www.unionlearn.org.uk

It’s the Queenof Quick-lit

Adele Parks takesthe Quick Readsmessage out on

the road

learning repthe

» Winter 08

2008 and we’removing on...

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» Comment

The Learning Rep, winter 08Editor: Mike Powermpower@tuc.org.ukWriters: Astrid Stubbs, MartinMoriartyDesign: Redhouse Lane CommunicationsPrint: Ancient House Printing GroupDistribution: Cavalier mailingCover photo: Adele Parks at Brighton Citycleandepot by Jess Hurd.

A new year and new challenges are ahead.This year we hope to show that the unionsand unionlearn are well in reach of ourtargets, for next year, of 22,000 trained ULRsand 250,000 people getting into learningeach year through the union route. And allthe signs are good.By June this year, when we hold our annual

conference, we hope to justify the confidencethat John Denham has shown in us. He paidtribute to the work of our 18,000 ULRs in aparliamentary answer last month. “Someone’sbest friend at workwill often be the most likelyperson to convince them that they should haveanother go at training, and the union learningrepresentatives have been a success,” he said.In 2008 we will take our message of success

into parliament with our campaign to get morepublic figures aware of what ULRs are doing.We are inviting MPs to join us in “Learningtogether – winning together” and to makelearning at work visits. In this way we can giveour work a higher profile.We have also kicked off the New Year with

two new DVDs. Both are available, free, for youto encourage more people to take up learning,and hopefully to become ULRs. Newpublications are also available and you shouldmake maximum use of them as well.Thanks to the hundreds of you who

completed our reader survey. We received manyhelpful ideas about how to improve themagazine. Already we have expanded thecontacts information at the back.Happy New Year to you and yours.

Liz SmithDirector, unionlearn

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Contents:3 News8 Adele Parks interview10 Adele Parks Q&A12 Quick Reads exclusive14 Frances O’Grady interview17 Spotlight on CPD and

higher level skills24 Adult Learners’ Week26 TUC Education28 John Hannett interview29 Jay knows30 Contacts32 Kate & Umar special

feature

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Film première « News «

winter 2008 « 3

Homer Simpson famously claimed cartoons don’t have any deepmeaning: new TUC characters Kate and Umar beg to differ.

Who-mar?ULR Kate and would-be

learner Umar are thestars of the TUC’s first

venture into animation,Incredible Learning Journey (anda new strip on the back page ofthis issue).The 10-minute film will now be

distributed to ULRs via DVD andwebsites with suggestions on howto use it to promote the learningmessage.It will also be broadcast to a

wider audience via You-TubeMySpace and Facebook andshown at Glastonbury and othermusic festivals.The film aims to bring the value

of trade unionism alive to currentand potential members.It’s also a tool to help reps

recruit and encourage newmembers, promote diversity andget involved with learning andorganising in the workplace.The film sees Kate take learning

novice Umar on a journey throughlearning which concludes when hebecomes a ULR himself.On their way they visit the

Olympic Games site and meet a fewfamous faces from the music scene.Kate, Umar and a host of their

friends will also be appearing in anaccompanying cartoon strip, whichmakes its first appearance in thisissue of The Learning Rep (seeback page).And they feature on flyers, posters,

bookmarks and other promotionalmaterial, hitting home the unionlearnmessage.

To bring Kate and Umar to life,unionlearn chose animator LauriePeters, famous for his work on TheRicky Gervais Podcast, which hasmade it into the Guinness Book ofRecords for the millions ofdownloads it’s achieved.A trade unionist himself, Laurie

was joined by fellow union member

That’sKate and

“The film aims to bring thevalue of trade unionism alive

to current and potentialmembers”

and script-writer Danny Stack,whose accolades include a BAFTAfor Best Children’s Animation aspart of the writing team for thepopular CITV animation seriesThe Amazing Adrenalini Brothers.The new film represents an

innovative approach to learningand organising, according toAnna Burton, unionlearn’sorganising officer.“We chose Danny Stack because

he’s good at getting messagesacross to different audiences,including younger people, a keytarget group for union organisers.And then Laurie took his script andturned it into this great animation,”she says.“We think we’ve struck the right

balance between humour and keymessages. I believe the film willhelp ULRs and otherrepresentatives engage with newaudiences in a fun manner whichcan explain what we do withoutlosing people in a lot of jargon.”To find out more, visit:

www.unionlearn.org.uk/kateandumar.

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» News

Teeside company Tristar Homessigned a learning agreementwith UNISON, Unite and UCATTand put its name to theGovernment’s Skills Pledgeall on the same day thisautumn.Management and unions believe

Unistar Learning is a model union-ledworkplace learning project whichhighlights the positive impact onskills both sides can make byworking in partnership.“This agreement marks another

step forward in ensuring delivery ofhigh-quality public services throughinvesting in the training anddevelopment of the workforce,”commented UNISON Head ofLearning and Organising PamJohnson.Tristar Managing Director Steve

Boyd echoed Pam’s sentiments.“This is a great example of a modernemployer working positively withtrade unions: our work is helpingtransform the lives of our employees

while also addressing the skillsshortages in the region.”Despite being a relatively new

project, Unistar Learning has alreadymade a major contribution toimproving skills levels, according toTristar’s Learning Co-ordinator JulieRobinson.Tristar staff member Chris

Anderson says learning at work haschanged his life: the former driver isnow a trainee plumber, which hecould never have done beforeUnistar Learning provided thesupport and guidance he needed.“With case studies like Chris,

we have proof positive thatimproved skills make a practical,tangible difference to individualsand their employers,” commentedunionlearn Northern RegionalManager Barney McGill.“And the integration of the Skills

Pledge is further testimony to thecommitment of Tristar to embeddinga learning culture in theirorganisation.”

School staffget talking

UnionLearning

Reps are there tohelp you find thebest in yourself:it’s never too lateto learn.

Best-selling authorSue Townsend atthe Midlandsconference (p6)

Tristars in their eyesSchool staff across the countryare sharing what they knowabout accessing learning at workthrough the new Skills4Schoolsdiscussion board, which went liveon the website late last year.The board is for all school staff to

use: to take part in the discussions,all you need to do is register onthe site, which takes less than20 seconds and is free.The Skills4Schools website is

an online resource created byUNISON and the Training andDevelopment Agency.It offers an online guide to training,

personal development and careerpathways, with a series of casestudies showing how a wide rangeof school staff, from site managersto teaching assistants, havedeveloped at work.www.skills4schools.org.uk

UNISON Head of Learning and OrganisingPam Johnson signs the new learningagreement with Tristar boss Steve Boyd

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London Mayor Ken Livingstoneis just as committed toexpanding workplace learningas the region’s ULRs, hisDirector of Projects MurzilineParchment told the 250-plusdelegates at the secondunionlearn with the Southernand Eastern RegionTUC conference.“Your agenda very much reflects

the agenda of the Mayor and Ihope we will continue to worktogether to deliver this agenda,”she told delegates in CongressHouse in November.“We know that the Holy Grail

is to get employers to step upto their obligations on the skillsagenda,” she emphasised.Million-selling author Adele

Parks gave delegates a sneakpreview of her new book, HappyFamilies, to be published withthe rest of the next batch ofQuick Reads onWorld BookDayin March.“I wanted this to be a story

that gripped people,” she said.“Many characters in my bookshave rather glamorous jobs, butmy heroine in this works in a caféand is recently divorced withthree kids.”Unionlearn Director Liz Smith

welcomed the latest advances on

workplace learning contained inthe Queen’s Speech, includingthe expansion of Apprenticeshipsand new legal rights to Skills forLife training.But there wasmuch still to be

done, she pointed out. “We still don’thave an obligation on employers totrain, no right to time off to train, nocollective bargaining on training –but we won’t give up on any ofthose,” she warned.Unite – Amicus section Assistant

General Secretary Gail Cartmail urgedULRs to continue their excellent workto expand lifelong learning.“We need to ensure that unions

remain the drivers of this agenda,because we’re the ones who’ll ensurethe Government and employersdeliver on the Leitch Report andbeyond,” she argued.

� Adele Parks: pp8-13

Firm foundationMore union members will be able totake their learning further now thatunionlearn has hooked up withFoundation Degree Forward (fdf), theorganisation which supports thedevelopment of high-qualityfoundation degrees.Unionlearn Director Liz Smith and fdf

Chief Executive Derek Longhurst (pictured,right) put their names to the newpartnership agreement at a nationalconference hosted by unionlearn and thehigher education project, Aimhigher.Unionlearn used the event in Congress

House to unveil its strategy to supportunions and union learners to access highereducation, building on its workwithAimhigher and its partnerships withuniversities in Bath and Liverpool.

The high-profileconference alsohelped launchLearning Unlimited,a survey of unionmembers andhigher educationopportunities whichrevealed:� Two in five unionlearners arealready engaged infurther education.

� Three in five reckongetting time off to study is a problem.

� Four in five would study if their employerhelped with time off.“Our latest piece of research shows

union learners are ready, willing and

able to move on to the next challenge,which is higher education,” commentedLiz Smith.

