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» Autumn 07

Football shortsto legal briefs

How Udo Onwere got transferred fromfootball to law school through his union

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Good news fromTUC Congress

2 » autumn 2007

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The Learning Rep, autumn 07Editor: Mike Powermpower@tuc.org.ukWriters: Astrid Stubbs, MartinMoriartyDesign: Redhouse Lane CommunicationsPrint: Ancient House Printing GroupDistribution: Cavalier mailingCover photo: Footballer turned solicitor UdoOnwere by AlexMcguire.

It felt as though unionlearn had won thelottery when PrimeMinister, Gordon Brown,unexpectedly told TUC Congress delegatesthat the Union Learning Fund would beincreased by £3 million from next year.This great tribute to the work of ULRs wasreinforced when the PM described unionlearning as: “the biggest transformation oftrades unions since the growth of the shopstewardmovement.” Praise indeed.But it didn’t stop there. At our fringe meeting

where we launched our report Time to Tacklethe Training Divide, Lifelong Learning MinisterBill Rammell said that ULRs are: “one of theunsung success stories of the last 10 years.”And Skills Minister David Lammy told ourCongress reception: “ULRs are people whomake a difference.”Now wemust hope that all this goodwill is

reflected in the Chancellor’s ComprehensiveSpending Review this autumn. If so, unionlearnand its ability to support unions and ULRs tocontinue such praiseworthy work couldcontinue for several more years.Congress also saw three launches. We

opened our new Online Learning Centre, set upwith Newcastle College. We unveiled ourCareers and Advice line, which is a joint venturewith learndirect. And our new Climbing Framealso saw the light of day. For unionlearn,Congress meant strong endorsements for ourwork, and a much higher recognition of ourbrand among delegates.Finally, please go online and complete our

reader survey, which will help us improvethe magazine (see page 35). And you mightwin a prize!Liz SmithDirector, unionlearn

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Contents:3 TUC Congress round-up8 News12 John Denham interview15 Commission for Employment16 Norfolk County Services18 Gilda O’Neill interview21 Recipe for organising success26 Sign of the times28 TUC Education30 Adult Learners’ Week32 Udo Onwere34 Sue Ferns interview35 Jay knows36 Contacts

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TUCCongressround-up

Unite – Amicus section learning repPatrick McIlvogue collects his TUCULR of the Year Award from PrimeMinister Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown arrived at his firstTUC Congress as PrimeMinisterwith the golden hello of an extra

£3 million for union learning andgenerous praise for learning reps,including the TUC’s ULR of the Year,PatrickMcIlvogue.The PM congratulated ULRs, saying they

were responsible for “the biggesttransformation of trade unions since thegrowth of the shop stewardmovement.”And he delighted delegates with his

surprise news that he would increase theUnion Learning Fund from £12.5million to£15.5million next year.The PM also said the Government

planned to double Apprenticeships to500,000 by 2020.“We are ready to work with you now to

expand Apprenticeships into localgovernment, the NHS and the Civil Serviceitself – as well as into new sectors of theyouth labour market,” he said.And he called on all employers to join

unions in signing the Skills Pledge,accompanying it with a pledge of his own:“If we do not make sufficient progress overthe next three years, we will consider foremployees in England who lack a goodvocational qualification, a legalentitlement to workplace training.”

PMbacksULF, ULRs

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TUC Congress « News «

TheULR fromUnite –Amicus section isquick to stress thatunion teamwork isbehind the success of

learning at the Rolls-RoyceInchinnan plant near Glasgow.Patrick is a union convenor,

dealing with all aspects of tradeunion activity.He also chairs a weekly

learning steering group, madeup of union and companyrepresentatives, which hasdeveloped a 12-month plan fordelivering learning.It’s led to around a quarter of

the 1,400 strong workforcesigning up for courses – all inthe space of a year.

He insists that learning has beena success because it’s enshrined inthe union’s own structure andbargaining agenda.Last year, eight ULRs were sent

on a refresher course and a furthereight trained to ensure staff alwayshave access to someone involvedwith learning.“Now learning is part of

union business. To be a ULRyou also have to be a shopsteward,” he says.After joining the company

18 years ago as a 16-year-oldcraft apprentice, Patrick originallystepped up to the job of shopsteward because no oneelse would.All that has since changed – only

recently the union hashad to hold electionsbecause there wascompetition for ashop steward’s job.“The award is

recognition for thecollective. I’ve drivenit, coordinated it,done numbercrunching but noway I could talk to1,400 people. It’sbecause of theinfrastructure we

have created. Learning is now partof the business, part of thebargaining agenda,” he explains.

“We’ve created amonster!Wehave given people an expectation,like giving them terms andconditions. Most people expectlearning and if it’s not there theyare now going to ask why.”The speed at which Patrick has

created such a demand in less thana year has no doubt contributed tohis award.And it has to be judged in the

context of bringing learning to staffwith such complex needs.The company effectively

operates four businesses on onesite, working around at least fourrotating shift patterns.Despite the logistical nightmare

of organising courses around theseshifts, Patrick has negotiated arange of learning opportunitiesincluding ECDL, Spanish andpensions for staff. “There was a lotof number-crunching, it was a biglogistical operation,” he admits.A further learning survey showed

that 10 per cent of 250respondents wanted help withliteracy and numeracy.Because dealing with staff with

such sensitive needs calls forcareful handling, an agreement hasbeen reached to provide a uniqueprogramme of four, two-hour, one-to-one sessions to help signpoststaff to the best provider.At the other end of the scale,

Patrick says the learning

TUC ULR of the Year Patrick McIlvogue says he would never have wonthe award without the support of the rest of his team in Glasgow.

The Rolls-Royceof ULRs

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» Interview » TUC ULR of the Year

By Astrid Stubbs

Patrick celebrates his success withUnite’s joint general secretaries, TonyWoodley (left) and Derek Simpson

committee is now looking athelping people who havecompleted their apprenticeshipsbut who want to go on to furtherlearning.Talks have just begun with the

Open University to consider howthey can use their qualificationstowards an open degree – a movethat has already attracted theinterest of 34 people.And if a pilot PC Passport

qualification proves successful, inwhich the company pays for 50per cent of the worker’s time,100more are signed up toparticipate.“Learning is self-generating.

We have individuals of all ageswho have never stepped througha college door. But because it’s inthe workplace, because it’s theTUC and because it’s familiar,they are comfortable. And oncethey have done one thing, like abasic computer course, it throwsup another area they want tolearn in,” says Patrick.“When people come back from

a course, there’s a zest, anenthusiasm about them.”He cites the example of one

female manual worker in her 50swho was frustrated at beingpigeon-holed into the same job.She completed her basic

computer training and has nowembarked on a higher level.

In addition, she’s become a shopsteward and ULR.“People get filtered at an early

age into decisions that shape themmaybe in the wrong direction. I’m afirm believer in giving peopleopportunities, not denying them.”Despite the demands of his job,

Patrick has found time to continuehis own learning journey and is inhis final year of a degree in tradeunion studies.As the son of a shipyards shop

steward (also Patrick McIlvogue),this will bring him full circle.“My dad always said trade union

were a good things: he gavemegood values,” he says.And he advises fellow ULRs: “Be

tenacious. Keep at it. Keep going.You hold the moral high ground.Who can argue about theimportance of learning to thecompany and the individual?”

TUC ULR of the Year « Interview «

autumn 2007 « 5

TUCCongressround-up

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Only 12 per centof employeeswithout

qualifications get trainingcompared to 41 per cent ofgraduate employees, according tonew research published in the run-up to this year’s TUC Congress.The persistence of that training

gap was the springboard for afringe meeting organised by theTUC and unionlearn.Lifelong LearningMinister Bill

Rammell said ULRs had played avital role in the Government’sachievements, including triplingthe number of Apprenticeships andintroducing Train to Gain.“Crucially, we wouldn’t have

done any of this without the very,very significant role of ULRs – oneof the unsung success stories ofthe last 10 years.”But the UK is still a long way

fromwhere it needs to be indelivering world class skills andrisks falling behind its internationaleconomic competitors, he warned.Too often in facing this challenge

the solution was seen assomeone else’s responsibility, hedeclared, but the responsibilityhad to be shared.A demand-led approach waskey to meeting the skillschallenge along with a newAdult Careers Service whichwould make ongoingassessments of people’s needs,

he argued.Over 200 employers had already

signed the Skills Pledge andunions would be fundamentallyimportant in delivering on thePledge at ground level, Bill said.The UK faces an important

social and economic challenge,he stressed. “We have to worktogether: we can’t do it alone andtime is of the essence.”Steve Radley, chief economist

with the Engineering EmployersFederation (EEF) which represents6,000manufacturing firms, agreedabout the need to invest in higherlevels of skills.Achieving change would

involve a hard look at the minorityof employers who invest little intraining in order to “help raise theiraspirations.”He said the EEF had signed the

Skills Pledge and hoped largenumbers of its members would too.But he was concerned that a

compulsory approachmightlead to more but not necessarilybetter training. “Will it be theright kind of training thatdelivers results?”TUC Deputy General Secretary

Frances O’Grady argued that thescale of change needed was notgoing to be delivered simply byasking nicely for training.And she warned that the TUC

would be watching very carefullyin the lead up to 2010 andBritain’s progress towardstargets to eliminate the scandalof low pay.“And if we don’t hit those

targets, we are going to be firstin the queue to say we wantworkers to have paid time offfor training.”In the challenges posed by

globalisation, Frances saidlearning was both a source ofproblems and, crucially, thepotential solution to them.And she added her praise to

the achievements of ULRs who,she said, made a huge differenceto thousands and thousandsof lives, transforming not onlyskills but people’s experienceof work itself.“I want that to be seen

as central to what we do,”she stressed.

Government, employers andunions came together to discusstackling the training divide ina fringe meeting at Congress.

