March 2:00 pm	Wednesday 10 March 3:30 pm
Webinar Welcome to GCS Induction Session If you are a new or recent joiner please attend this 3-hour induction session to learn about the Government Communication Service.	Thursday 11 March 1:00 pm	Thursday 11 March 4:00 pm
Webinar GCS Leadership month: Exploring imposter syndrome This 45 minutes session will give you a thorough understanding of what imposter syndrome is, its impact, and ideas for how to overcome it.	Friday 12 March 11:00 am	Friday 12 March 12:00 pm
Webinar GCS Leadership month: Mental health and leadership This session discusses the challenges of mental ill-health in our profession and how leaders can create a supportive environment.	Tuesday 16 March 10:00 am	Tuesday 16 March 11:00 am
Webinar Academy: Citizen Experience This course aims to give participants the tools to create a great citizen experience within the marketing discipline.	Wednesday 17 March 9:30 am	Wednesday 17 March 1:00 pm
Webinar Leadership Masterclass Series: Collaborative Leadership Join us for our second online viewing of Professor Paul Willis’ Masterclass series on the GCS Leadership Framework.	Wednesday 17 March 2:30 pm	Wednesday 17 March 4:00 pm
Webinar Presenting with Impact Gain awareness, impact, and confidence in your delivery of a presentation - this course has been newly adapted to a virtual training format.	Thursday 18 March 9:30 am	Thursday 18 March 4:30 pm
Webinar GCS Leadership month: Time management and delegation Gain a better understanding of where you use your time and what’s driving you to have better control of it.	Thursday 18 March 2:00 pm	Thursday 18 March 3:00 pm
Online-course Academy: Creative Campaigns An interactive, fun and relaxed session with a lively facilitator with decades of experience in the creative industries.	Tuesday 23 March 9:30 am	Tuesday 23 March 5:00 pm
Webinar GCS Leadership month: Developing your emotional intelligence Gain a deeper understanding of what emotional intelligence (EI) is and how you can improve your EI skills to be happier and more productive.	Tuesday 23 March 3:00 pm	Tuesday 23 March 4:00 pm
Webinar GCS Leadership month: Exploring imposter syndrome This 45 minutes session will give you a thorough understanding of what imposter syndrome is, its impact, and ideas for how to overcome it.	Wednesday 24 March 11:00 am	Wednesday 24 March 12:00 pm
Webinar Leadership Masterclass series: Creative Leadership Join us for our third and final online viewing of Professor Paul Willis’ Masterclass series on the GCS Leadership Framework.	Wednesday 24 March 3:00 pm	Wednesday 24 March 4:30 pm
Webinar GCS Leadership month: Leadership and gender in government communications What and who do you expect your leaders to be? How do these expectations affect the characteristics of who leads in your organisation?	Friday 26 March 2:00 pm	Friday 26 March 3:00 pm
Webinar GCS Leadership month: Closing panel Join Professor Paul Willis, Tess Tinker, Poli Stuart-Lacey and Amrita Devaiah for our closing Leadership month panel.	Tuesday 30 March 2:00 pm	Tuesday 30 March 3:00 pm