� Give usmore time: p20

You seem tolike us!Half of you like The Learning Repenough to pass it on to acolleague, 40 per cent dutifullyfile your copies after readingthem and a staggering 95 percent think the magazine is eithergood (57 per cent) or very good(38 per cent).Early results from our reader survey

also show that you overwhelminglyfavour our quarterly publicationschedule, but many would like itto be more frequent.“We’ll gain a lot from your answers

to our questions on what else youwould like to know about unionlearn,which will help us focus our futureeditions,” says editor Mike Power.“Readers are particularly interestedin where to find out about courses,

so we’ll givethis morecoverage, andit’s alsointeresting tosee howmuchreaders areusing the web,which makesus keen todevelop evenmorecross-over

between the magazine and ourwebsite.”

www.unionlearn.org.uk

learning repthe

» Autumn 07

Football shortsto legal briefs

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

Win an iPod in

our readers’

survey on

page 35

Ken agrees with you

LondonMayor KenLivingstoneis not forturning onlearning,saysMurzilineParchment

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» News

It’s never too late to learn, best-selling author Sue Townsend tolddelegates at the unionlearn withthe Midlands TUC annualconference in November, whichcelebrated the past year’sachievements in union-ledlearning in the region.“I left school at 14 without any

qualifications and I took someevening classes as an adult, which,together with reading a wide rangeof books, helped me to have theconfidence to achieve my

impossible dream – to be a writer,”Sue said.Minister for the East Midlands

Gillian Merron said she was veryimpressed with the hard work ofULRs in the East Midlands.“It's clear that they are doing a

great job in the region, working withunions, employers and theircolleagues to create a culture oflearning which is making a realdifference for individuals and theirplaces of work.”Gillian also presented some of the

region’s best providers with theprestigious unionlearn QualityAwards, to mark the excellence oftheir work with trade union learningprojects.She handed awards out to

Warwickshire College in recognitionof its outstanding work on essentialskills in the workplace, and to KarenReilly and Keith Marsh from AxiaSolutions for their excellent work onSkills for Life in the ceramics industry.

� Feel the quality: p20

We can all achieve our dreams

There’s still time – just! – to enter theBBC RaW children’s story competitionusing characters fromMax and Lara’sAmazing Travelling Space Circus. Youcould win loads of family cinematickets and get your entry publishedin a special RaW book, but you’d betterget down to it pronto because thecompetition closes on Thursday31 January 2008.Youmust be over 18 to enter, but you

can illustrate your story with pictures byyour children. BBC RaWwon’t bejudging spelling or grammar: it’s thestoryline that counts, so everyone canhave a go!Max and Lara books are designed for

adults who lack confidence withreading to enjoy with young children(4-8). The characters include Kooloo thespace hamster, Baked Bean theembarrassed dragon andMr.Scatterbrain the clownwith hisjet-powered unicorn.There are lots of hints and tips for

getting started on the RaWwebsite,including fantastic story writingworksheets by RaW supporter LennyHenry. Visit: www.bbc.co.uk/raw.And you can get a free book and all

the competition details by calling0800 0150 950. All calls are free andconfidential.

Sowhat’syour story?

News «

winter 2008 « 7

BTopens doorsat OpenreachThe Communication WorkersUnion and BT Openreach havelaunched a joint campaign toattract more women intoengineering Apprenticeships.It’s part of an overall initiativedesigned to break down thebarriers to more womenbecoming engineers and helpproduce a cultural shift rightacross the company.CWU National Assistant Secretary

Grace Mitchell helped get thingsmoving in the first place by initiatingdiscussions with management aboutwhat could be done in BT Openreach,which manages the local accessnetwork (the copper wires runningbetween homes, businesses andtelephone exchanges).The new campaign has included:

� a new series of magazine advertsappealing to women keen onworking outdoors

� case studies of women alreadyworking for the company placed inthe press

� online advertising on recruitmentwebsites most used by women.

Zooming in on ULRs

Partnership working between theBakers, Food and Allied Workers Union(BFAWU) and Barnsley bakery LaBaguette Dorée (LBD) has helpedcreate a new onsite learning centre,formally opened by Mayor CllrLen Picken in November.BFAWU Branch Secretary Trev Carlile is

delighted that Union Learning Fundbacking has made learning in theworkplace a reality for LBD’s 200 workers.

“Foodmanufacturing staff often missout on learning because they work shifts,so this centre will bring learning to them,”he explains.LBD Commercial General Manager

Donald McClymont says the firm “reallyvalued” the importance of learning. “Theunion learning centre will allow our staffthe opportunity to gain IT qualifications,improve their numeracy and literacy, andto gain NVQ certificates,” he says.

Bakers rise to the challenge

Unionlearn has produced a new six-minute DVD, LocalHeroes: The Importance of ULRs, which aims toencourage more people to take up the learningchallenge.In footage from the Frizlands learning centre in Dagenham,

East London, learners show their surprise and delight atsuccessfully returning to learn with the help of their ULRs.USDAW rep Hayley Pickles, from Tesco in Scarborough,

says it’s “totally amazing” to see how people can progress.And ULR of the Year Pat McIlvogue reveals how a quarter of

the staff at Rolls-Royce in Renfrewshire where he works nowgo through courses.John Denham, Secretary of State at the DIUS, heaps praise

on the country’s 18,000 ULRs. “The one thing that is likely toget people into training is getting advice from someone theytrust in the workplace – and here, ULRs can be enormouslyinfluential.”And employers speak out about the benefits, too. Alan

Danson from UniChem points out how union learning canhelp employers by improving workplace relations. And PeterHughes fromMerseytravel calls on employers to work inpartnership with the unions to improve skills.Order copies now for your learning centre, and to distribute

to potential learners and ULRs. See page 31.

Thewinner is …

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DIUS Secretary of State John Denham presents SandiFisher and Debbie Fennell, from Stockport College,with their Quality Award for their courses on Digitaldivide/learndirect and Trade Union Educationprogrammes at the unionlearn Supporting Learnersconference in December.

Adele Parks is officiallyimpressed. Theoverwhelmingly malestreet cleaners, refuse

and recycling workers crammedinto the Brighton Citycleanlearning centre are all holdingcopies of her most recent best-seller, Young Wives’ Tales.“I’m not kidding – I really am

impressed,” she says. “There’s a lotof ways we categorise ourselves inour lives and one of them is thatmen don’t read novels – womenread novels, men read factualbooks – so it’s a real pleasure tosee you all with one of my books.”But if she’s glad to meet a bunch

of men not conforming tostereotype (this is Brighton, afterall), she’s even happier to discoverthat so many of the staff are usingthe facilities to improve theirliteracy, numeracy and IT skills.“I absolutely take my hat off to

you lot because you’re all herelearning something new and I haveto think, hand on heart, when wasthe last time I learnt anythingnew?” she asks.

Right now, Adele is beingencouraged to take swimminglessons by her seven-year-old son(he’s going to be very jealous whenhe finds out mummy’s beenclimbing in and out of trucks at thedepot for the photo-shoot thisafternoon).But she’s reluctant to sign up

because of childhood memories ofhorrible costumes and not very nicepools, she admits.“And everybody has something

like that they come up against – sohats off to you lot for coming in andusing the centre,” she says.Adele’s come to talk to some of

the learners, learning reps and oneor two managers at the Citycleanlearning centre, set up by generalunion GMB.The fast-growing centre is one of

the most successful to be launchedin the area, says GMB SouthernRegion Project Worker Carl Linkson.The best-selling author is keen to

sweep away a few possiblemisconceptions about wherewriters come from.“I didn’t grow up in a family who

Best-selling author Adele Parks thinks lifelonglearning is really important for all of us. Justdon’t mention swimming lessons!

» Interview » Adele Parks

read Wordsworth or had copies ofKeats lying around,” she points out.In fact, she had a pretty ordinary

1970s childhood, chock-full ofconvenience food and bad TV.But she did develop a love of

reading from an early age, even ifreading didn’t always involve strictrecitation of the words on the pagein front of her at school.“I used to read something

different from other people: I let myimagination work as to what I wouldlike the words to say – and I got into

quite a lot of trouble for that!”she recalls.

Branded lazy by some ofher teachers, it turned outshe was an undiagnosed

dyslexic – something no onetwigged until she went touniversity.“It’s quite a mild dyslexia –

Give her the lime-

By Martin Moriarty

Adele Parks « Interview «

winter 2008 « 9

I know people who can’t recognisetheir own names on an envelope,so I don’t want to go: ‘Poor me, I’mdyslexic’,” she says.“But I do want to say that the

most unlikely people can do thingsthat you wouldn’t necessarilyexpect.”Her latest book is Happy Families

(to be published with nine othernew Quick Reads titles on WorldBook Day, Thursday 6 March 2008).And it’s a bit of a departure for her.While her previous novels have

been set in the aspirational worldsof public relations, advertising andthe media, Happy Families iscentred on divorced mother-of-three Lisa, who works in a café.“At the beginning of the book,

Lisa’s husband of 15 years has lefther for another woman and she’strying to do the decent thing and

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“Hearing someone like Adele, who’sreached the heights she has, talk about their

dyslexia is really inspiring: it giveseveryone a bit of hope!”

make a new modern family indifficult circumstances,” sheexplains.“It all seems a bit unfair – her

husband’s moved on, got his newwoman and plenty of money, andshe’s left at home with the kids,struggling with money, and it’s alljust a bit rough for her – but she’skeeping her sense of humour.”The other big difference is that

Happy Families is a lot shorter thanthe books she made her name with.“I want my readers to have

exactly the same experience as ifthey’re reading one of my othernovels, but the idea is that it is aslim book, so you don’t feel it’s toodaunting,” she says.

Having listened to an exclusivesneak preview of the new book(see p12-13), and seized theopportunity to ask a wide rangeof questions about her work(reproduced overleaf), theaudience in the learning centreare looking forward to gettingtheir hands on a copy when itcomes out.And if Adele is officially

impressed with them, then so arethe learners and ULRs with her.“It’s been brilliant,” says ULR

Declan MacIntyre. “Hearingsomeone talk about their dyslexiawho’s reached the heights shehas is really inspiring – it giveseveryone a bit of hope!”