Three’scompany:FrancesO’Gradyflanked by BillRammell (left)and BillyHayes

TUCCongressround-up

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ULRs from up and downthe country got thechance to talk about their

experiences to newly-appointedSkills Minister David Lammyduring a unionlearn reception atCongress.Unite – T&G section activists

Ron Smith and Sue Hall weredelighted to be able to talk toDavid about the highly successfulprogramme they’ve run forhundreds of staff at the Arriva busdepot in Maidstone, Kent.UNISON’s Julie Robinson

took the opportunity to invite theminister to open a learning centreat Stockton-on-Tees BoroughCouncil – even though she’donly been a ULR at Tristar Homessince July.Maria Silva of the GMB told the

minister about her highlysuccessful work bringing learningto migrant workers at McVities inCarlisle, which she’s hoping toextend across the county.And Ayub Patel, USDAW ULR at

UniChem, Preston, talked aboutthe range of courses from ESOL tocomputer learning, numeracy andliteracy which he and fellow ULRshave introduced to colleagues in ashort space of time.Unionlearn Director Liz Smith

added that the Government wasright to put faith in unions andinvest in the Union Learning Fund.“And anyone who has any doubtsabout that only has to spend a fewminutes with these and other ULRsto realise that,” she said.David Lammy said he was

honoured to be at the reception:“These are the people on theground that make a difference, that

remind you about the personalstories and I think they need to bepublicly acknowledged for thework they are doing,” he said.He said it was particularly

poignant for him to have beenoffered the post of minister, afterbeing raised by his mother whenhis father walked out. “She didn’thave basic skills and it was ashop steward who helped herhelp her family,” he recalled.“In the end, people trust

people they know, who look andsound like them in theworkplace: that’s what reallyaffects people’s lives, someonenudging up next to themsaying: ‘You can do this!’”

TUCCongressround-up

Meeting the minister (clockwise from top left): MariaSilva; Ron Smith and Sue Hall; Ayub Patel; FrancesO’Grady, Patrick McIlvogue, David Lammy, Billy Hayesand Liz Smith (below).

ULRsmeet theminister

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Feeling the qualityLocal MP Ian Liddell-Graingergot his hands on a mortar whilevisiting military contractor BAeLand Systems but it was thelearning centre at theSomerset-based firm that reallyimpressed him.“The quality of the teaching and

the dedication of the staff andunion reps is brilliant: I’m amazedand delighted by what I've seen –it’s been a complete eye-opener,”the Conservative MP commented.Workers at BAe are queuing up

to re-train in advance of the closureof the Puriton factory in March, ULRHarry Cook revealed.“Several people have

already got new jobs aftergoing on these coursesbecause when they go toa new employer, they

can show they have the relevantqualifications and also that they'rewilling to learn,” he said.Accompanied by unionlearn

South-West Regional ManagerHelen Cole, Ian also looked in onthe learning centre at Argos inBridgwater, where he heard howover 50 staff had completedliteracy qualifications in theprevious 12months.“It's wonderful to see the

standard of education given toemployees in conjunction withboth companies: the learningcentres are going from strength tostrength,” Ian said.

Rail staff plumbnewheightsPractical courses can be just thething to help encourage unionmembers get learning again, asrail ULR Chris Nutty found outwhen he organised a plumbingfor beginners course for MidlandMainline and Virgin Trains staff inDerby this summer.

The sixmen and four women whosigned up for the one-day sessionenjoyed picking up tips of the tradefrom Derby College tutor Mark Eskil,who showed them how basichousehold water systems work andtaught them practical skills.“People might wonder if there’s

any real value in this type of course,with no qualification and no hardoutcomes,” says ASLEF activist Chris.“But 50 per cent of those taking

part were first-time learners, 25 percent were lapsed learners and all of

them have expressed an interest infuture courses – sometimes this isjust the kind of thing to get people offtheir seats and back into learning.”

What’s most likely to getyou to study again? Your

best friend saying ‘you can doit!’ So I’m proud our labourmovement has produced18,000 volunteer unionlearning reps, ‘best friends’ in6,000 workplaces up anddown the country.

John Denham,Labour Partyconference,September

2007

Unite – T&Gsection ULR HarryCook (right) madesure his local MPdidn’t literallydrop anybombshells duringhis visit to BAeLand Systems

Railworker Eamon Tague (above) getsto work on a length of piping whiletutor Mark Eskil (left) offers tips toEamon, Lanita Masi and LindsayCooper

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What is theClimbing Frame?The unionlearn Climbing Frameis an easy-to-use electronic toolto help learners and promotelearning in the workplace.The learning themes section

of the Climbing Frame providesa one-stop-shop of up-to-dateinformation and advice for ULRsabout a broad range of learningopportunities, with a library anda notes section where ULRs canstore their own information.The learner management

section enables ULRs to workwith learners to collect personaldetails, decide on learningpathways and produceindividual action plans whichcan be reviewed and updated.It also enables ULRs to keep

ongoing records of who they’reworking with, what’s beenagreed and what’s beenachieved, and provides unionsand ULRs with aggregatedinformation to illustrate theprofile of their learners.

Ed gets onthe skills case

This year’s TUC Congress saw the formal launchof the unionlearn Climbing Frame, the electronictool which allows union members to map outtheir own learning pathways, ULRs to track theirmembers’ progress and employers to supporttheir workforce development.“This innovative framework for learning will benefit

all those involved in union learning in the workplace,”commented unionlearn Director Liz Smith.New Climbing Frame Support Officer Louisa Shaw

will be responsible for overall maintenance, ensuringthat the generic themes are updated, providing asupport site for users and responding to requestsfor help.Training for the Climbing Frame should be available

in each region in October and details will be postedon: www.unionlearn.org.uk/climbingframe.Unionlearn has already developed Climbing Frames

with retail union USDAW, civil service union PCS, andprofessionals’ union Prospect, who all tookadvantage of its flexibility to create bespokeapproaches to suit their members.In addition, other Climbing Frames are under

development with the Brinkburn Learning Centre inNewcastle and with the TUC itself.For more information, contact Climbing Frame

Support Officer Louisa Shaw: lshaw@tuc.org.uk

� Further copies of the Climbing Frame leafletenclosed with this edition of The Learning Repare available – see page 35.

Unions and employers work bestwhen they get together to solveworkplace skills problems,according to new researchlaunched with the blessing of thethen Economic Secretary to theTreasury Ed Balls (now Childrenand Schools Secretary).“Strong and sustainable

partnerships between employers andunions are making a difference tolearning in the workplace, oftenunderpinned by learningagreements,” Ed commented at thelaunch of the unionlearn report AQualitative Study ofWorkplaceLearning Agreements.Commissioned from Leeds

University Business School, the studyshows how establishing learningagreements almost always enhancesrelations between unions andmanagement by improving trust, andusually complements a morestrategic approach to humanresource development.“More workplaces need to get

involved, which is why I am pleasedthat the CBI and the TUC – togetherwith the government – havelaunched a project to promote aworkplace dialogue on training andskills,” Ed said.The new project, now under the

aegis of the new departments forInnovation Universities and Skills(DIUS) and for Business, Enterpriseand Regulatory Reform (DBERR),will include best practice guidanceon employer-union dialogue ontraining. It’s been researched by theCentre for Employment Relations,Innovation and Change at LeedsBusiness School.You can download a copy of the

Workplace Learning Agreementsreport from the unionlearn website.

Swing into action onthe Climbing Frame

The Climbing Frame will help union membersdesign their own learning pathways, unionlearnDirector Liz Smith tells Skills Minister DavidLammy at this year’s TUC Congress

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» News

Education union ATL has signed a ground-breakingagreement with Edge Hill University which will allowmembers to develop their expertise in the classroomthrough the provider’s wide range of programmes andcourses.Under the deal, ratified at the union’s annual

conference, members will be able to sign up for theuniversity’s accredited undergraduate and postgraduatecourses at little or no cost to themselves, and gain formalaccreditation for previously completed ContinuousProfessional Development (CPD).

Give us a call on 08000 92 91 90Careers Advice Line, run withlearndirect has revealed a realhunger for learning and opportunitiesto train among trade unionmembers,” says unionlearn DirectorLiz Smith.“All those who have called the line

or made online enquiries arereceiving excellent advice andguidance as to how to progress atwork, how to access courses, or evenhow to change careers and unlocktheir potential.”Available in nine community

languages, the new service hookscallers into a national database ofover 900,000 courses delivered byover 10,000 different providers.

Tel: 08000 92 91 90 (8am to 10pmevery day, including weekends).

Hundreds of union learners everymonth are already phoning thenew, free Learning and CareersAdvice Line formally launched byunionlearn and learndirect at thisyear’s TUC Congress.Guided by a team of specialist

advisers, they’ve been getting a widerange of practical advice to helpthemmake learning a part of theireveryday life, from finding the coursethey want to finding childcare andaccess for people with disabilities.Most of the inquiries to date have

come from people with noqualifications: while psychology andlaw the courses have attracted mostinterest, callers have been looking forinformation on everything fromcomputer programming to welding.“The unionlearn Learning and

Nowwe are five

Unionlearn Director Liz Smith cuts the NUT birthday cake

ATL GeneralSecretary MaryBousted

ATLOKs CPDThe union’s ULRs are also set to benefit from

specific programmes enabling them to developtheir role.“ATL is very excited about this new partnership

with Edge Hill, as they are a highly respected providerof professional development for teachers and schoolsupport staff,” says ATL General Secretary Mary Bousted.“Working together, we will be able to meet the rising

demand among our members for good quality CPD,supporting both their career development and theirimpact in the classroom.”

Teachers’ union NUT celebrated the fifth anniversaryof its ULF-funded learning reps project this summer,with the news that its ULRs now cover 60 per cent oflocal authorities in England andWales.“By promoting union learning and Continuous

Professional Development (CPD) opportunities, talkingto teachers, investigating local learning needs andorganising local courses, we are seeing how learningcan promote union organisation,” says General SecretarySteve Sinnott.Thanks to the growing network of ULRs, more NUT

members are coming forward to be trained as schoolreps and health and safety reps, with 11 out of the 14training courses on offer this summer filled to capacity.“We’ve tapped into a completely new group of

potential NUT activists and we’ve seen a strengtheninglink between learning and organising,” says AssistantSecretary for Membership and CommunicationsArthur Jarman.

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autumn 2007 « 11

COVE callingHave you got hard evidence

from your own experience abouthow learning can help vulnerableworkers tackle problems at work?If so, the new independentCommission on VulnerableEmployment (COVE) wants tohear from you, especially abouthow learning and skills canhelp vulnerable workers get a fairdeal. Send details of yourexperiences and suggestions viathe COVE website:www.vulnerableworkers.org.ukThe deadline is 30 November2007.

