Career development for young staff

The tools on the My HR & Health webpage will help you to identify the driving factors behind your approach to work (what do I want?) and your competences (what am I good at?). It will also highlight the available options at the UG and elsewhere for improving and developing your skills.

One-off consultation

Employees with a permanent contract are entitled to a career advice session at least once every five years. Employees with a fixed-term contract of two years or longer are offered the same opportunity, at the employer's expense.

Individual career guidance

The individual career guidance track is designed for those who are uncertain about their current career and want to reflect thoroughly, for example on questions like 'do I want to continue in this field?' or 'am I still developing enough?'. In up to six sessions, you work towards a realistic perspective: a clear picture of your qualities in relation to the job market, insight into any need for further training, and a plan of action for the short and long term.

A new job after the UG

Is your contract at the UG ending soon? Work to Work (W2W) provides support in applying for jobs and finding suitable work.

YoungRUG mentor programma

YoungRUG organizes an annual mentor programme, together with HR, where you can get a mentor (or become a mentor yourself) who will coach you for approximately half a year. A mentor is a senior colleague, who shares his/her/them experiences with you about a variety of work topics, tailored to your specific needs.

Take a look at the upcoming events to see when the next mentor programma event(s) will take place!

The UG wants its staff to continue to develop their skills. This is a key theme of the strategic plan. The assumption here is that you take responsibility for your own professional development and career. Find out about all the courses, possibilities and providers within the UG at the Corporate Academy website. Corporate Academy is the UG's course and training platform.

Development days

Every employee is entitled to 2 development days per year. You can use these days to enhance your employability. These days are not considered as leave. Agreements on how to use your development days can be laid down in your portfolio. For more information, you can consult article 6.10 in the Collective Labour Agreement.

Training regulations

The UG sets great store by training programmes to ensure continued performance in your current position or in preparation for a next step in your career. All University staff are entitled to training. They can submit proposals themselves and, in addition, the manager or the organization can also offer its employees training programmes, for example if needed in order to perform the job properly. Such training programmes can be made compulsory.

There are two types of training:

• For the benefit of the current position or a new position that the employee will take up in the future. The costs of such training are fully reimbursed by the employer and the training can be followed during working hours.
• In preparation for a new position that fits in with the employee’s career prospects if agreements have been made to this effect. Half of the costs of such training must be paid by the employee him or herself. The Faculty Board or management will decide how many working hours the employee may spend on such training. A maximum of one day a week is generally granted.

Travel and accommodation costs will be fully reimbursed by the University of Groningen for both types of training.

If you have any questions, please contact the HR-Experts training advisors: Silvia Huisman (s.huisman@rug.nl) or Ruth van de Walle (r.k.van.der.walle@rug.nl), or send an email to hr-experts@rug.nl.

Training courses and education

It is important to the UG that staff members have the possibility to develop themselves. To this end, the University offers a wide range of courses that staff members can take.

On the website of the Corporate Academy , you can find courses that fit your needs. HR-Experts, CIT and the Language Centre offer a wide range of courses on their website. You can find more detailed descriptions about courses on the following webpages:

Quick courses via New Heroes

Did you know that every University of Groningen employee has free access to short online training courses on a wide range of topics? From assertiveness training to dealing with difficult behaviour, and from learning to plan to dealing with feedback. Via New Heroes, you can learn the most important aspects of these topics in 5 to 15 minutes.

Balans

Balans is the lifestyle programme of the University of Groningen. The programme is for all staff of the University of Groningen (with the exception of the medical faculty) and stimulates a healthy lifestyle for employees.

Balans has developed a wide range of activities, mindfulness, yoga, health checks and coping with stress. The activities take a range of forms, from information sessions, workshops and introductory courses to individual consultations and stimulating lectures.

Sports Association for staff members (SPR)

The Sports Assocation for University of Groningen and Hanze University Staff (SPR) aims to 'promote fellowship, development and recreation in the widest sense of the word’ through sports.

Maternity and parental leave

If you're pregnant or a new parent, you are entitled to leave.

Flexibel working week

The standard working hours for a full-time employment contract are 38. A full-time appointment (100%) thus formally means a working week of 38 hours.

Within the framework of the Terms of Employment Options Model , you can choose to have a 36 or 40-hour working week. If you choose a 40-hour working week, thus work for 2 hours more a week, you are entitled to 96 extra vacation hours. If you choose a 36-hour working week, thus work for 2 hours less than the standard working hours, your annual entitlement to vacation hours will be reduced by 96 hours. This applies to part-timers on a pro rata basis.

Sabbatical leave

Would you like to take an extended period of leave to focus on research, study or personal development? A sabbatical leave gives you the opportunity to step back from your day-to-day work for a while and invest in yourself.