10 » winter 2008

» Q&A » Adele Parks

When best-selling novelist Adele Parks dropped in on the learning centre atBrighton Cityclean, learners, ULRs and managers seized the opportunity to quizthe author of one of this year’s Quick Reads.

Askmeanother!Saskia Ton (enforcementofficer): How do you go aboutresearching your characters?A lot of the books have got a bitof me in them, but it’s not alwaysme when I write in the first person(“I did this, I did that …”), eventhough everyone assumes it is.When I wrote Playing Away,

about a happily married youngwoman who has an affair, all thejournalists asked if it was basedon personal experience.I used to say: “If I’d written a

murder, would you be digging upunder my patio? Credit me withsome imagination!”But there are other books

where I have said: “This is verymuch based on what happenedto me.”Of course, you can’t take an

entire person and put them in abook: I tend to take little bits ofpeople and put them in as a newcharacter, and maybe changetheir age or sex to disguise them.

Gillian Marston (Cityclean andCity Parks Assistant Director):How long does it take you towrite a book?Some people talk about waitingfor the muse to strike, and if itdoesn’t, they go to a coffee shop.Well, my muse is clearly a woman,because she arrives at 8.30amjust after school drop-off andstays until 3.20pm when it’sschool pick-up time!I write solidly in between those

times and really make it happen,so a book usually takes me aboutfive months of term time (I don’twrite in the school holidays)which means about sevenmonths of the calendar year.

Then I hand it in to Penguin,my publishing house, and theywill come back and correct thegazillion typos and send it backfor me to check.Once it’s published, I spend

about a month promoting it,which is part of the job as well –doing signings in bookshops andmeeting the people who actuallybuy my books to say “Thank you”because without them theywouldn’t get on the shelves.

Wesley Emond (refuse worker):Have you met many famouspeople through your work?I met Tony Blair when he waslaunching Quick Reads, and I didthe same thing to him that I’vedone today – I didn’t stoptalking. My agent was gentlytugging my sleeve and I wassaying: “No, it’s my moment!”Richard Branson – I’ve been in

the same room as him and heshook my hand, but I don’t think

“When journalists asked if a bookabout an affair was based on

personal experience, I said: If I’dwritten a murder would you be

digging up my patio?”

Adele Parks « Q&A «

winter 2008 « 11

that counts! He’s also dyslexic andhe’s done a Quick Read – theydon’t only ask dyslexics, but quiteoften dyslexic people are quitecreative.

Paul Whybrow (recyclingworker): I’m dyslexic and I waswondering what you do whenspellcheck doesn’t work?I’m lucky – I do know which wordit’s meant to be most of the time,but sometimes I get a word that’sunrecognisable in spellcheck andit’s like a fly buzzing round you –I know the word I mean but I can’tquite grab it out of the air.My dyslexia is quite mild and it

only got discovered when I went touniversity to read English.

I always used to send my essayshome to my mother who wouldcheck my spelling and write themout again so I could hand them in.But one time I got behind and

didn’t have time to send the essayhome – which was how my tutorfound out I was dyslexic.

Cityclean workersformed a more or

less orderly queueto get their bookssigned by Adele

Get in Quick!There are 10 new titles in the Quick Readsseries, to be published on Thursday 6 March.Make sure you order plenty of copies for your

Book-swap scheme, library, or learning centre.For details of how to get hold of the titles,

contact NIACE. Tel: 0116 204 7072 Email:quickreads@niace.org.uk

Life’s NewHurdles

Colin Jackson

Girl on thePlatform

Josephine Cox

Doctor Who:Revenge ofthe JudoonTerrance Dicks

East EndTalesGilda O’Neill

HumblePie

Gordon Ramsay

HappyFamiliesAdele Parks

The 10Keys to

SuccessJohn Bird

One GoodTurnChris Ryan

RaW VoicesVanessa Feltz

The HardestTestScott Quinnell

Paula was officially ateenager. She had beenacting like one for years.She had sulked,

slammed doors and worn shortskirts for a long time, but still, itwas an important day.Paula was happy with the

earrings and new top Lisa hadbought, but said Keith hadpromised her an iPod. Lisa didn’tknow what an iPod was but sheknew it cost a lot. Lisa was crosswith him for being able to out-doher, but happy Paula was going todo well out of it. Nothing was eversimple for her now. Kerry gavePaula a CD. It didn’t come with asmile. She was still heartbrokenabout that boy hanging out withChloe Jackson. Jack handed over abook token (that Lisa had bought).Paula spent ages in the

bathroom and came out wearingloads of make-up. She looked likesomeone off an MTV pop video.Lisa sighed and felt old. She didn’thave the heart to row with Paula onher birthday, so she pretendednot to see.Lisa had invited all the family for

tea. She didn’t think they would allsay yes, but sadly they did. PlusJohn said he’d bring a date. Thatwas 13 to feed and seat. Oh dear!Matters were made worse whenPaula asked if she could invite herdad. Lisa wanted to say “no” butspat out “yes”. Then Keith invitedthe Big Breasted Woman and hisparents. Lisa hated it that she’dsaid, “The more the merrier”.She meant to say, “Get stuffed.”Lisa had planned to pass around

a plate of sausage rolls and someegg sandwiches. She changed her

mind now that the Big BreastedWoman was coming. She went toMarks & Spencer and bought theirgreat party packs of food. Shenipped to Argos and bought twonew tea sets because she didn’town enough matching plates. Shepanicked as she passed thenewsagent and bought a bumperpack of streamers and balloons.Paula’s teenage tea party costabout the same as Lisa’s weddingreception. At this rate Lisa thoughtshe would have to sell her kidneyto pay for Kerry’s twenty-first. Lisacalled Gill from the DIY class. It wason the off-chance. They didn’t know

each other well yet, but Lisathought they would be goodfriends, given time. And Lisa wouldneed a friend at this tea party.Besides, her family was alwaysbetter behaved in front of guests.Lisa’s mum and dad arrived first.

John and his lady arrived next. Lisadidn’t bother to learn her name.Like all the rest of John’s girlfriends,she was nice, happy and hopeful.But it wouldn’t last. A week or 10days at tops. John gave Paula abottle of sparkly wine. Paulashouted, “Wicked.” Lisa shouted,“No way,” and quickly took itoff her.Carol and her family turned up

with a big present. Then Gill arrivedinto the chaos. Keith and the add-ons arrived next. The Big BreastedWoman looked wonderful. She

» Exclusive » Quick Reads

“At this rate, Lisa thought shewould have to sell her kidney

to pay for Kerry’s 21st”

otherwomaLisaand the

In this exclusive extract from Adele Parks’ specially commissioned Quick Readnovel, Happy Families, Lisa is preparing for her teenage daughter’s birthdayparty. And she’s not best pleased about who’s on the extended guest list.

exercised a lot. Her credit card thatwas! It was always being used. Shehad expensive hair, clothes andmaybe even plastic surgery. Lisawished she’d put on some lipstick.She was still red and sweaty fromblowing up party balloons.Not a great look.Paula opened her gifts. Then the

kids went up to their bedrooms toplay noisily. The adults sat in thefront room in silence. Everyone,other than Keith, seemed to knowthat this modern way to divorce(all one big happy family) wasdifficult to manage. The old way(never speaking again) wouldsuit Lisa fine.It did not feel like a party. More

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winter 2008 « 13

like a funeral. Keith’s parentsoften slagged off the Big BreastedWoman to Lisa. They also slaggedoff Lisa to the Big BreastedWoman, so they were tense. Lisa’smother shot Keith’s mother evils.She hadn’t forgiven her for goingto the Big Breasted Woman’swedding. Carol loudly talkedabout the dangers of cosmeticsurgery. She stared meaningfullyat the big breasts. Only Gill andJohn chatted happily but even thatupset John’s date.Lisa was worried about the bite-

size flans that were part of theparty pack from Marks & Spencer.They smelt a bit funny. Carolsniffed them and took a bite. Shepronounced them delicious. It wasimpossible to argue. Lisa offeredKeith a beer. The Big BreastedWoman said he never drank out ofcans (a lie). Lisa offered her awine. “I don’t drink sweet wines,”she said. Neither of them touchedLisa’s spread. “We’re going on to areally good restaurant, later,” saidthe Big Breasted Woman.Lisa wondered whether a judge

would understand if she used asmall strawberry flan to batter theBig Breasted Woman to death.Extracted from Happy

Families by Adele Parkspublished by Michael Joseph on6 March 2008 at £1.99. © AdeleParks 2008

n

How to get involvedQuick Reads, the series of books that has revolutionised readingfor thousands of union members and others, is launching its thirdset of titles on World Book Day, Thursday 6 March 2008.To get involved:

� Register your interest and request your free promotional pack atwww.quickreads.org.uk (books not included).

� Order an Employers Pack for just £100 (display stand completewith 60 books).

� Display the posters and give out promotional materials fromyour packs.

� Centre reading around fun activities such as quizzes andcompetitions.

� Organise an event or set up a reading group.� Encourage members to keep a reading diary to track theirprogress.

� Send book reviews and feedback to quickreads@niace.org.uk.� Vote for your favourite Quick Read on the website,

www.quickreads.org.uk� Download the podcasts to hear about the authors talk aboutwriting the books at www.quickreads.org.uk.

� Enter the Quick Reads competition for a chance to win £500 ofNational Book Tokens at www.quickreads.org.uk.