Send us your surveyHave you completed and

returned your ULR survey?Unionlearn needs them back by9 November, and a full report ofthe results will be appear in ourJanuary 2008 edition. If youhaven’t received your copy of theULR survey, please email Ann Jossat ajoss@tuc.org.uk.

RaW storiesThe BBC is running free

workshops up and down thecountry to help promote theReading andWriting (RaW)campaign’s children’s short storycompetition. The sessions aredesigned to help ULRs encouragetheir members get writing, usingcharacters fromMax and Lara’sAmazing Travelling Space Circusfrom the RaW storytelling pack.More information:www.unionlearn.org.uk/ulr/learn-1689-f0.cfm

News in brief

Unionlearn handed out its first batch ofQuality Awards to recognise six providersfor their commitment to union learning atits annual conference this summer.The awards went to the College of North

London, Wirral Metropolitan College, YeovilCollege Training, New College Trade UnionLearndirect Centre, Stoke-on-Trent College andTresham Institute of Further and HigherEducation.All six had all proved that unions and union

learners are considered in the design,development and delivery of their courses andprogrammes.

The conference saw 400 delegates packedinto TUC headquarters to hear thethen Education Secretary Alan Johnson,best-selling author Gilda O’Neill and TUCGeneral Secretary Brendan Barber talk aboutthe latest developments in learning.Twomore memorandums of

understanding were signed at the event:one with a number of Sector Skills Councilscovering provision of information, adviceand guidance (IAG) in the workplace; andone with Ufi/Learndirect, formally launchingthe bespoke telephone advice servicefor ULRs.

Trade unionists are increasingly keenon moving on to higher education,according to the results of a newsurvey following the memorandumof understanding between unionlearnand the Open University (OU).Demand is likely to be highest among

older workers in professional and technicaloccupations who did not have the chance totake up Level 4 courses earlier in theircareers, the research revealed.But learning needs assessments, paid time

off and help with course fees would furtherboost take-up, according to the survey whichattracted over 500 respondents from the tenlargest TUC affiliates.Over two thirds (67 per cent) of those

surveyed were planning to undertake

further education, training anddevelopment next year, with 71 per centplanning to undertake such opportunitiesin the next five years.Although 65 per cent felt that they had

the confidence in their study skills to takeup a course, 56 per cent would be interestedin having an assessment to find out whattheir learning needs were.Over 80 per cent would take a learning

opportunity if their employer provided paidtime off to study, and 73 per cent wouldtake up a learning opportunity if theiremployer paid all or part of the fees.But 59 per cent would find it difficult to

get paid time off work to take a course, and47 per cent feared not being able to affordthe fees.

Takeme higher

That’s quality, that is

Maggi Rowland (right), Head ofSkills for Life at Stoke-on-Trent

College, and WorkforceDevelopment Manager Sarah

Thorringtonpick up their Quality

Award at theunionlearn annual

conference from thethen EducationSecretary Alan

Johnson

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John Denham talks to unionlearn Director Liz Smith about his goalsfor the new Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills.

» Interview » John Denham

DenhamStarter for

You’re the secretary ofstate of a whole newdepartment, inheritingparts of the old DfES and

DTI. What are your key goals forthe DIUS?There are immense forces in the

world which tend to produce a moreunequal and more divided society,like the globalising economy, andhuge challenges like climate change.The only way to deal with them is tomake the most of the skills andabilities of everybody in the countryand to have world-class research atuniversities which we can turn intosuccessful businesses and publicservices.

Our job as a department is tobring those strands of policytogether in one place with aseat at the Cabinet table.

I think you’d agree that the skillsstrategy needs both to increasecompetitiveness and build socialjustice and equality of opportunity.How will current policies andmeasures achieve both theseobjectives?In the past, there was this idea that

you either talked about skills forbusiness or you talked about social

inclusion and kept the two thingsseparate. I think that was a mistake –and I think the people championingskills missed a trick by leaving socialinclusion and social mobility out ofthe story.I don’t want any misunderstanding:

the business case for investing inskills stands in its own right, even ifyou weren’t the slightest bit interestedin social mobility or social inclusion.But the reality is that if we canimprove people’s skills then we canmake a big impact on social inclusionand social mobility.

How do you think unionscan help?We can have big advertising

campaigns and roadshows, but thesingle thing that’s most likely topersuade somebody to pluck up thecourage – because that’s what’sinvolved to go and do a course

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autumn 2007 « 13

sometimes – is when someone theytrust talks to them about it.The fantastic thing the trade

unions as a movement have got isthat network of trusted people rightacross the country who can say topeople “You can do this, and it’llmake a real difference.” That’s thefirst thing unions can do – andobviously the Union Learning Fund isabsolutely critical to that process.But unions can go further –

training is obviously an issue thatunions have rightly put on theagenda in their general negotiatingstrategy for a long time now andthat’s also very important.

We very much agree with theGovernment that we’d like to seemore employer investment inskills. How far do you think theSkills Pledge is going to be aneffective mechanism for driving upemployer commitment?I think the Skills Pledge is an

important part of an overall package.The Leitch implementation plan,World Class Skills, sets out to createa new culture in this country, onewhere if an individual is in a dead-end job, their friend will say: “Whydon’t you get some more skills?” Andif an employer complains: “I can’t getthe workforce I want,” the responsewill be: “What are you doing to trainthem?” And the government’sresponse to both of them will be:“We will help you.”The Skills Pledge is one of the

ways in which we’re trying to bringabout that change in employer

responsibility, so that oneof the marks of a

good employer in

our society becomes theircommitment to train employees.And we will push the Skills Pledge

very strongly: we’re about to goout on ministerial roadshows withthe CBI covering all the regions ofthe country to promote it and thatwill continue.It also goes with the changes

we’re making in the delivery of skills.Train To Gain should mean therelationship between whatemployers and employees wantand the way that colleges deliverskills will be better, more suited tothe individual and the workplace.Changes like that are enormouslyimportant, too.

The launch of the Adult CareersService is going to be veryimportant in helping people at theworkplace access the advice theyneed. We’ve got 18,000 ULRsspread across a wide range ofworkplaces, a whole volunteerarmy that didn’t exist nine yearsago. Do you have any thoughts onhow we might increase thecontribution and scope of whatULRs and unionlearn can bring tothe table?I’d be wrong to say that we’ve got

detailed plans but I can absolutelyassure you that ULRs have alreadybeen identified in the department asa potential resource as we developthe adult guidance system.One of the things I’ve believed for

a long time (based on talking toconstituents as much as anything) isthat getting from an unsatisfying,badly-paid, dead-end job into abetter job is usually just as difficult asgetting off unemployment into work,

and involves all the same issues –training, childcare, transport.We need to have an Adult Careers

Service that can give roundedsupport. It will inevitably be anorganisation that draws on the skillsof lots of different organisationsrather than one single organisation,but ULRs will be enormouslyimportant not just as a point ofcontact with the service but as a wayof putting people in touch with otheragencies.One of the things to talk about is

a role for ULRs outside their ownworkplaces. There are manycommunities where members of thetarget group for the advice serviceare – if they are in work – certainlynot in unionised work. It may be thatsome of the problems they face atwork are not knowing aboutemployment rights and things ofthat sort.So one of the interesting things

we’ll want to discuss with ULRs is, inaddition to what they can do in theworkplace, are there things they cando outside it, where they can takethe skills and knowledge they’ve gotand help communicate them toother people?

There have been recent changesto ESOL funding, with a lot ofconsultation. Do you think theGovernment’s going to be able toprotect that provision in this newclimate and be successful ingetting employers to contributemore to ESOL training?I think we can. People need to

recognise that the ESOL budget hadactually tripled in the space of just afew years and it wasn’t really tenable

What do ministers readwhen they go on holiday?“I wish I could saysomething more weightyand impressive, but I wasadvised by my PPS to readthe latest Ian Rankin, TheNaming of the Dead. Shesuggested it to mebecause it features themurder of a PPS! That wasmy summer holidayreading and it wasthoroughly enjoyable.”

Double act (leftand above): LizSmith and JohnDenham discusshow governmentand unions canwork togtherto advanceworkplacelearning

14 » autumn 2007

» Interview » John Denham

John Denham CVBorn in the seasidetown of Seaton inDevon in 1953, JohnDenham went toWoodroffeComprehensive Schoolin Lyme Regis andstudied chemistry atSouthamptonUniversity, where hebecame president ofthe Students Union.While serving as a

local councillorthroughout the 1980s, he worked for War onWant, Christian Aid, Oxfam and otherdevelopment agencies before winningSouthampton Itchen for Labour at the thirdattempt in 1992.After Labour’s election victory in 1997, John

served as a junior minister at the Department ofSocial Security, Department of Health and theHome Office, resigning in 2003 ahead of theIraq War. He chaired the Home Affairs SelectCommittee during his time on the backbenchesbefore joining Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet torun the newly-created Department ofInnovation, Universities and Skills.John, who has three children, is an avid Saints

fan who remains convinced that SouthamptonFC will once again enjoy Premiership football inthe near future.

Funding formulas like this probably all makesense to a chemistry graduate like John Denham

for the government not to look at thepriorities we have for ESOL.There was a real danger in some

parts of the country that theexpansion of ESOL was biting intobudgets that would otherwise gofor numeracy or literacy or the othertraining that we wanted peopleto have.If you’re in that situation, I don’t

think it’s a bad thing to say thatthose who benefit should make acontribution and to say to employersthat if you bring people into thecountry it really should be yourresponsibility to make sure they havethe English they need to do theirwork: it’s not obvious that it’sprimarily a job for the taxpayer topick up that bill because employersare benefiting from it.When Bill Rammell led on this last

year, we heard people say there weresome groups (for example, asylum-seekers whose cases hadn’t beendetermined for a long time andsome women who would find it very

“I’d like to achieve a change of culturewhere individuals and employersrecognise their responsibilities to

raise skills levels”

difficult to prove they were entitled tothe support) and we’ve made somechanges to the system which shouldget the balance about right.But people should never forget

that there is three times as muchESOL today as there was just fiveyears ago and we’re really talkingabout how to make the best use ofthat money.

Now, I hope for your sake andours that we’re looking well intothe future here, but when youfinish this job, what’s the onething you’d have liked to haveachieved?The real test would be the change

of culture so that individuals andemployers recognise theresponsibility they have to raise skilllevels. We know there are individualswho already feel that, we know thereare employers who do that, but it’snot standard across our society. So itwould be that – to have broughtabout that culture change.