Kath Dulson andhusband Peter

have bothnow got thereadinghabit

Quick Reads books andpromotional packs.Do you know someone who’s

gained confidence in reading as aresult of a Quick Read? Perhaps itwas the first time they’d read abook from cover to cover? Or hasfinishing the book helped themin their work or everyday life?Whatever their story, NIACE can

always use inspiring case studiesto help motivate other learners.Please email them at:www.quickreads@niace.org.uk.For more ideas, visit

www.quickreads.org.uk orcontact the Quick Reads Team fora Promotional Planning Guide.Tel: 0116 2047072.

Gripped by Minette Walters’sChickenfeed, Peter is now theone dragging his wife aroundall the local bookshops lookingfor more titles by the best-selling author!As well as the books

themselves, ULRs can also orderQuick Reads Employers Packsfrom NIACE, which usually godown very well in the workplace.When First Essex displayed

their Employers Pack in the staffcanteen, it increased people’sreading confidence and even ledto a book-swap where staffbought in their favourite books toshare with others.And First Aberdeen now have

people reading books as well asnewspapers since they got holdof an Employers Pack lastyear.NIACE would love to

know how ULRs have used

Howone RMTULR gotreading on the railsRMT ULR Kath Dulson used to put up with complaints fromhusband Peter about all the books she bought – until he gothooked on a Quick Read she was promoting at work last year.

TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O’Grady is knownthroughout the movement and beyond for supportinglearning and skills development. She tells unionlearnDirector Liz Smith what we’ve achieved in the past18 months, and where we need to focus for the future.

» Interview » Frances O’Grady

Frances!Vive la

How do you feel aboutunionlearn 18 months on? Havewe made a difference?Without doubt, we’ve made a realdifference: we’re hitting all thetargets in terms of getting morelearners through the door, ensuringthe learning is good quality,recruiting and training more ULRsand – crucially, for me – we’rebeginning to get learningagreements not just about facilitytime for ULRs but about trainingand learning opportunities forthe whole workforce.

What would you say were ourmajor success stories?The creation of unionlearn is a hugesuccess story in itself and welcomerecognition of the contributionunions can make to the workinglives of individuals, to the successof business and to the working lifeof this country.We’ve also had a positive impact

in terms of our values of equality and

solidarity within workplaces but weneed to do much more to breakdown the barriers facing women,black and minority ethnic (BME)workers and disabled workers tryingto access training andApprenticeships.When it comes to public money,

we’ve made the case that it ought tobe targeted at those most in need –and the Government’s Skills Strategydoes that.But we’ve also said that employers

need to put their hand in their pocketand contribute to the cost of training,too – especially when there’s a clearadded value for them.We’ve had less success on that

front: there’s been lots of carrots, butthe Government hasn’t been willingto pick up a few short sticks thatwould encourage employers tomake a fairer contribution tothe cost of training!

ULRs have had statutory rightsfor four years now: do you thinkthere’s any evidence those rightsshould be strengthened?Many employers recognise thecontribution ULRs make toimproving workplace performanceas well as representing individualworkers’ needs.But we know that one in three

ULRs are still having trouble gettingtime off to carry out their role so Ithink we certainly need sometightening up there.As well as that, there are the

bigger mainstream questions that

The Government needs to usethe stick as well as the carrot

to encourage employers toinvest more in training, argues

Frances O’Grady (left andopposite, with Liz Smith)

Frances O’Grady « Interview «

winter 2008 « 15

Photos

byJess

Hurd

“We need to root out any exploitation,because poor treatment of often vulnerableworkers is wrong and also damages the

reputation of all Apprenticeships”

the unions ought to have a voiceon, such as:� how many Apprentices are takenon in an organisation;

� whether people get an automaticright to train in paid work time;

� what kind of training peopleshould be doing;

� how training is organised; and� how much people get paid if theyprogress through their training.That’s where we’ve still got more

work to do. In some workplaces, it’sworking very well; in others, learningand organising are still operatingon parallel lines and we’re missingtricks because we’re not linkingup our work on learning withmainstream bargaining.

We sometimes get criticised forpaying too much attention toSkills for Life and not enoughto higher level skills. But whatrole do unions have at thehigher level?With more of the workforce goingthrough further and highereducation, we’re gaining moremembers who have the equivalentof A Levels and above, but I thinkthe principles of our approach tolearning still apply.Workers with higher level skills still

want the opportunity to continuetheir development; or change theircareers; or refresh their skills; orretrain if their firm goes bust.In the world of work today, all of us

are going to have to keep onlearning new skills and even moving

A few goodreads“I’ve just finishedFrancis Beckett’sbiography of GordonBrown which is a veryaccessible read andprovides some usefulinsights on the PM’slife, thinking andvalues.I also enjoyed Carry

Me Down by MJ Hyland,which I picked upbecause of the strikingphotograph on the bookcover. It was a lucky findbecause this is a stunningand sometimes disturbingstory about a misfitadolescent who believeshe has special powers.

Right now, I’m readingThe Almost Moon –another gripping, ifgrim, read from AliceSebold following onfrom her bestsellerThe Lovely Bones.”

into different professions, and I thinkpeople trust their union tounderstand the kind of pressuresthey’re under and to get the bestquality opportunities for thembecause we’ve got their interests asour number one priority.

Of all the initiatives thatemerged from the Leitch report,one that is particularly dear toyou concerns the expansion ofApprenticeships. What are thekey things unions ought to bedoing? And where do ULRs fitinto this?Apprenticeships are dear not onlyto my heart but to the hearts ofmany trade unionists because weunderstand the importance of ayoung people getting good qualitytraining and a steady jobafterwards.Now that the Prime Minister has

announced half a millionApprenticeships within a very short

16 » winter 2008

» Interview » Frances O’Grady

The first woman ever to holdthe post of TUC deputy generalsecretary, Frances has beenworking in Congress Housesince 1994, when she cut herteeth as a campaigns officerworking on part-time workers’rights, homeworking andlow pay.

Frances moved on to directthe TUC’s New Unionism project,which created the OrganisingAcademy, and then headed upthe TUC’s Organisation andServices Department covering arange of policy areas at theheart of union concerns,including learningand skills.

Appointed deputy generalsecretary in 2003, Francescurrently has lead responsibilityfor a wide range of key areas ofpolicy development across theTUC’s work including trade

union recruitment andorganisation, inter-unionrelations and TUC services tomembers.

Active in a range of women’sand community campaigns anda committed trade unionistthroughout her working life,Frances has two children andlives in North London.

Frances O’Grady CV

space of time, the big challenge forus is to make sure that each andevery one of those is a good qualityopportunity for young people – andwe’d like to see some adultApprenticeships, too, so that olderpeople get a second chance theymight have missed first time round.It’s going to be a tough call

because there have been somecases of real exploitation – like theyoung women on hairdressingApprenticeships expected to work 52hours a week with very little formaltraining and hardly any breaks.We need to root out any

exploitation, because poor treatmentof often vulnerable workers is wrongand also damages the reputation of

all Apprenticeships.We have a great responsibility to

support apprentices in theworkplace. One of the reasonscompletion rates nationally are stillnot good enough is that the pay istoo low and unions have to getapprentices’ pay and conditions backon the bargaining agenda.Another is that young people

aren’t getting the support andencouragement they need, and Ithink ULRs could act as coaches ormentors to apprentices, and take ona broader pastoral role, not onlyensuring they get quality training, butalso making sure they are lookedafter in the workplace.It’s also vital to address the

“One of the reasons Apprenticeship completionrates are still not good enough is that the pay is toolow – and unions have to get apprentices’ pay and

conditions back on the bargaining agenda”

barriers faced by women, black andminority ethnic workers: they areunder-represented inApprenticeships as a whole as wellas in high-status Apprenticeships;they are at the wrong end of a widergender pay gap compared with theworkforce at large; they still have todeal with stereotyping andoccupational segregation; and theyhave lower employment outcomeson completion.And finally, we need to make sure

we get those apprentices into themovement. I’ve visited workplaceswhere we have some fantasticschemes with unions and employersworking together.But I’ve also visited other

workplaces where I’ve beensomewhat surprised to discover thatthe apprentices haven’t even beenapproached by the union – andthese were otherwise well-organisedworkplaces! We need to getapprentices involved from day one.

How could the Skills Pledge helpwith all of this?If nothing else, it’ll help us identifythe saints and sinners!So far, we’ve got hundreds of

employers covering 2.5 millionworkers signed up to the Pledge.But we need to make sure we

convert those pledges into realaction inside the workplace – andwe’ve got some evidence of wherethat’s happening where unions areactively involved.

Unions have really enjoyed allthe work around Quick Reads andWorld Book Day and setting upmore reading clubs and librariesat work. How do you think thesesorts of campaigns help? And doyou get anything out of themyourself – have you tried any ofthe Quick Reads?I have, I have! I was given the job ofmeeting Ricky Tomlinson on theMersey Ferry last year, which wasfantastic.I think Quick Reads is a fantastic

initiative: it’s going to be difficult tobeat last year, but I’m sure we will!What’s been wonderful is to see

how many writers have thecommitment to work with us andshare their stories with us andencourage everybody to becomeauthors of their own lives.

Jess

Hurd

Helping union members gain the Level 2qualifications they missed out on first time round isa crucial part of the day-to-day work of most ULRs.But learning and development doesn’t stop there.

Ever-increasing numbers of union learners arelooking into higher-level skills through ContinuousProfessional Development (CPD) programmes.CPD can make a huge difference to your life –

as Lenny Henry has discovered since finishinghis English Degree at the Open University (OU)last year.“I’m so much more confident now – I feel

like I’ve earned my place in the room nowI have a degree,” he told the OU’s Open Eyemagazine.“Before I felt like I didn’t have a solid

bedrock, but now I’ve got to the point whereI can write up an idea, instead of presentingit to a TV executive only to be told: ‘We likeyour ideas, but now go away and we’ll writethem up’.”And the discipline of having to make his

essay deadlines over the past six years is alsopaying off. “I used to be averse to finishingwriting projects, but now, thanks to myexperience of studying and writing essays, I findI write loads, and know where it’s going,” hereveals.CPD and higher-level skills can help you boost

your confidence, organise your thoughts and meetyour deadlines – just like Lenny.That’s why we’ve put the spotlight on CPD and

higher-level skills over the next seven pages, so thatyou and the learners you support can all aima little higher.

He may have been a top comic sincethe 1980s, but even Lenny Henry hasfound a bit of Continuous ProfessionalDevelopment pays off. And you can too,as this spotlight on CPD and higher-levelskills shows over the next seven pages.

Lennyforyour thoughts?

CPD and higher-level skills « Spotlight «

winter 2008 « 17

Judith Price has justcompleted a Masters degree,has already got acounselling diploma and isjust about to become a ULR.

And that’s even more impressivewhen you find out reading and writinghas been one long challenge for her.“It was the old story – my school

reports always said ‘doesn’t applyherself’ and ‘could do better’,” Judithrecalls.But that wasn’t what was going on

at all: what none of her teachers hadrealised is that Judith was dyslexic.After leaving school at 16, Judith

used a series of survival strategiesto get by.“I tend to memorise and put

things in pictures and use mind-maps,” she says.Unusually, her dyslexia did not

affect her numeracy, and she foundshe had a gift for numbers.“I’ve got by because I’ve always

done jobs like auditing and accounts– I’m good with people and figures,”she explains.

After starting her current job in thefinance department at the Universityof Wales in Newport and joining thelocal branch of UNISON, Judithbecame a health and safety rep.She took her Stage 2 and 3 Health

and Safety courses, as well as theunionlearn course, Countering theFar Right .She also started thinking about

developing her own career.Judith works for Cruse Bereavement

Care in Gwent in her spare time, andwanted to qualify as a counsellor.“I wanted to do a diploma in

counselling and I knew that I wouldneed a diagnosis in order to get adisabled student allowance forhelp with my grammar and spelling,”she says.When her results came back, they

showed that Judith did indeed havedyslexia (as well as high intelligence)and she was able to get the help sheneeded with literacy software.

And after she completed herdiploma in cognitive behaviouraltherapy at the university where sheworks, Judith started her Mastersdegree, studying the impact ofwork-related deaths on family andco-workers.She’s planning to start a PhD in the

same subject once she finishes theMA in the spring.And as if that weren’t enough, she

is about to become a ULR.“Sometimes we don’t know what is

out there and just need some basicunderstanding and coping strategiesto help us further our aims in life –and learning is lifelong,” she says.“Education isn’t something you just

do and then it’s over and done with at16. And the way the world is now youneed to be able to adapt anddiversify.“The only limitation you have to

learning is yourself. It may be hard tobelieve in yourself when others thinkyou are not as bright as you should bebut if you don’t try, you’ll never know.

“And learning also keeps yourmarbles rolling round as well!”

» Spotlight » CPD and higher-level skills

Judith Price (left)is now a qualifiedcounsellor afterfinishing herdiploma

18 » winter 2008

Coulddobetter?Diddobetter!Her teachers thought Judith Price could try harder. Well, now she’scompleted a diploma, a Masters and is thinking about a PhD!

CPD and higher-level skills « Spotlight «

winter 2008 « 19

The gentle art of Tai Chi proveda big attraction when ConnectULRs organised a day ofactivities for 2,000-pluscolleagues at BT’s AdastralPark outside Ipswich.The union holds a week of

activities at Adastral each year,involving BT and other smalleremployers.In addition to Tai Chi, there

was a Spanish taster session,workshops on learning stylesand personal development plans(PDPs) plus specialist advicefrom the union’s Opus2 careersservice.Connect’s 20,000 members are

professionals and managersworking in IT and telecoms and,like the members at Adastral, arekeen to gain the skills to advancetheir careers. They also need tokeep up with a wide range ofexpertise as their knowledge candate very quickly in this industry.ULF funding means Connect

ULRs can help members exploretheir wider work-relatedambitions and hopes, thinkabout new directions and find

It’s to Tai for!

ways to fit these to theirorganisation’s work plans.Members are responsible for

their own PDPs (agreed once ayear with their line manager andwork-related) and ULRs who knowthe local situation can help andsupport members to mould theirPDPs around their aspirations.ULRs now get their

The gentle art ofTai Chi provedpopular withConnect membersin Ipswich

development as a learning repincluded in their own PDP,which allows them toundertake further trainingand development in theirunion role.

FBU ULR Joe McMahon has triedout unionlearn’s Learning andCareers Advice Line and reckonsit’s a valuable resource to helphim help members.Joe used the line to get

information for a member wantingto know if he could use existingqualifications towards a universityeducation.“The person on the advice line

gave me all the facts – it was areally useful tool and I’ll use itagain,” says Joe.The advice line is a free,

impartial, confidential servicewhich helps people to develop newskills, improve their job prospectsor change jobs. It’s available for allunionlearn and union staff, TUEducation tutors, union

representatives and unionmembers.Jenny Wilson, a ULR with PCS at

the Land Registry in Stevenage, isenthusiastic about the advice linebecause it provides her with a one-stop shop to provide information.“Otherwise I’d have to do a lotmore research and digging aroundto find out what I need,” sheexplains.The unionlearn Learning and

Careers Advice Line number is08000 92 91 90.Or for more information, visit

http://tinyurl.com/yob36w.

Why don’t yougive us a call?

Maria Gbao tries out the new careersadvice line at the unionlearn with theSouthern and Eastern Region TUCconference Je

ssH

urd

A new set of coursesto help unionmembers developtheir careers isavailable at adiscount.The National

Extension Collegeoffers a range of shortprofessionalmanagement coursesdesigned foremployees lookingfor continuing

professional development in theworkplace.These distance learning courses

offer a flexible alternative to face-to-face training and employees canenrol at any time. Students will besupported for up to two years witha specialised tutor.The CPD series features seven

short courses that can be studiedindividually or as a complete set.They are part of a series of non-accredited short courses andequivalent to a Level 2qualification:� assertiveness at work� counselling skills� financial management� project management� report writing� stress management� time management.Thanks to an agreement between

NEC and unionlearn, all tradeunionists now receive a 10 per centdiscount on the cost of any NEChome study course.For full details of courses and to

enrol, visit www.nec.ac.uk/courses; email info@nec.ac.uk; orcall the customer relations team on0800 389 2839.

Midlands learning providersAxia Solutions andWarwickshire College have bothsecured prestigious unionlearnQuality Awards for their workwith unions on Skills for Life.East Midlands Minister Gillian

Merron presented both awards atthe unionlearn with the MidlandsTUC conference in November.Unionlearn Regional Manager

Mary Alys is delighted with theawards for Axia Solutions and

Warwickshire College.“They both play a hugerole in enabling thosewho have

» Spotlight » CPD and higher-level skills

20 » winter 2008

Get your10%off!

Feel the quality

Gillian Merron(centre) presentsKeith Marsh andKaren Reilly fromAxia Solutionswith theirQuality Award

Give us more timeTime and money are the biggestbarriers facing union members keento continue their education.And time off to study is the biggest

incentive an employer can give staff,says a new survey by unionlearn withthe Open University.The survey set out to assess

demand for learning and involved apostal survey of 5,000 members via10 unions.Some 509 responses were received

(10 per cent). Of these only 14 percent felt that they had completed theireducational development and thesurvey revealed a high recognitionof the importance of learning.But respondents identified a

number of barriers to accessinglearning.Six in ten said getting time off was a

problem and nearly all (more than fourin five) believed that getting paid timeoff to study would encourage take-up.Another barrier was the cost of

courses: almost three-quarters wouldbe interested if their employer paid allor part of the fees.Other incentives included help with

childcare and travel and study costs.“The evidence presented in this

report will strengthen the TUC’spowerful case for unions in recognisedworkplaces to have the statutoryright to negotiate paid time off tostudy,”says unionlearn DirectorLiz Smith.A copy of the survey is available

to download athttp://tinyurl.com/2nxs4k

traditionally missed out oneducation to improve their livesand those of their families throughlearning,” Mary says.The Quality Award recognises

providers for their commitment toworking with trade unions.Other recipients in the latest

round are: Knowsley CommunityCollege, Stockport College,Darlington College, the FBU,Norton Radstock College, Unite –Amicus Section and Park LaneCollege, Leeds.For more details, visitwww.unionlearn.org.uk/qualityaward.com

When she won the ULR of theYear award in 2006 NikkiSimpson could hardly haveguessed it would lead to a careerchange after 21 years.Nikki, who worked for the Royal

Bank of Scotland in Southend,enrolled on the City & Guilds courseDelivering Learning in the LifelongLearning Sector following theaward, and has just taken her Level2 numeracy and literacy tests.Her involvement in continuing

professional development meantthat when she spotted a job on theTUC website for a projectdevelopment worker on a ULFfunded project with Prospect, shejumped at the chance.“I read the job description and

got butterflies in my tummy anddidn’t hesitate to apply – this wasmy dream job. Having worked forthe same employer since leavingschool, the interview was a bitnerve-wracking but I was delightedto be offered the job.“I’ve always had a passion for

learning and development,especially helping others. Sincewinning the ULR award, I have beengiven so many developmentopportunities, speaking atconferences to help other ULRs,working with unionlearn andworking with other unions acrossdifferent industries,” she says.