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Commission for Employment and Skills « Feature «

autumn 2007 « 15

The unions will need a strong voice on the new Commissionfor Employment and Skills if it is to succeed in its aims.

Commission tospeak, sir?

One of the most significantelements of theGovernment’s response

to the Leitch review is theestablishment of the Commissionfor Employment and Skills, whichis set to become fully operationalearly next year.The Government foresees a

central role for the Commission inthe long game to raise thecountry’s skills base, improveproductivity and competitiveness,increase employment and helpcreate a fairer society.It also hopes the Commission will

play a critical part in securing aworld-class profile on skills by 2020and the aspiration of an 80 percent employment rate.The TUC, which has welcomed

the broad thrust of the Leitchimplementation plan, remainsconcerned about the extent towhich the Government isstrengthening the employer-ledapproach on skills.“We will continue to press the

Government to give employees andtrade unions a significant voice inthe new institutional skillsframework, in particular via the newCommission for Employment andSkills,” the TUC has pledged.The Commission will take over

the functions of two existingbodies: the Sector SkillsDevelopment Agency, whichcurrently oversees the network ofSector Skills Councils, and theNational Employment Panel, theemployer-led organisation whichadvises government on labourmarket policies and performance.It will be chaired by Sir Michael

Rake, who has just taken over aschair of telecoms giant BT after fiveyears at the top of KPMGInternational, where he was the

driving force behind theaccountancy firm’s award-winningcorporate social responsibilityprogrammes in the UK, tacklingeducational and socialdisadvantage.“Skills and sustained

employment are at the heart ofbusiness growth and economicsuccess: I am proud to pick up thechallenge and ambitions set byLord Leitch and drive forward thisnew organisation,” Sir Michael says.

“Skills and sustained employmentare at the heart of business

growth and economic success”

What is theCommission forEmployment andSkills?The Commission will play acritical part in securing a highlyskilled, productive workforceand increasing employmentlevels, particularly for thosefrom disadvantagedbackgrounds.

It will:� Advise ministers on strategy

and policies relating toemployment and skills.

� Assess progress towardsachieving nationalemployment and skillsambitions for 2020.

� Monitor the performance ofSector Skills Councils, andadvise ministers on re-licensing.The Government’s

implementation planemphasises that the new bodywill need to develop strongrelationships with employers,trade unions and a wide rangeof key delivery bodies.

You can download theLeitch implementation

plan from the DIUS website:www.dius.gov.uk/publications/publications-leitchreview.htm

A massively successful learningpartnership at Norfolk CountyServices has paid off for staff,the unions and the company.

Because its 4,400 staff are spreadacross 1,100 sites, many in remoterural areas, the project arrangedcourses after work in training andconference facilities, hotels, youthclubs – whatever fitted in the locality.“In a school kitchen, for example,

if you’ve got two people out in a day,your whole service is at risk,” Hilarysays. “That’s why we organised thecourses in the evening so it gave staffthe chance to do them after work andit helped us to put them on withoutthat overload.”NCS also paid learners half their

hourly rate to encourage greater take-up, and encouraged managersto take the National Testsin literacy andnumeracy to reducethe stigma andhelp changestaff attitudes.

There’s nothing like a bit ofunderdog action to livenup an awards ceremony,especially one fronted by

Prince Charles in the plushsurroundings of London’s RoyalAlbert Hall.And that’s exactly what happened

at the Business in the CommunityAwards this summer when NorfolkCounty Services, a facilitiesmanagement company based in theEast of England, picked up theFirstGroup Skills for Life (‘Big Tick’)Award ahead of national andinternational players including RoyalMail and DHL.The company itself, created when

the property services department atNorfolk County Council was hived offin 1998, is justifiably proud of itslearning programme, which startedfive years ago.“I’d known for some time that we

had some difficulties with numeracyand literacy following feedbackfrom mymanagers about peoplenot understanding instructions, not

Exalted company:the NCS team atthe BiTC Awards(Eve Huggins,Tricia Fuller,Hilary Hale andDirector TonyWilliams) flankedby the Prince ofWales (secondleft) and formerUS Vice-PresidentAl Gore (thirdright)

GMB ULR EveHuggins (right)has completed14 courses in thepast two yearsand encouraged100 colleagues toreturn to learning

understanding health and safety,not understanding their pay slip,”recalls Human Resources DirectorTricia Fuller.“We’d made some tentative

approaches as to how we might goabout this but to be quite honestwe’d run into the buffers and didn’tquite know how to do it.”Enter general union GMB Training

and Development Manager JennyWebber, who convinced Tricia thatthe way to make things happen wasto take the union route.That’s how all five unions at the

company, led by the GMB andUNISON, put in a bid to the UnionLearning Fund, and Learning Lift-Offwas launched.“In the beginning, the way we

looked at it was to get the non-traditional learner back into learning,so it had to be fun courses – cakedecorating and things like that – justto get people back into learning,”explains Learning and DevelopmentManager Hilary Hale.The programme became more

qualifications-focused when NCSsecured a further two years’ backingfrom the European Social Fund (ESF),which enabled it to offer literacy,numeracy and IT qualifications aswell as NVQs (100 have beencompleted to date).

16 » autumn 2007

» Feature » Employers

NorfolkgetsByMartin Moriarty

“When a cleaner sees their areamanager has taken the test, theythink: ‘Well, they’ve done it, so I cantoo,’ and that really encouragedpeople to take part,” Hilary says.Developing the skills of its staff has

definitely paid off for the company.Not only has NCS reduced accidentrates and cut recruitment costs, it hasalso picked up new business as adirect result of its learning programme.A new partnership in 2004 to

deliver strategic services to SuffolkCoastal District Council was “almostdirectly attributable” to the learningprogramme, according to Tricia, and,in another venture currently undernegotiation, the learning componentof the NCS offer is “ringing all thebells,” she says.But the project has just not helped

the company: it’s also paid off for theunions by raising their profile anddemonstrating the added value ofholding a membership card.

“ULRs have been able toshow the whole workforce thattrade unions are not alwaysabout strikes and conflict, butabout positive partnershipwith the employer andhelping members to improvetheir lives and gainqualifications,” says the

GMB’s JennyWebber.One particularly successful ULR is

GMB member and mobile cookmanager Eve Huggins.She’s encouraged over 100 work

colleagues to access education andtraining, as well as taking 14 coursesof her own over the last two years.“I thought that I couldn’t go out and

ask people to do courses if I didn’tknow what they were like myself!”she says.Like the rest of her ULR colleagues,

Eve took her responsibilities to herlearners very seriously: she often gavethem a lift to courses in her car andstayed there with them if they felt likethey needed a helping hand.

And her commitment to her ownpersonal development has paid off aswell, since she now teaches refreshertraining within the company (andpicked up the Individual Award forthe East of England at the prestigiousAdult Learners’ Week Awards thisyear, run by NIACE).Everyone agrees that a crucial part

of the programme’s success has beenthe effective joint work on it bymanagement and unions.“Without the partnership approach

between the unions and NCS, theprogramme wouldn’t have workedat all because the unions could getto parts of the organisation that wecouldn’t reach,” Tricia says.As for the future, Tricia is thinking

about moving beyond voluntary Skillsfor Life learning. “I think the nextphase for us will be to make it a –I hate the word – compulsory partof employment, but we’re a little bitaway from that yet!” she says.

How learningworks at NCS� 1,935 staff (44 per cent of theworkforce) have accessedsome type of learning

� 547 staff have accessedSkills for Life training

� 47 per cent of area managershave taken national literacyand numeracy courses

� Staff satisfaction up by20 per cent, with feedbackfrom staff surveys creditinglearning and development

� £40,000 saved onrecruitment budget due toincreased internal staffdevelopment

� Skills training a major factorin winning new contract withSuffolk Coastal DistrictCouncil.

Employers « Feature «

autumn 2007 « 17

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18 » autumn 2007

» Feature » Gilda O‘Neill

Growing up in the 1950sand ’60s, when mostworking class girls wereexpected to get married

and have children, Gilda O’Neilldecided she was going to bean architect.So when she won a place at

grammar school by passing the 11-Plus, she turned it down becausethey didn’t teach technical drawingand chose South East Essex CountyTechnical High School instead.But when she arrived there, she

was told that technical drawing wasthe preserve of the boys: she’d bedoing domestic science instead(“and this was in the 1960s – notthe 1860s!” she points outindignantly.)Miserable that she wasn’t

allowed to study what she’d set herheart on, she was dispatched tosee the careers teacher.But when Gilda said she’d like to

be a concert pianist or a poet, thewoman dismissed her literaryambitions with the words: “That’sridiculous – a little girl like you willnever become a writer.”She got that wrong. Gilda’s since

gone on to become a familiar namein the best-seller lists, with herpersonal recollections and oralhistories of the East End where shewas born.Her family couldn’t have been

more traditional: her grandmotherhad a pie and mash shop, hergrandfather was a tug skipper on

the Thames and her great-unclewas a minder for Daddy Lee, whoran a gambling den in Limehouse’sChinatown.Brought up in a family home

without any books, the futurebest-selling author began workingher way through the local libraryin Dagenham, Essex, where thefamily had moved to when shewas still a child.“I’d read my way through the

junior library by the time I was 11,so I began pestering the staff to letme join the adults’ section,” sherecalls.The only problem was that when

they finally relented, she didn’thave a clue what to choose, so shewent for the thinnest volume shecould find.That’s how she ended up taking

home Freud’s The Interpretation ofDreams, in which the founder ofpsychoanalysis argues we neverstop thinking about sex, even whenwe’re asleep.“When I read it, I thought: ‘Oh

blimey!’ so I got them to help mechoose something next time, andthey put me onto HE Bates andthings like that!” she laughs.Nevertheless, despite a natural

love of learning and an unusualbreadth in her reading, Gilda felt sounhappy at school that she evenpaid the £10 necessary to leaveearly at the age of 15, making surethe headmaster was in no doubt ofher opinion of him as she

goodEast End girl Gilda O’Neill was told she’d never become awriter when she was at school. So how come she’s in thebest-seller lists today?

Thegirl done

By Martin Moriarty

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autumn 2007 « 19

disappeared through the schoolgates for the final time (“I was afeisty little thing!”).She then began putting together

a very colourful CV, doingeverything from a short stint in apub (“I was the world’s worstbarmaid for a day: they wanted meto wear hotpants and I told them toget stuffed!”) to psychedelicallylighting an early London gig byguitar hero Jimi Hendrix (“the onlything my kids are actually proud ofme for doing!”).It was after getting married and

having two children that she beganto think about returning to learningas an adult – specifically while shewas watching over her second son,who spent the first few weeks of hislife at Great Ormond Street “with allsorts of tubes plugged into him”.“I was there 24 hours a day and

the nurse said ‘You can’t just sitthere the whole time, you’ve got todo something,’ so I started anOpen University course,” sherecalls.“Because of my bad experience

at school, I’d forgotten how muchI’d loved learning: but it was asthough I’d been given my life backin an odd sort of way – although Iwas very happily married and hadtwo wonderful kids, there was agap, and I didn’t want to spend therest of my life doing things that

Gilda O’Neill « Feature «

Gilda as a little girl (left), playing with a friendshe met when she and her mum went hop-picking

20 » autumn 2007

» Feature » Gilda O’Neill

didn’t fulfil me – and education didfulfil me.”Never one to do things by halves,

Gilda completed three degrees andstarted a doctorate on housingpolicy (“I was getting my own backfor not being allowed to become anarchitect!” she says).It was around that time that she

attended a history conference inOxford where one of the majorspeakers was spouting – in herwords – “the biggest load of crap”about the working class and crime.“He was saying the working class

become criminals because they’repoor, but from my background I doknow some dodgy people and formost of them, it’s because theydon’t want to graft: it’s a careerchoice – although it’s a very badone in my opinion!” she recalls.“So I argued with him – which

made him really furious because Iwas not the sort of person heexpected to challenge him – buttwo publishers came up to meafterwards and offered me thechance to write a book.”That was how she came to write

Lost Voices: Memories of a VanishedWay of Life, a history of hop-pickingin Kent – something she herself haddone as a child, alongsidethousands of other East Enders.“So many other writers have

treated the East End like ananthropological project – we’re likesome weird tribe they’ve found andI find it quite offensive, to behonest,” she says.And the books have kept on

coming ever since. Lost Voices hasbeen followed by My East End:Memories of Life in Cockney

London, Our Street: East End Life inthe Second World War and TheGood Old Days: Poverty, Crime andTerror in Victorian London.But she’s not only a non-fiction

writer: Gilda’s also published novelsincluding the East End-based trilogyOf Woman Born and the family sagaRough Justice.“Whatever I write, whether it’s

crime, family sagas or the non-fiction, it’s all because there’s anissue that’s important to me,otherwise you might as well writea comic – although there’snothing wrong with graphic novels!”she says.A keynote speaker at unionlearn’s

annual conference this summer(where she went down a storm withthe delegates), Gilda herself wasenormously impressed with the wayULRs are helping co-workers accessnew educational opportunities.“I wasn’t being addressed when I

was at school, but that’s thefabulous thing about the learningreps: they’re addressing people inways that give them opportunitiesand show them they’re entitled,”she says.“There was such a buzz at that

conference!”Her next project is East End Tales,

which is part of the next wave ofQuick Reads to be launched earlynext year.

“The fantastic thing aboutULRs is that they’re showingpeople they’re entitled to

learning”

More Quickieson the wayAlongside GildaO’Neill’s East EndTales (Penguin),another nine QuickReads titles are to bepublished onThursday 6 March2008, at just £1.99each.

� Humble Pie by GordonRamsay (HarperCollins)

� The Girl on the Platform byJosephine Cox HarperCollins)

� One Good Turn by Chris Ryan(Arrow)

� Life’s New Hurdles by ColinJackson (Accent Press)

� Happy Families by AdeleParks (Penguin)

� The Hardest Test by ScottQuinnell (Accent Press)

� RaWVoices of Hardship andHope introduced by VanessaFeltz (BBC Books)

� The Ten Keys to Success byJohn Bird (Vermillion)

� Revenge of the Judoon aDoctor Who title by TerranceDicks (BBC Books)

For more information, visit:www.quickreads.org.uk.

“I’m really excited about it,” shesays. “I know from the response I’vehad to the earlier books that peoplewant to read about community –I’ve even had a fan letter from anold man in Hawaii who said thestories in My East End remindedhim of his village,” she says. “Howcool is that!”Although the new book is rooted

in the East End, Gilda hopes it willget people thinking about thecommunities they grew up in allover the country.And it probably will: the more

specific a book is, the moreuniversal it can become (the letterfrom Hawaii is proof of that).“I hope people enjoy reading

it – I’ve written it with so muchpassion because I know what booksmean to me and I hope it willencourage people to write their ownstories because we’ve all got them,”she says.

Gilda is deeplyimpressed withthe way ULRsare helping theirco-workersaccess learningPh

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All over the country, ULRs are making sure thatworkplace learning builds the union. The case studiesover the next four pages show just how it’s done.

Organising « Feature «

autumn 2007 « 21

organisingThe seriouspursuit of

By Astrid Stubbs

22 » autumn 2007

» Feature » Organising

Go no further thanthe Argosdistribution centrein Basildon to

witness the massive successof learning and organising.Argos’s nine distribution

centres, where Unite – T&Gsection is recognised, are thelifeblood of the company,ensuring that customers get thegoods they want when theywant them.The scale of the operation is

enormous with centres coveringan area the size of 100 footballpitches, each employing 400people on average (although thatfigure can double during periodslike Christmas).According to senior shop

steward at the Basildon centreMark Barter, success of learningis all down to mainstreaming itinto core trade union business.

All reps, whether health andsafety, shop stewards or ULRs,work well together, attendingcourses and developing theiractivist skills, he says.This mainstream working hasenabled Unite – T&G section toorganise workers whopreviously may never haveengaged with the union,including migrant workers andpeople who have been anti-union.“I noticed how many people

How do youmainstream learning?2.

Learning hasboostedrecruitment,says MarkBarter (below)

were joining the union on theback of learning,” says Mark –membership has leapt from 50per cent to 90 per cent, he says.Learning has also helped Mark

in his union work (he has overallresponsibility for coordinatingUnite - T&G section at Argos).“IT skills have improvedorganising skills. For example,using a spreadsheet to keep trackof where members and non-members are, shift patterns,demography of the workforce,”he says.Learning is good for the reps,

good for the members and goodfor the business. “This is reallychanging the perception of theunion: we are finding people whopreviously were anti-union arenow joining the union, which isgreat,” says Mark.Polish ULR Honorata Lipka got

involved in the union to improveher English and is now a ULR.“The learning agenda and ESOL

are a great way to encourage

explains project worker Ed Leach.ULRs spoke to over 200 people

as part of a learning needs analysisacross the store and in the process

How do you get a team together?

Motivated ULRs (with USDAW General Secretary JohnHannett, centre) are the catalyst for successful union-ledlearning at Tesco’s

Team work is behindthe huge success oflearning andorganising at the

Tesco store in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, where already highUSDAW membership has beenboosted to 99 per cent – some450 employees.That’s had a domino effect on

organising with new membersbecoming ULRs or members likeMalcolm Glannister moving onfrom being a ULR to becominga health and safetyrepresentative.Staff, who mostly work in

shelf-stacking and check-out,have taken to learning with avengeance thanks to theirunion: USDAW has a nationalpolicy on learning andorganising and organising isinformally a part of all full-timeorganisers’ roles.“USDAW initiated this work

in partnership with Tesco, butreally ULRs are the catalyst anddriving force behind this project,”

1.

Organising « Feature «

autumn 2007 « 23

When ULRs at PCSbranches at theRural PaymentsAgency in Carlisle

and Workington introducedlearning they found theywere engaging a new groupof members – ex-members!The union has reported a

significant increase inmembership as a direct resultof activity to promote learningin the workplace.Both branches ran union

stalls in the workplace as partof activity around Learning atWork Day, and at both sites,employees requestedinformation on joining theunion. At the Workington site,18 people signed up to theunion, with around 15 newmembers joining up at theCarlisle office.ULR Vivienne Frazer, who is

based at the Workington site,said she had noticed that anumber of the new recruitshad been members in the pastand had been attracted backinto the union because of thepositive work aroundpromoting learning.Jennifer Baron, Assistant

Branch Secretary at the CarlisleRPA PCS branch, explained thather branch had beenpromoting learning as part ofan overall strategy to raise theprofile of the union andcommunicate with membersmore effectively, and itappears to be having thedesired positive effect onmembership growth.“As well as Learning at Work

Day and open days, we findnow that members are talkingto non-members and gettingthe message across that way,”says Vivienne.

How canyou changepeople’sideas?3.

migrant workers and agencyworkers to get involved in theunion as well as other staffmembers. We all work reallywell together. As a bilingual ULRit has been easier for me toreach out to migrant workers andget them involved which has beengood for them and good for Argos.”

recruited a high number ofmembers.“A good team approach is

essential. We have such a greatteam of mobilised and motivatedrepresentatives and the branchsecretary helps to co-ordinateand support the activity of allrepresentatives including ULRs,”says Ed.“The link between trade unions

and learning is historic and wellfounded. By its nature thelearning agenda presents apositive view of trade unions tomembers and potential membersand for that reason is anincredibly effective recruitmenttool,” he says.“Because of its positive appeal,

it also tends to attract a widerrange of people into the ULR role,broadening the base of unionactivists which reflects thediversity of an organisation’smembers.”

Learning presents a positive image oftrade unionism to potential members

Learning helps involve migrantworkers, says Honorata Lipka(left)

24 » autumn 2007

» Feature » Organising

Now that learning isan established factat the on-site TurtleLearning Centre at

Corus Scunthorpe steel works,developing learning andorganising into new areas is apriority.The union already runs a

variety of courses from Skills forLife through to ICT. TUC UnionSafety Rep courses have alsoproved an extremely effective wayof recruiting and training safetyreps. And the branch plans tohold a union reps course.Unite – Amicus section has a

very high density of membershipon site among permanent staff,but Corus increasingly usesagency staff and the union isusing learning opportunities torecruit and organise among theseexternal staff.In addition, Corus employs

some 50 apprentices each yearand the union has anarrangement to see them atvarious stages, offering them theopportunity to join the union. Thebranch also appoints workplacereps to look after the apprenticesduring their three-yearprogramme.Bill Gray, learning centre

coordinator, says the union nowwants to make inroads intolearning among staff working forcontractors. “These are some ofthe lowest-skilled who have themost difficulty with literacy andnumeracy: we really do need tostart looking at engaging thatgroup,” he says.Bill adds that targetting literacy

and numeracy among staff on siteis also a key priority in the nextphase of learning at the centre.The union is on the verge of

signing a learning agreement withCorus, based on the provensuccess of the Turtle centre, andUnite – Amicus section will usethis as an incentive to ensurethere is a full coverage of ULRsorganising across the site,says Bill.