Before she left her oldjob, Nikki achieved one of herpersonal goals – to branch outinto offering work-related learning,in partnership with her employer.After careful negotiations, she

persuaded bosses to fund andsupport accreditation in theworkplace and successfullyenrolled 12 members of staff ontoNVQ Level 2 courses in CustomerService.Now she’s hoping her

experiences as a ULR will proveinvaluable in her new role and islooking forward to working in adifferent sector, with a range ofdifferent people from interestingjobs.

“I would never have anticipatedthat by becoming a ULR justfour years ago I would havelearned so much, met such greatpeople and ultimately movedonto a new profession after 21years,” she says.“I hope that other ULRs will be

inspired by my story and will usetheir ULR role as a pathway tocontributing to the learningagenda.”

CPD and higher-level skills « Spotlight «

winter 2008 « 21

NikkiWhat

did next

Nikki’s new role withProspect sees hercontributing to the union’scontinuing professionaldevelopment agenda.She is project development

worker on a two-yearProspect initiative to raiseawareness of lifelonglearning and skillsdevelopment opportunitiesfor members in theenvironmental and land-based sector.Working with the Lantra

Sector Skills Council, theproject will bring learning toa new audience.“Our challenge is to bring

learning to a population ofworkers, sometimes small innumbers, who can be locatedremotely across the region,”says Nikki.

BrightProspects

“I’ve always had a passion forlearning and development”

Nikki Simpson (right) helps spread the CPD message withProspect Learning Services Officer Rachel Bennett

After continuing her own professionaldevelopment, former TUC ULR of the YearNikki Simpson has found her dream job.

22 » winter 2008

» Spotlight » CPD and higher-level skills

Ann Duffy was working part-time in a Newcastle librarywhen her UNISON branchsecured Union Learning Fundbacking to set up the BrinkburnLearning Centre.She decided to train as a ULR

– and she’s never looked backsince.The Brinkburn Centre, the

heart of one of one of thebiggest workplace learningprojects in the country, is run inpartnership with Newcastle CityCouncil.Thousands of members of all

the local authority unions havebenefited from a wide range ofprogrammes includingnumeracy, literacy, IT andNational VocationalQualifications.The centre now acts as the

hub for a number of work-based

Learning Zones which aresupported by ULRs.Ann began running IT courses

and IAG awareness sessions forULRs at the centre and thendecided to do a teachingqualification to enable her toteach too.She completed a City & Guilds

7407 Stage 1 and 2, went on tothe Certificate in Education, andthen embarked on a full degree inPost-Compulsory Education andTraining (PCET) with NorthumbriaUniversity – all in the space of fouryears.She now works as a member of

the Learning Council Team at theCouncil and is on the final year ofher PCET degree course.As well as working, carrying out

her ULR role and studying for herdegree, she has also completedher IAG Level 3 & 4 NVQs and

qualified as a NVQ Assessor. Inaddition, Ann is training tobecome an NVQ internal verifier.As well as teaching IT in the

learning centre, where shesupports people with Skills forLife learning up to InitialAssessment, Ann also signpostspeople to other sources of helpand learning, and somehowfinds time to support other ULRsand union reps with IT needs.“Working in a learning

environment helped as I wasable to achieve my IAGqualifications mostly in worktime,” she says.“It has been hard work but

worth it. If I hadn’t become aULR and been in the right placeto take up the secondment tohelp run the learning centre,none of this might havehappened.”

Ann Duffy (above)enjoys helpinglearners find outwhat they need

Ann Duffy hasn’t stopped learning since she trained as a ULRto help run the Brinkburn Learning Centre in Newcastle.

Annwithaplan

CPD and higher-level skills « Spotlight «

winter 2008 « 23

slow to put into practice what helearned on the course and isdeveloping the role to complementexisting CPD and performancemanagements systems already inplace.His priority is to work with senior

management to improve CPD bywidening the scope of in-servicetraining and to enable colleagues toundertake more leisure activities.“The demands of teaching and the

pressures to achieve on both staffand pupils need to be carefullyhandled and addressed to ensure ahealthy work-life balance,” says Chris.The ATL has exciting plans for

increasing involvement in CPD whichit is implementing with backing fromthe Union Learning Fund.

ATLULR Chris Cutler has gonefrom scoring goals on the footballpitch to helping members achievetheir personal and professionalgoals in the workplace.PE teacher Chris Cutler began his

career as a professional footballer inthe early 1980s. “I made my debutaged 17 playing in the reservesagainst Wolves and found myselfbeing marked by none other thanEmlyn Hughes,” says Chris.Chris plied his trade at Bury and for

seven seasons at Crewe Alexanderwhere he played alongside formerEngland internationals David Plattand Rob Jones.“One of the highlights in my first

seasons was scoring the winning goalat Old Trafford against a ManchesterUnited side that included MarkHughes, NormanWhiteside and PaulMcGrath,” Chris recalls.Unfortunately, a knee injury forced

Chris to retire in1991.

Learning hashelped ChrisCutler transferfrom professionalfootball (left) toschool coaching(above, right)

The NUT’s growing CPDprogramme is helping supplyteachers who, too often, miss outon professional learning as theymove from one school to another.They can now have their

workplace learning recognised bythe General Teaching Council’sTeacher Learning Academy, thenew system of accreditingteachers’ learning anddevelopment.The union also continues to

offer popular behaviourmanagement seminars to supplyteachers, who are often at theforefront when it comes to dealingwith behaviour problems.

“Thank you for remembering thesupply teacher: we need CPD too!”commented a Birmingham teacher.The CPD programme also

includes a second round ofLearning Circles under apartnership with the Faculty ofEducation at the University ofCambridge.Each Learning Circle brings

together a group of local teachersto learn about good practice in anissue that interests them and whichthey can then use towards apostgraduate accreditation fromthe University of Cambridge.In addition to the circles, the

union has set up a partnership with

the GTC, in which participants whocomplete an increasing number ofNUT CPD seminars and courses,are eligible to gain professionalrecognition (Stage 1) for theirlearning through the TeacherLearning Academy.“As well as providing easily

affordable day-to-day support forteachers, the union’s professionaldevelopment programmecontinues to be innovative andsets a quality standard for allproviders of professionaldevelopment for teachers,” saysJohn Bangs, the union’s head ofeducation and equalopportunities.

NUT listens to supply teachers’ demands

Chris kicks it higher

He then turned his attention to thefitness of others, opening his ownhealth club before deciding to pursuea career in teaching. With thesupport of the ProfessionalFootballers’ Association, Chriscompleted a degree in Sports Scienceat Manchester MetropolitanUniversity. He combined his studieswith coaching the football teams atAbbey Gate College in Cheshirewhere he secured a teaching postwhen he completed his studies.

His commitment tocoaching anddevelopment ofcolleagues promptedChris to apply for ATL’sLearning Rep courseand he completed histraining last year.Chris has not been

24 » winter 2008

» Update » Adult Learners’Week

Adult Learners’ Week is aonce-a-year opportunityfor unions to join with

communities the length andbreadth of the country inpromoting the benefits oflifelong learning.The week is built on the simple

formula that learners inspire othersto give learning a go: no wonder it’sbeen copied in nearly 50 countriesaround the world.Governments across Europe,

including our own, are determined toembed lifelong learning, explains theNational Institute of Adult ContinuingEducation (NIACE).“The outstanding adult learners

celebrated during Adult Learners’Week are key ambassadors for therealisation of that vision,” NIACE says.

NIACE exists to encourage more anddifferent adults to engage in betterquality learning of all kinds andcampaigns for and celebrates theachievements of adult learners.It also encourages target groups

including the low-skilled, unemployedand low-paid and those with few or noqualifications to participate in learningand spread positive messages aboutlearning.And NIACE aims to encourage

providers to engage the most isolatedand excluded learners (including peoplewith health problems, disabilitiesand/or learning difficulties; black andminority ethnic communities; olderpeople) in activities that develop socialand employment skills, confidenceand ambition.The week has the backing of the

Department for Innovation, Universitiesand Skills and the EuropeanSocial Fund, and is alsosupported by commercialcompanies, supermarkets,distance learning providers,museums, libraries,broadcasters and adulteducation funding bodies.

For help, advice andpromotional materials tomake sure your event is asuccess, contact NIACE atwww.niace.org.uk

skillsin May

Gathering

It’s time to start planning how you’re going to use AdultLearners’ Week to spread the skills message in the spring.

By Astrid Stubbs

Themes for local activities during AdultLearners Week 2008 are:

� globalisation and the changing world ofwork: Skills for Life, participation,progression, qualifications, modernforeign languages, north/south issuesand fair trade;

� environmental sustainability: green issuesand sustainable development;

� technological change: ICT, e-learning,media literacy and digital inclusion;

� citizenship and belonging in a diversesociety: community cohesion, equalityand diversity;

� demographic change: older workers,women returners, migration, learning inlater life, family and inter-generationallearning;

� poverty reduction: financial education andthe engagement of the most isolated andexcluded learners;

� changing expectations and perceptions ofthe Third Sector: volunteering, socialmovements, community engagement,civic renewal and democraticparticipation;

� well-being and happiness: learning foractive living, arts, culture and creativity,family and inter-generational living.

Themes goodto us

Adult Learners’Week « Update «

winter 2008 « 25

Who are you going to nominatefor an Adult Learners’ WeekAward this year? There’s stilltime – if you hurry!NIACE receives over 1,000

nominations of inspirational andexceptional adults who havetransformed their lives throughlearning every year.There are categories for groups

who have come together to learn,individuals, families and for learningprojects that have made adifference to learners’ lives.Winners will receive learning

vouchers valued between £200 and£500 and everyone nominated willreceive a certificate.The closing date for entries is

Awards time

25 January and awards will be madeduring ALW inMay.So if you know someone or a

team to nominate, contact NIACE on0116 204 4200 or emailalw@niace.org.uk.Details of the 2007 winners are

available at:www.niace.org.uk/ALW/2007/Awards/winners-at-a-glance.htm

It’s your dayLearning at Work Day,organised by the Campaignfor Learning (CfL), falls onThursday 22 May duringAdult Learners’ Week.Each year, hundreds of union

learning projects take part inLAW Day and stage fun andbusiness-related learningactivities to help members learnnew skills.This year, the theme of LAW

Day is Sustainable Workplaces.Events could include:

� a yoga-at-your-desk workout;� a review of your work-lifebalance to run withcolleagues;

� a laughter in the workplaceprogramme;

� tools to help build forretirement.The CfL supports unions and

other organisations interested inrunning LAW Day activities, andcan provide planning packs,activity ideas, promotionalmaterials, conferences seminarsand regional help.Last year, an estimated 5,600

organisations took part. Bygetting involved in the biggestannual celebration of workplacelearning you could reach newstaff, uncover new skills andbuild new partnerships allat the same time.Register your interest in LAW

Day 2008 on 0870 350 2345or via the website:www.campaign-for-learning.org.uk.

26 » winter 2008

» Update » TUC Education

A new cultural awareness toolkitincluding fun games and activitiesis available now from the TUC.The toolkit includes:

� a timeline-based historical cardgame;

� a work-based scenarios game forunion reps and/or employers;

� a calendar of religious and significantholidays for 2008;

� an activity pack of individualand group activities covering

culture and diversity;� an interactive CD-

ROM withadditionalresources.

Unionlearn launched the toolkit inManchester at an event organised throughManchester Trade Union Education Unitunder the TUC and the North WestRegional Development Agency as part ofa cultural awareness project.The toolkit can be used in a variety of

settings to stimulate learning anddiscussion.Although the materials will be used

extensively within trade union educationprogrammes, they can be used to supportexisting company training, with schoolgroups, and for training sessions ofvarious lengths.To find out more about the toolkit,

contact Pete Holland. Tel: 0151 243 2564.Email: pholland@tuc.org.uk

How to jointhe culture club

The TUC’s membership grewby 7,000 last year, the thirdsuccessive annual increase.

This steady growth shows thatunions are continuing to makeprogress in meeting themembership challenge.And a key priority is to identify

and develop new workplaceactivists who can support the200,000 union reps up and downthe country.Trade union education is an

important resource for developingthe organisers of tomorrow. Lastyear saw TUC Education, now partof unionlearn, reach almost 50,000

workplace reps with programmesdesigned to support workplaceorganisation.Courses developed for safety reps,

equality reps, pensions champions(or any part of the curriculum) focuson building the union as the key togetting things done at work.A new publication Organise 2!

A voice in every workplace hasbeen designed to help developthe skills for effective workplaceorganisation.

It’s available for use across theTUC Education curriculum and repswill find it on courses from thismonth.

Steady as she grows

winter 2008 « 27

Media reports of BNP leaderNick Griffin and far-righthistorian David Irving speakingat the Oxford Union were freshin the memory when unionlearnwith the Southern and EasternRegion TUC launched its newbooklet Defeating Racism inNovember.“It was an absolute disgrace that

the Oxford Union gave a platform toracism, and just goes to show thateducation can mean you’re clever,but not necessarily wise,”commented unionlearn board chairBilly Hayes at the launch.On a happier note, Billy was glad

to see the ways in which unionlearnhas been helping attract newactivists from black and minorityethnic (BME) communities (45 percent of ULRs in the region are BMEworkers, according to

the latest survey).TUC General Secretary Brendan

Barber said the booklet was full ofinformation that would encouragemore people to challenge racism inthe workplace.“By spreading a learning culture

we are helping to undermine bigotryas well as helping BME workers toincrease their skills and improvetheir life chances,” he said.SERTUC Regional Secretary Megan

Dobney, who came up with the ideafor the booklet, pointed out it wasnot one-off.“This booklet is not a standalone

item – it’s part of SERTUC’s anti-racist, anti-fascist campaign,”she said.Defeating Racism includes:

� information on the business casefor equality and diversity;

� a checklist for reps fighting

Unionlearn’s Trade Unionsand The Environmentcourse has helped NUS

activist Toby Walton encouragemore students to adopt greenerlifestyles.Toby is actively involved in Durham

University’s Sustainable Living ActionGroup (SLAG), a joint venture ofelected student environment officers,the Student Union, the 16 Colleges,and the university, which wasshortlisted for the Green GownAwards last year.Although he’s coordinated the

Sustainable Living Programme at theuniversity in the past, he’s found he’snow able to offer more input to thegreen group after taking the course.Trade unions and The Environment

helps reps to:� Identify environmental changes

And now hereare the facts . . .

Young, gifted and green

TUC Education « Update «

racism in the workplace;� facts to combat press myths about

migrant workers.You can obtain copies of the booklet

from Darren Lewis.Tel: 020 7467 1220Email: dlewis@tuc.org.ukOr download it from:

http://tinyurl.com/25jrj5

affecting the workplace;� Research and identify

appropriateenvironmentallegislation, policiesand information;

� Identify environmentalproblems andopportunities for tradeunion action.“One of the most

important things from thecourse is getting everyoneinvolved and committed,rather than having itimposed top-down, as amanagement initiative,”Toby says.This was his own

experience on the groundin Durham.“One of the most important

things to come out of DurhamUniversity environmentalinitiatives is studentinvolvement to sort outday-to-day problems,”he says.It was ideas and

feedback from collegeenvironment officers which

meant that recycling systemswere modified to preventcontamination of recycling,so that potentiallyrecyclable waste didn’t endup in landfill, for instance.To book onto the next

Trade Unions and theEnvironment course, visitthe courses section at

www.unionlearn.org.uk

When John Hannett leftschool at 15 to sell fruitand veg from a market

stall in Liverpool, he probablyhad little idea that he would oneday lead a trade union.But it’s why he relates to the

lifelong learning needs of manyUSDAWmembers, and why he’s sopassionate about his role on theunionlearn board as an ambassadorfor lifelong learning.John went to St George’s secondary

modern school in Liverpool but leftwith a handful of what he calls basicCSEs. “You were expected to get a joband your expectations weren’t muchgreater,” he recalls.After getting a job with Guinness

where he became a union convenor,he quickly got involved in learningthrough USDAW, taking a two-yeartrade union studies diploma.“It was the trade union movement,

that really whet my appetite for thewhole learning agenda, as it was formany of us,” he says. “I tookadvantage of all the union courses on

offer and when lifelong learningbecame an issue, I knew it was anopportunity to open doors for lots ofpeople.“Most of us were not expected to

achieve more than state educationprovided so you secured a job andthen you were locked in that job.“But once you give people the

confidence and the opportunity theyflourish – and USDAW has lots ofexamples of that and can hold itshead up high on lifelong learning.”The union’s work has helped

20,000 members gain new skills andit has opened over 35 learningcentres across the country.In 2008, one of its major

campaigns is CheckOut Learning,which aims to help thousandsmoreretail workers return to learning.“Based on my experience and the

experience of our members, whohave not had the best stateeducation for different reasons, tradeunion education has always been akey catalyst for people’sdevelopment and lifelong learning isanother build, a big extension, on

top of that,” says John.And he is constantlyinspired when meetingmembers whose lives havechanged as a result oflifelong learning.“One example is a

member from retail who

lacked confidence and struggled toparticipate socially in a course – shefelt everyone knewmore. But shereturned to learning and is now a ULRand has been promoted by hercompany. It’s like there are twodifferent people – one before andone after the education.“Lifelong learning can show people

that education isn’t your experienceof school – it’s a different approachwhich gives people a belief inthemselves that they may have lostbecause their expectations weredampened down.”

“Most of us weren’t expectedto achieve much at school, soyou were locked in the job you

secured afterwards”

Talking shopwith JohnShopworkers’ union leader John Hannett is keen to help more and moreworkers check out learning.

John is full of praise for theGovernment’s continued commitmentto lifelong learning.And he says the board has a real

role to play. “It can innovate, it cankeep the agenda moving forward, andwe need to make sure all unions arepassionate about going out toemployers,” he says.John is also keen to see the

bargaining agenda widened toinclude learning and skills.Unions can get stereotyped for

having a narrow vision based ontraditional core issues which candiscourage people from joining, heargues, but learning gives unions thechance to demonstrate they havebroader concerns.“Where unions have a prize for

potential members and for a wideraudience is to link learning as partof any dialogue with an employer,”he says.“There’s nothing more important

than people’s development in termsof confidence and opportunity. Andthere is nothing negative aboutlifelong learning – it is acompletely positive story.”

» Interview » unionearn board

28 » winter 2008

On our website we recentlyasked ULRs to share their “TopTips” on getting workmates intolearning. Here are ten of the best.

1When asking people to fill inlearning surveys, skills tests,

and so on, have some freebieswith you to say “thank you” –even if it’s only a bag of toffees.

2Make sure you scan the localpapers and the free

magazines for learningopportunities. And keep ascrapbook of cuttings, addressesand contacts to use foradvice and guidance topotential learners.

3Be confident about what youare doing. Be prepared to ask

for advice yourself if you are notsure. Do training courses as oftenas you can to keep your mindactive and be better informed.