How do youincludeagency staff?5.

Unite – T&G sectionhas built learningand organising basesaround ESOL courses

for hundreds of mainly EasternEuropean migrant workers attwo of the major bus companiesin Manchester, First Bus andStagecoach, as well as atManchester Airport.This in turn has led to the

recruitment of the drivers throughboth education and organising asthe learners see first-hand thebenefits of joining a trade union –approximately 100 new membershave been signed up.Other benefits to new members

include help with work permits,translation provision and housingalong, with the day-to-dayproblems that can occur formigrant workers.“All this plus English classes

provided in their workplace with anagreement for paid time off tolearn has helped make the initialperiod in a strange country fareasier for the workers,” explainsJohn Lea, local learning organiserfor Unite – T&G section.

Manchester Airport was a furthertarget, where a Unite – T&Gsection learning organiserconducted over 500 trainingneeds analyses and helped recruitover 700 staff to courses. A newlearning centre is due to openshortly at the airport.“We took on board the fact that

the more people we can help, themore we can recruit for the union,”says John Lea.“In the short term, people are

becoming members, some havebecome shop stewards and onemember has helped translate forcolleagues with disciplinaryproblems.“We have helped members not

only with courses but also with allkinds of problems that they facesuch as housing problems orsorting out a mobile phone. All ofthis helps us organise andpromote the union and giveunions generally a good profile.”

4.

Organising ESOLclasses hashelped Unite –T&G sectionrecruit dozens ofnew members

How can you reach out to migrants?

Organising « Feature «

autumn 2007 « 25

ULRs like BrianLewis are taking tothe road to bringlearning and a new

organising agenda to colleaguesacross Dorset.Brian is lead ULR with theWilts and

Dorset Bus Company, getting behindthe wheel to drive a Learning Bus tosome 800 employees in the county.Brian and fellow ULRs are using

the bus to bring learning closer tolearners at times to suit individualneeds around shift patterns andfamily commitments. In this way theRMT union aims to help break downthe barriers to learning by providinga relaxed and friendly environmentfor members to develop, learn newskills and build confidence.Courses include computing,

languages and signing as well asSkills for Life.The bus has allowed the RMT to

reach out to new groups of members,including a sizeable number of Polishand other Eastern European workerswho have signed up after beingoffered ESOL courses, according tounionlearn Project Worker Ann Hall.The bus aids organising through

learning by reaching out to membersspread across a huge area of thecounty and providing them withspace to learn.“Our ULRs are the ones who are

driving it: they are the ones who cantalk to members,” she says.

How can you reach far-flungmembers?

The GMB ConversionTo Learning Projectuses sports people likeSonny Nickle, the

former Great Britain RugbyLeague International, to promotelifelong learning.The Rugby League Players

Association (RLPA) and the BritishBoxers Association (BBA) were thelaunch pad for the project, whichseeks to engage with sports peopleand emphasises the importance ofplanning for a future career now –not when their playing days are over.Players and boxers are encouraged

to become role models to encourageothers to plan for their future andlearn new skills in a comfortableatmosphere, where they feel at ease.

The project also aims to introducelearning centres into sporting clubs,encouraging learning in an enjoyablesocial centre.Membership of these associations

has now increased by 13 per centsince the project kicked off last yearwith seven learning agreementssigned with clubs. The project alsoprovides the union with a platform topromote other benefits of unionmembership.International rugby league players

and boxers are actively promotingthe project and the benefits of GMBmembership to the public in general.And the union plans to use the

opportunity for more recruitment asthe project engages with moreemployers.

7.

6.

RMT ULR BrianLewis got tomeet authorMinette Walterson World BookDay this year

How do you promote your project?

Many unions arechanging their ownstructures to helpthem take advantage

of the organising opportunitiescreated by the advance ofworkplace learning.The Communication Workers

Union has agreed new policy andrule changes to bring union learninginto the mainstream of its structuresand democratic processes.Policies which fully incorporate the

role of ULRs into the CWU branchand regional structure were passedat the union’s conference in a strongsign of the growing recognition ofthe importance of union learningand of the way it can enhance theability of unions to organise andrecruit in the workplace.“This recognises that ULRs are

here to stay and gives them paritywith other representatives,” explainsCWU Head of Education and TrainingTrish Lavelle.“Union learning is an important

part of the ‘CWU offer’ and is helpingus engage with literally thousands ofour members and potentialmembers every year in a reallypositive way.”At teaching union ATL, the

organising and learning teams havealways worked closely but in recentyears the union has put in place astructure to ensure both teamseffectively integrate their work.“ATL has adopted a more

systematic approach to learning andorganising activities,” explains Headof Recruitment and OrganisationMark Holding.“Involving new people in active

learning through the union route isall about organising; the first stepto activism is engagement; gettingexisting members involved in theunion can lead to activism and thisis what organising is all about,”he says.A recent survey of ATL’s ULRs

found that 40 per cent had not beenactive in previous roles and it wassignificant that most new ATL branchsecretaries trained as ULRs with aproportion also progressing intowider union roles.

How can youchange therules?

Rugby playersscrum down inthe kitchen on acookery coursecourtesy of theGMB’s Conversionto Learningproject

8.

FirstGroup has done it. Nissan has done it.Even Center Parcs has done it. Hundreds ofemployers all over the country have takenthe Skills Pledge.

want, Lord Leitch argued.One of the first organisations to

put its name to the Pledge wasMerseytravel, the North-West publictransport body.“We’re proud to make the Skills

Pledge and we pledge to continue todevelop new ways of training ourstaff through our pioneering trainingarm Merseylearn,” said ChiefExecutive and Director GeneralNeil Scales.“As one of only nine companies

given Investors in People ‘Champion’status this year, it’s important wealso share our success andencourage other organisations tolook at ways to maximise thepotential of their staff.”Neil said the organisation signed

the Pledge to underline itscontinuing commitment to investingin skills.“We recognise that involving

employees and boosting their skills

TheSkills Pledge givesunions the chance to workwith employers to helplearners gain at least a full

Level 2 qualification, accordingto the TUC.“The Skills Pledge will prove to be

a high-profile mechanism for unionsand employers to promote jointcommitment and action on skills inthe workplace,” the TUC says.The longer-term support provided

by ULRs has been crucial in helpinglearners taking Skills for Life courses.Now the TUC argues that the Skills

Pledge is an opportunity to empowermany more employees to achieve aLevel 2 qualification as well asaccreditation in Skills for Life."We very much want to work with

employers to make the Pledge asuccess,” says TUC General SecretaryBrendan Barber. “When we work inpartnership, we know that we really

can make things happen out in theworkplaces of Britain.”The Skills Pledge was launched

earlier this year as part of theGovernment’s response to the LeitchReview, which set out the case forurgent action on the skills agenda.Without a better skilled and

qualified workforce, we will notimprove our productivity orsustain the living standards andquality of public services we all

26 » autumn 2007

» Update » Skills Pledge

of the timesSignBy Astrid Stubbs

Gordon Brown is backingthe Skills Pledge

“The Skills Pledge will proveto be a high-profilemechanism for unions andemployers to promote jointcommitment and action onskills in the workplace”

through training we can encouragegreater levels of motivation andstaff retention and offer betterservice to our customers.”The first employer to sign the

Pledge in the North-East wasNissan Motor Manufacturing UK,based in Sunderland, which lastyear won a National Training Awardfor the NVQ and Skills for Lifetraining it provides to staff.“The business benefits of training

are clear and at Nissan we see adirect correlation between trainingand improvements in productivity,explained Training andDevelopment Manager Steve Pallas.

A mini guide for ulrs on the Pledge is available atwww.unionlearn.org.uk/policy/learn-1666-f0.cfm

Skills Pledge « Update «

autumn 2007 « 27

“If we measure key performanceindicators before and after trainingwe always see an improvement. Weare proud to take the Skills Pledge,because it underpins our ongoingcommitment to innovation andleadership in training in our sector.”The full list of 250 backers also

now includes opticians Dollond &Aitchison, transport companyFirstGroup, holiday company CenterParcs, and the TUC itself.The TUC, unionlearn and individual

unions are now putting pressure onother employers to follow their leadand sign the Pledge, to boost itsbenefits for the workforce and to

Merseytravel’sNeil Scales wasone of the firstemployers to signthe Skills Pledge

Urge your employers toregister their interest inmaking the Skills Pledge bycalling 08000 15 55 45 or atwww. traintogain.gov.uk

build the union learningagenda.They are also working

on strategies to delivereven more from the Pledgethan the Skills forLife/Level 2 guarantee.Unionlearn’s board has

already agreed a proactiveapproach to the Pledge,including:� Supporting unions/ULRsto work with Sector SkillsCouncils and employers todevelop a sectoralapproach to the Pledge

� Persuading employers inunionised workplaces toincorporate a commitmentto Apprenticeships in theirPledge

� Ensuring that ULF and unionlearnregional projects support deliveryof the Pledge.The TUC is also involved with the

Public Services Forum to promotetake-up of the Skills Pledge acrosspublic services which will involveemployers signing up to a widerskills offer.

online course to over 50 membersand use bespoke FBU materialto achieve ULR accreditation wasan option we had to take up,”said Trevor.FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack

also welcomed the opportunity touse the online course facility to trainofficials. “I would like to offer all theULRs the support of the FBU incompleting the online course andlook forward to their activeinvolvement in the promotion ofthe FBU and unionlearn’s lifelonglearning agenda in the future,”he said.Unionlearn Director Liz Smith has

worked with the FBU since the earlydays of the Union Learning Fund andknows how hard the union’s workedto build learning and skills into itsorganisation.“I’m delighted to have the FBU

involved in this great initiative tobring training to where people are!”she said.