4Keep in mind the learner’swork-life balance. For example,

a single mum with young childrenmay find an online course moreaccessible than classroom courses.

5Record everything you do, suchas conversations, running

courses, doing training, AdultLearners’ Week activities. It allhelps to build and justify your role.

6Networkwith local organisations.Information exchange works both

ways and can lead to unforeseen andpositive developments.

7Make yourself known by puttingup posters, handing out leaflets

and producing newsletters.

8Competitions are a good way ofletting staff know you are still

around during quiet periods. Prizescould be things like Quick Readsbooks, or books for parents to readwith children.

9Use leisure learning as ahook to get learners who may

need Skills for Life courses.Learners are more likely to admitthey struggle with their computerskills than admit to needing helpfor their maths or English. Once alearner discovers that learningsomething new is fun they aremore likely to embark on a Skillsfor Life course.

10Never lose focus on whyyou are a ULR: you

volunteered for a reason.Have you discovered handy

tips that other reps would finduseful?Submit your top tips

and you’ll get a set of nineSandstone vista books.

www.unionlearn.org.uk/toptip

“I recently attended a unionconference where there was aworkshop on the Climbing Frame.I was unable to attend theworkshop but as a ULR, is thisof any use to me?

It most definitely is. TheClimbing Frame is a new andexciting online tool for ULRs. It willhelp ULRs to give even bettersupport to individual learners, andwill help you, help them identify

and access their pathways tolearning. The approach of theClimbing Frame is to recognisethat union learners haveaspirations that can help themmove towards new personal, work,and career goals.ULRs will also find it easier to

negotiate with management aroundthe learning agenda using thelearning Climbing Frame, as theywill see clear benefits from it. The

Climbing Frame holds informationabout a broad range of learningthemes and opportunities that canbe updated. And it can becustomised to meet the needs ofdifferent unions and sectors.If you are a ULR and would like to

use the Climbing Frame, or find outmore about it, please contactLouisa Shaw, unionlearn’s ClimbingFrame Support Officer atlshaw@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

Top tips from you

Resources « Roundup «

winter 2008 « 29

30 » winter 2008

» UnionlearnTel: 020 7079 6920Fax: 020 7079 6921unionlearn@tuc.org.ukwww.unionlearn.org.ukDirector Liz SmithTel: 020 7079 6922lsmith@tuc.org.uk

» National unionlearnmanagersStandards and QualityIan BorkettTel: 020 7079 6940iborkett@tuc.org.ukResearch and StrategyBert CloughTel: 020 7079 6925bcloug@tuc.org.ukBusiness and FinanceMatthew Fernandez-GrahamTel: 020 7079 6936mfernandes-graham@tuc.org.ukCommunicationsMike PowerTel: 020 7079 6942mpower@tuc.org.ukTrade Union EducationLiz ReesTel: 020 7079 6923lrees@tuc.org.ukUnion DevelopmentJudith SwiftTel: 0151 243 2568jswift@tuc.org.ukDevelopment Officer (ULF)Catherine McClennanTel: 07795 606 982cmcclennan@tuc.org.uk

» Equal ProjectJoe FearnehoughTel: 0151 243 2571jfearnehough@tuc.org.uk

» Learndirect centresHelen GagliassoTel: 0191 227 5567hgagliasso@tuc.org.uk

»WebsiteJay SreedharanTel: 020 7079 6943jsreedharan@tuc.org.uk

» Regional unionlearnSouthern and EasternTel: 020 7467 1251Regional managerBarry FrancisUnion Development CoordinatorJon TennisonRegional Education OfficerRob Hancock

» MidlandsTel: 0121 236 4454Regional managerMary AlysUnion Development CoordinatorGary O’DonnellRegional Education OfficerPete Try

» NorthernRegional managerBarney McGillTel: 0191 227 5552Union Development CoordinatorElizabeth KilloranTel: 0191 227 5557Regional Education OfficerIan WestTel: 0191 227 5572

» NorthWestRegional ManagerDave EvaTel: 0151 236 2321Union Development CoordinatorTony SaundersLiverpool officeTel: 0151 236 2321Manchester officeTel: 0161 445 0077Regional Education OfficerPeter HollandTel: 0151 243 2564

» SouthWestRegional ManagerTel: 0117 947 0521Helen ColeUnion Development CoordinatorRos Etheridge

Regional DevelopmentWorkers:BristolAlan ShearnTel: 0117 947 0521CornwallGeoff HaleTel: 01209 611 604Regional Education OfficerMarie HughesTel: 0117 933 4443

» Yorshire and theHumber

Tel: 0113 245 4909Regional ManagerAlan RoeUnion Development CoordinatorSharon Burke,Regional Education OfficerTrevor SargisonTel: 0113 200 1071

» Union contactsAspect Judith HibbertTel: 07968 322 969judith.hibbert@ntlworld.comATL Mark HoldingTel: 020 7782 1596mholding@atl.org.ukBECTU Brian KellyTel: 020 7346 0900bkelly@bectu.org.ukBFAWU Dorban IppomaTel: 020 8801 0980dorban58@yahooBSU Vikki BothamTel: 07717 805 521vikki.powell@britannia.co.ukConnect Kirsi KekkiTel: 020 8971 6052kirsi.kekki@connectuk.orgCSEU Mick O’SullivanTel: 07779 264 123mjosullivan@blueyonder.co.ukCWU Trish LavelleTel: 020 8971 7340tlavelle@cwu.orgEquity Louise GraingerTel: 020 7670 0214lgrainger@equity.org.ukFBU Trevor ShanahanTel: 07917 75 9473trevor.shanahan@fbu.org.ukFDA Martin FurlongTel: 020 7401 5555martin@fda.org.uk

unionlearn contactsAll TUC email addresses are first initial followed by surname@tuc.org.uk

» contacts

winter 2008 « 31

resources «

MU Pauline DalbyTel: 020 7840 5516pd1@musiciansunion.org.ukNAPO Ranjit SinghTel: 07943 827 353rsingh@napo.org.ukNASUWT Jennifer Moses,Stephen SmithTel: 0121 453 6150lifelong.learning@mail.nasuwt.org.ukNUJ Linda KingTel: 020 7843 3717lindak@nuj.org.ukNUT Andrew Parry WilliamsTel: 020 7380 4800/4780learning.reps@nut.org.ukPCS David McEvoyTel: 020 7801 2727 ext 2360david.mcevoy@pcs.org.ukPFA Alan IrwinTel: 07717 467 718ieteuk@yahoo.co.ukPOA Andy RowettTel: 07917 699 210poaulf@yahoo.co.ukProspect Rachel BennettTel: 020 7902 6687Rachel.Bennett@prospect.org.ukRCN Linda McBrideTel: 020 7647 3855linda.mcbride@rcn.org.ukRail Union LearningRUL Programme Support TeamTel: 0207 317 8612info@rul.org.ukUCATT Jeff HopewellTel: 01302 360 725jhopewell@ucatt.org.ukUnison Pam JohnsonTel: 020 7551 1267pam.johnson@unison.co.ukUnite – Amicus sectionTom BeattieTel: 020 8462 7755tom.beattie@unitetheunion.orgUnite – T&G section Jim MowattTel: 020 7611 2628jmowatt@unitetheunion.orgUnity Gerald CrookesTel: 01782 280 588geraldcrookes@unitytheunion.org.ukURTU Graham CooperTel: 07795 562 874grahamcurtu@yahoo.co.ukUSDAW Ann MurphyTel: 0161 224 2804ann.murphy@usdaw.org.uk

Free materials for Learning Rep readerswww.unionlearn.org.uk/freebooksNew videos, posters, leaflets and booklets – and post and packing isfree as well. Make them available in your learning centre, workplacecanteen, or just distribute them to anyone interested.

Local heroes – the importance of ULRsThis fast paced six-minute film is designed toshow the vital work of ULRs. It also shows how

they give confidence to their colleagues to get on thelearning journey. The film was produced with thesupport of the Sector Skills Development Agency.See story on page seven

Supporting learners – guidesfor union repsFour new publications for

learning reps. They are: Why and howunion reps should support learners;Sources and help for union reps; Roleand skills of the union rep; Usefulextras for union reps.

Learning and careers adviceHelp your colleagues with all aspects of their

learning and careers needs. You can order posters (A4 andA3 sizes) and leaflets. You can also download resourcessuch as a CV builder and a skills inventory atwww.unionlearn.org.uk/uladvice or ring the landlinefreephone advice service at 08000 92 91 90.

Online learning with TUC EducationThis 20-page guide gives reps a full list of all

online courses available. It covers Health andsafety, disability, pensions, organising, rep training,work-life balance, and racism. And it provides apractical guide to learning online.

www.unionlearn.org.uk

It’s the Queenof Quick-lit

Adele Parks takesthe Quick Readsmessage out on

the road

learning repthe

» Winter 08

You can also order further copies of this editionof the Learning Rep to pass on to colleagues.

Plus lots of other items that you will want for any eventsyou are organising. If you are preparing for an activityfor World Book Day (6 March) or for Adult Learners’Week (17 – 23 May) get your orders in early.

Kate and Umar’s IncredibleLearning JourneyThis new 10-minute animated

film shows ULR Kate running alearning centre, and how Umarjoins her and becomes a ULR.Lots of characters get involved andlearning stories are revealed.See story on page three.

Supported by:The Learning Rep is part of a community programmecalled Equal – a European Social Fund initiative whichtests and promotes new means of combating all forms ofdiscrimination and inequality in the labour market. TheGB Equal Support Unit is managed by ECOTEC.

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