Membership of the FireBrigades Union isspreading throughout

the whole of the UK Fire andRescue Service and thetraining and development ofULRs is key to the union’slifelong learning agenda.But with members in urban and

rural areas, some of which are veryremote, time off issues and accessto TU courses can sometimes be aproblem. That’s where the TUC’sonline learning portfolio came in.Recruited by ULF regional co-

ordinators, 51 FBU members inEngland, Wales and Scotlandshowed their commitment bybecoming ULRs and going forwardto do the ULR course online.The course runs out of the TU

Education centre in NewcastleCollege.In order to support learners,

FBU ULF Project Manager TrevorShanahan and five of the ULF

“I am delighted to have theFBU involved in this greatinitiative to bring training to

where people are”

project coordinators broke thecourse into smaller groups, whichallowed closer contact with theULRs and offered support from theunion itself.Time off arrangements to access

the course at work and the use of ICTequipment was also made in manyof the brigades.The FBU customised the course

with case studies and interviewsituation material that relateddirectly to the FBU and the Fire andRescue Service workplaces.“This is the first time that the FBU

has been involved in using the TUConline course facility to train ULRs.The ability to be able to offer the

28 » autumn 2007

» Feature » TUC Education

Theonlyway isup

Phot

osby

Wes

tSus

sex

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&Re

scue

Serv

ice

To access the Online LearningCentre log onto:www.tuc-unionlearning.org.uk

For further information relatingto the OLC email:newcastletuc@ncl-coll.ac.uk

Hundreds of learndirectcourses are now availableonline for millions of trade

unionists thanks to a partnershipbetween unionlearn andNewcastle College Trade UnionEducation Centre.The new Online Learning Centre,

which will revolutionise access toeducation for millions of unionmembers and their families, wasformally launched at this year'sTUC Congress.Users can access over 500

learndirect courses in computerskills, business and management,languages and Skills for Life via theinternet at home, work, or in work-based learning centres with apersonal tutor to support them toachieve their aims.The flexible nature of OLC means

that traditionally hard-to-reachlearners will be able to learn in theirown time and will get the most fromthe interactive courses.The OLC will also be a valuable

resource for the 18,000-plus ULRsthroughout the country who haveidentified that it is often difficult formembers to access traditionalclassroom-based learning.ULRs will act as the first line of

information and advice, supportingthe member to use the onlinewebsite and select the course that isright for their needs and helpingthem to create an account.“The Online Learning Centre is

another example of Britain’s unionsworking with the further educationsector to bring new opportunities tomillions of people,” says unionlearnDirector Liz Smith.“Our ULRs will take the new service

into their workplaces, giving unionmembers even more chances tochange their lives through learning.”Margaret Stephenson, Head of

Trade Union Education at NewcastleCollege Trade Union EducationCentre, says: “We are delighted tohave played a part in offering oversix million trade union membersand their families a flexible andinteractive way of fitting learninginto their lives.”

TUC Education « Feature «

autumn 2007 « 29

Thevirtueof virtual

As if proof were needed of thevalue of trade union studies,this is a letter sent from aformer course attendant to atutor in Humberside.“My colleague got charged

with gross misconduct and herhearing was today. At first Iasked for the branch secretary todo it because I didn’t think Iknew enough, but when I got theevidence from the manager Iwas so mad about the lies hetold I decided I did want to do it!

“I thought about all you said –be prepared and take control –

and went in with a pile ofstatements I had managed toget from various people. Ithought about all they wouldcome up with and had all therelevant answers ready. Theywere not prepared. We won!With the evidence presented tothem, they said there was nocharge to answer.“You were right – it’s a great

feeling to keep someone’s jobfor them. Thanks for giving methe confidence during thecourse to go in there and dobattle!”

Howcourses pay off

30 » autumn 2007

» Feature » Adult Learners’ Week

Aweek isa long timeUp and down the country, unions used all sorts of innovative schemes toencourage people to try out the wide range of sessions and courses onoffer during this year’s Adult Learners’ Week.

Hitting the spot

High jinks at High DownOver 210 staff attended a widerange of events for Learning atWork Day at High DownPrison, culminating in a team-building tug o’war contest inwhich Houseblock 4 overcamethe governor’s side, as wasonly appropriate on a dayorganised by the unionlearning team.In the main hall of the staff

mess, Val Tull helped colleaguesmake 35 hanging baskets, ClaireHarris organised a fun deafawareness competition won byTanuja Cook, Annabel Broom rana session on the Art of Livingpacked full of de-stressingadvice; while one of themechanics from local car dealerJD Motors ran a basic carmaintenance workshop in thelearning centre.

Food and drink were also onoffer: Ewen Lindsey and his staffcooked a fabulous barbeque withlots of healthy salads, while ULRJackie Burke whizzed up over 200glasses of healthy juices using acombination of fruit andvegetables.In addition to the tug o’war

competiton, there was also pitchand putt, won by the so-called“Terrible Twins” Andy Eaton andDave Callaway.All the activities helped draw

new people into the learningcentre, where over 150 staffcompleted basic skills initialassessments, 40 books wereborrowed from the library andresident fire officer Tony Johnsonwon the trivia quiz.Lynne Wilmer praised all the

members of her ULR team for their

help in putting everything together– Jackie Burke, Maria Killigrew,Andy Millar, Martin Pickett, SianGarrard and Clive Orpwood – andher right-hand woman in thecentre, Sophie Thomas, whohelped organise and prepare thestalls in the morning.

All smiles fromHouseblock 4, thewinning team inthe Learning atWork Day tugo’war competitionat High DownPrison

Trying a bit of archery duringthis year’s Adult Learners’Week hit the spot for JaneBailey and Kath Alexander,Unite – Amicus section ULRsat Co-operative FinancialServices in Stockport.

They got the chance towork on their skills withbow-and-arrow courtesy ofStockport College, who alsoran taster sessions onIndian Head Massage, Yogaand Football Coaching, while

a range of alternative healthpractitioners offered staff the chanceto try reflexology, tai chi, nutrition aswell as juggling, plate-spinning, stilt-walking and unicycling.

“The week-long event was agreat success, helping hard-working CFS staff relax, alleviatestress and try something new,” saysUnite – Amicus section RegionalLearning Organiser Javaid Aslam.“We hope to work with the companyto see the lifelong learning agendago from strength to strength.”

Adult Learners’ Week « Feature «

autumn 2007 « 31

Unite – T&G section learning reps at aSainsbury’s distribution depot in theWestMidlands won the National Open CollegeNetwork Group Award at the Adult Learners’Week awards this summer.

Andy Hall, Mark Astley and Linda Steward, fromSainsbury’s Hams Hall depot near Lea Marston inNorth Warwickshire, picked up the award for theirwork to open up new opportunities for unionmembers who had left school without anyqualifications.

During the first 12 months of the scheme, over100 staff passed their National Tests in Literacyand Numeracy and 500 people in total havejoined the union since it launched the workplacelearning programme.

“The learning has led to us all feeling moreconfident and has given us a broader outlook,”explains senior shop steward Andy Hall.

The team negotiated an agreement that gives10 per cent of the workforce paid leave forlearning, and worked with North Warwickshireand Hinckley College to have courses runningthroughout the day and night to accommodatethe complexity of the shift patterns.

After conquering his ownliteracy problems andencouraging his workmates tofollow in his footsteps, DeclanMacIntyre picked up anindividual award in the AdultLearners’ Week Awards thissummer.It was the imminent birth of his

son Finn nearly four years ago thatconvinced the 41-year-old GMBshop steward to return to learning.“I knew my difficulties with

reading and writing would stop mehelping my son with hisdevelopment if I didn’t to addressthem,” he says.Declan got started with a Skills

for Life course, for which he gotpaid release from Brighton CityCouncil’s refuse and recyclingservice Cityclean, where he worksas an HGV driver.“I’m not going to say it wasn’t

difficult, but it was brilliant, I lovedit: the way we were taught, theatmosphere in the class and thetutors were all superb, and afterdoing a couple of hours a week fortwo years, I passed the Level 2

National Test,” he says.And he hasn’t stopped there.

He’s starting GCSE English thisterm and is currently doing someheavy-duty mental training bystudying “the knowledge” (themental map of Brighton & Hovelocal taxi drivers use).“It’s a bit like climbing Everest

because remembering names isvirtually impossible for me: it’s gotto be the hardest thing I canimagine doing, but it’s to developmy learning, not because I want tobecome a taxi driver.”He also trained to become a

union learning rep himself to helpmore of his colleagues with theirpersonal development.“It was very hard initially: there

was a fair bit of stigma as far aslearning went, but with the help ofCityclean Learning andDevelopment Officer ElaineSweetman, we got the classesgoing,” he says.“Now it’s got to the stage where

we’ve got a waiting list for peopleto join, which is a massiveturnaround in just two years.”

MacIntyre investigates!

Show usthemoneyUnionlearn Southern and Eastern Regionprovided grants worth up to £400 to help 60union-led learning projects in the South-Eastand almost 80 in the London area put onLearning at Work Day events during AdultLearners’Week.The money helped House of Commons staff run

a book-swap, firefighters on the Isle of Wight learnbasic maritime skills and Basingstoke printers tryFrench food as well as French language courses.

Tasting thedifference

in learning

Phot

oby

How

ard

Dav

iesGaining new

literacy skillshas put DeclanMacIntyre in thedriving seat

32 » autumn 2007

» Guest column » Changing career

An old football managerof mine always used tosay: “If you’re not surewhere to pass the ball,

just pass it into the goal!”So here I was, at the end of my

14-year professional football career(having played for Chelsea andFulham among others), unsure ofwhere to go and no goals to aim for.In some ways having a young

family to support eased mypredicament because there was notime to wallow in self-pity orwistfully reminisce about the glorydays of my youth.As a schoolboy, my teachers and

cautious career advisers, wise to theperils of professional sport, wouldsay “pass your exams, so you havesomething to fall back on.” Well Iwas now falling back, and so I wentto college.After a year at college, which

reawakened dormant reading/writingskills, I undertook a three-year lawdegree at Middlesex University.People often ask why I studied law.My reasons were nothing moreprofound than that I had donereasonably well academically atschool and I needed a job (ie, alawyer) which could replace thekudos I had enjoyed as a footballer.In any event, my decision to studywas encouraged and supportedby the professional footballers’union, the PFA.The PFA provided financial

assistance with course fees, text

book costs and a computer as wellas accessible useful advice on careerchoices and prospects. The image ofa footballer is now one of‘Beckhamesque’ wealth and fame,but the PFA provide an invaluablesafety net for the vast majority offootballers who will eventuallychange careers and earn anaverage wage.After successfully completing my

law degree, I had to complete a yearat law school. Law school teachesthe practical side of all the academictheory learned at university. It wasaround this time that I had to makeapplications to law firms to try andsecure a training contract. A trainingcontract is similar to a two yearapprenticeship and is requiredbefore qualifying as a solicitor.Many CVs were sent out to

potential employers and I was luckyto be called for a few interviews.Naturally, office job interviews

were slightly more formal from theones I was used to and I had toremember not to revert to typeand blurt out the stock phrasesof “sick as a parrot” or “overthe moon!”In the end, I managed to

get through law schooland secured a trainingcontract at ThomasEggar, a leading lawfirm in the SouthEast.I am hoping to

qualify as a solicitorin March 2008 when myreinvention will be complete. It hasbeen a rejuvenating journey madeall the more possible with theunwavering support of the PFA.My advice to anyone changing

careers would be to embrace thechange, consider it an adventureand be comforted with the oldsaying of “nothing ventured, nothinggained.” Or as my old footballmanager would say: “If you don’tshoot, you don’t score.”

goalpostsMoving the

Former footballer Udo Onwere explains how his union helped him train as a solicitor

“The image of the footballeris one of Beckham-esque

wealth but the majority earnan average wage”

Udo’s teachersalways urged himto pass his examsso he’d havesomething to fallback on afterfootball

Changing career « Guest Column «

autumn 2007 « 33

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34 » autumn 2007

» Interview » unionlearn board

Unions need to treat learning like they treat pay and conditions – as a corepart of their day-to-day work, argues unionlearn board member Sue Ferns

All about integration

Unionlearn boardmember Sue Fernsgrew up in Sheffieldin the 1970s, when

the heavily-unionised coal andsteel industries dominated thelocal political landscape.

“There were some greatinitiatives underway and a lotof political awareness in thecity,” she recalls.

“I had family members whowere involved in the unionmovement – my granddadworked in the steel industry –although I was the first in myfamily to have the chance to goto university.”

Armed with her degree, Suegot her first job in theeconomics department at theTUC in the early 1980s.

After working at labourmovement headquarters for tenyears, Sue left to start a family,went freelance for time andthen got a job at Prospect (orIPMS, as it then was) in 1993.

Initially employed on a two-year contract, she’s remainedthere ever since, becoming headof research and specialistservices at the specialist,professional and managerialunion in 2001.

Learning is “hugelyimportant” to Prospect, shesays. “Although lots of ourmembers are graduates, they’reall facing organisationalchange, and they all need tocontinually update their skills toensure their continuedemployability.”

The union has focused onproviding advice and guidanceto its members to both buildconfidence in their skills anddevelop transferable skills, aswell as helping them enjoylearning outside work.

“One of our big areas is scienceand engineering, where there’s ahuge under-representation ofwomen,” she says.

“So, through one of the Womenand Work Sector Pathwaysprojects, we’re trying to engagewomen in workshops to get themthinking about their own careerdevelopment and to give themthe confidence to go back to theirorganisations and take theopportunities they need,” sheexplains.

Prospect has also just started anew Union Learning Fund projectengaging potential learners in theland and environment sector.

“It’s tremendouslychallenging because it’s sodiverse, there’s lots ofsmall workplaces andthere aren’t many ULRs inthat sector at themoment,” she says.

Sue has “reallyenjoyed” her first year inthe unionlearn board andis glad to see thepartnerships with the OpenUniversity and the NationalExtension College which arehelping learners progressbeyond Level 2 qualifications.

“Getting to Level 2 is not theend of the story – that should beseen as a stepping-stone forindividuals, and where they want

to go higher, then they shouldhave the opportunity to do that,”she says.

For Sue, the biggest issue nowfacing all unions ismainstreaming learning.

“We’ve made significantprogress on this agenda: the corechallenge now is to ensure it’sproperly integrated intoeverything we do as a key partof the bargaining agenda.”

Roundup « Resources «

“I’m a ULR who has completedULR training more than a year agoand I'm keen to develop my skillsand knowledge. What is availableto me?”

There is a follow-on programmeof short courses such as Skills forLife and the Union Role,Information, Advice and Guidance,Workforce Development – The ULRRole, Working with Employers,Negotiating with Employers onLearning Activities, Equality in theWorkplace, How to Work with

Providers and more. These can befound on the unionlearn website atwww.unionlearn.org.uk/ulrcoursesYou can talk to your Regional

Education Officer about what's onnear you. There is also a newcourse, ‘Building on the LearningAgenda – Organise to Learn, Learnto Organise’ which is being pilotedin the North West, South East andMidlands this term. This is forexperienced reps who want towork on how learning helps buildthe union at work. Check the

website for more details of localavailability.

Finally, unionlearn with TUCEducation is working on a“Continuing Learning RepDevelopment” programme,designed to deliver a CPD approachto ULR training. We'll have more tosay about this early next year –watch this space!For more information about these

courses or other TUC Educationcourses please emailtuceducation@tuc.org.uk

A

QContactus...If you have aquestion youwant answeredor want to takepart in onlinediscussions,please visitwww.unionlearn.org.uk/discuss

Jay knows Jay Sreedharan, unionlearn’s websiteofficer, answers some recent questionsraised by site visitors

Help us improve The Learning Rep, andyou could win an iPod nano, memory stickor get a book.

Complete our survey and you will beentered for a free prize draw. The firstthree lucky winners will receive a brandnew 4GB iPod nano, and the next 10 willget a unionlearn 1GB memory stick.

And if you’re one of the first 600 torespond to our survey we will send you afree copy of Gilda O’Neill’s book My EastEnd (see pages 18 – 20).

It won’t take you long to complete. Youmight win a prize, and your opinions willhelp us improve the magazine.

The draw will take place on Friday14 December 2007 and the winners will beannounced on the website.

Free resources forULRs fromunionlearn

3x10x

600x

New posters, leaflets andbooklets free of charge – andpost and packing is free as well

A4 and A3posters for theLearning andCareers AdviceLine

Leaflet aboutthe new unionlearningclimbing frame

Onlinelearningcourse guidefromunionlearnwith TUCEducation

Plus lots more . . . order now atwww.unionlearn.org.uk/freebooks

Learning Rep reader survey

You can access the survey onlineat http://tinyurl.com/2fp2cm

autumn 2007 « 35

» unionlearnTel: 020 7079 6920Fax: 020 7079 6921Liz Smith, DirectorSecretary, 020 7079 6922

» National unionlearnmanagersIan Borkett, Standards andQuality Manager, x 6940Bert Clough, Research andStrategy Manager, x 6925Matthew Fernandez-GrahamBusiness and Finance Manager,x 6936Mike Power, Communicationsand Marketing Manager, x 6942Liz Rees, Trade Union EducationManager, x 6923Judith Swift, Union DevelopmentManager, 0151 243 2568

» Learndirect centres0191 227 5567Helen Gagliasso

» Equal0151 243 2571Joe Fearnehough, EqualNational Project Manager

»Website020 7079 6943Jay Sreedharan, Web Officerwww.unionlearn.org.uk

» Southern andEastern team020 7467 1251Barry Francis, Regional ManagerJon Tennison, UnionDevelopment Coordinator,Rob Hancock, RegionalEducation Officer

»Midlands team0121 236 4454Mary Alys, Regional ManagerGary O’Donnell, UnionDevelopment CoordinatorPete Try, Regional EducationOfficer

» Northern teamBarney McGill, RegionalManager 0191 227 5552Elizabeth Killoran, UnionDevelopment Coordinator0191 227 5557Ian West, Regional EducationOfficer 0191 227 5572

» NorthWest teamDave Eva, Regional Manager0151 236 2321Tony Saunders, UnionDevelopment Coordinator,Liverpool office 0151 236 2321Manchester office0161 445 0077Peter Holland, RegionalEducation Officer 0151 243 2564

» SouthWest teamHelen Cole, Regional Manager,Ros Etheridge, UnionDevelopment Coordinator,0117 947 0521Regional Development Workers:Alan Shearn, Bristol0117 947 0521Geoff Hale, Cornwall01209 611 604Marie Hughes, RegionalEducation Officer 0117 933 4443

» Yorkshire andHumberside team0113 245 4909Alan Roe, Regional ManagerSharon Burke, UnionDevelopment CoordinatorTrevor Sargison, RegionalEducation Officer0113 200 1071

unionlearn contactsAll TUC email addresses are letter/surname@tuc.org.uk eg: lsmith@tuc.org.ukAll Congress House numbers begin with 020 7079 followed by four digits

» contacts

Supported by:

The Learning Rep is part of a community programme called Equal – a EuropeanSocial Fund initiative which tests and promotes new means of combating allforms of discrimination and inequality in the labour market. The GB EqualSupport Unit is managed by ECOTEC.

» Union contactsMark Holding ATL020 7782 1596mholding@atl.org.ukKirsi Kekki Connect020 8971 6052kirsi.kekki@connectuk.orgTrish Lavelle CWU020 8971 7340tlavelle@cwu.orgTrevor Shanahan FBU07917 75 9473trevor.shanahan@fbu.org.ukJennifer Moses, Stephen SmithNASUWT0121 453 6150lifelong.learning@mail.nasuwt.org.ukAndrew Parry Williams NUT020 7380 4800/4780learning.reps@nut.org.ukDavid McEvoy PCS020 7801 2727 ext 2360david.mcevoy@pcs.org.ukAndy Rowett POA07917 699 210poaulf@yahoo.co.ukRachel Bennett Prospect020 7902 6687Rachel.Bennett@prospect.org.ukAndrew Barton RCN0207 647 3657andrew.barton@rcn.org.ukRail Union LearningRUL Programme Support Team0207 317 8612info@rul.org.ukJeff Hopewell UCATT01302 360 725jhopewell@ucatt.org.ukPam Johnson Unison020 7551 1267pam.johnson@unison.co.ukTom Beattie Unite – Amicus section020 8462 7755tom.beattie@unitetheunion.orgJim Mowatt Unite – T&G section020 7611 2628jmowatt@unitetheunion.orgGraham Cooper URTU07795 562 874grahamcurtu@yahoo.co.ukAnn Murphy USDAW0161 224 2804ann.murphy@usdaw.org.uk