The learning rep - Autumn 2012

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the

learningrep » Autumn 2012

ADULT LEARNERS’ WEEK 2012 S P EC I A L R E P O RT

“I’ve got a craving for learning” >> Safety trainer Karen King wins top award

www.unionlearn.org.uk

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Farewell Brendan, hello Frances

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Unionlearn goes into the summer following another busy and well-attended annual conference at which delegates from across the union movement and the wider skills world gathered at Congress House to discuss key issues on learning and training for the year ahead.

The conference came on the back of an important report from the Organisation for Co-operation and Economic Development on skills that had highlighted the role union learning plays in delivering skills to the workforce – important recognition that came as good news to the attendees.

The event was also a time for bidding a fond farewell to Brendan Barber, as he attended his final unionlearn conference as TUC general secretary. Many of you will know Brendan or will have met or seen him at events and will know the premium he placed on developing union learning; and his understanding of how key education and skills were as part of the wider union movement. His keen advocacy of unionlearn and its work was reflected in the warm and affectionate standing ovation he received at the conference.

As we went to press, Frances O’Grady’s nomination for general secretary went through unopposed and she will take over from Brendan at the end of the year. Frances has been very involved in unionlearn and the skills agenda in her time as deputy general secretary – indeed she was, as in previous years, chairing this year’s unionlearn conference. She has also been the driving force behind unionlearn’s and the TUC’s work on apprenticeships, which remains a key element of unionlearn’s work, and she is a passionate advocate for union work on skills and particularly for tackling youth unemployment.

So ULRs and union members can be assured that as we start a new chapter at the TUC, under our first woman general secretary, we have someone who understands the skills agenda and is committed to the values of learning and education that ULRs promote.

Tom Wilson Director, unionlearn The Learning Rep Autumn 2012 Editor: James Asser jasser@tuc.org.uk Writers: Astrid Stubbs, Martin Moriarty Cover: Karen King by Chris Brown Design: wave.coop Print: Ancient House Printing Group Distribution: Cavalier mailing

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News unionlearn conference Learning and well-being at work Skills utilisation Brighton Cityclean Brendan Barber Reading groups Adult Learners’ awards Adult Learners’ Week TUC Education round-up Contacts Calendar Resources

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Photo: Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

News «

Learning reps play a vital role by encouraging colleagues to access learning, says the OECD

OECD stamp of approval for unionlearn A new report from one of the world’s most influential economic bodies is full of praise for unionlearn’s crucial contribution to boosting UK skill levels.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives, aims to help policy-makers find solutions to help their economies move forward.

“If we want to succeed at turning skills into better jobs and better lives, we have to understand more about those skills that transform lives and drive economies,” explained Andreas Schleicher, special adviser on education to the OECD secretary-general.

The OECD praised unionlearn for developing its successful model of training learning reps to boost workplace skills.

The report said ULRs provided “a highprofile strategic framework and support for union work on skills development and

workplace learning”. It also underlined how learning reps encouraged employers to commit to “training their staff to a specific level of qualification or diploma”.

The report also pointed out that unions helped “redress age, skill and genderrelated inequalities in access to training” and were “increasingly promoting a relationship between learning and work organisation”.

Unionlearn Director Tom Wilson is delighted that the OECD has recognised unionlearn’s vital role in helping unions support UK skills development.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the OECD, the government, unions and all organisations to improve skills in the UK workforce: we will continue to do our bit to skill a future that works,” he says.

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» News

Gatwick deal launches airport learning One hundred and fifty members of staff at Gatwick Airport have started foreign language courses since Unite signed a pioneering learning agreement with management in March – and more than 250 of their colleagues are waiting to follow suit.

The customer service staff, security officers, first aid providers and the fire service are improving their communication skills with passengers from all over the world using innovative language-learning technology provided by Rosetta Stone.

“I’ve always believed we would get considerable uptake if there was a concerted, unified effort by the trade union side and the management to launch courses like this – and this initiative has borne that out big time,” says lead ULR Stephen Guy.

Unite learning reps and members flank unionlearn SERTUC Manager Barry Francis to celebrate the new learning agreement

Pointing out that his branch, the SE397, has been very supportive, Stephen makes special mention of ULRs Allan Arnold and Chris Sinfield, who have been central to organising courses in deaf awareness, basic sign language Levels 1 and 2, and IT for Beginners.

The reps have also accessed government funding to allow staff to take an NVQ Level 3 in management training, and the union has trained its

workplace reps in mentoring as the company expands its apprenticeship programme into non-traditional areas such as airport security.

“In view of what went before, which was a vast wilderness in terms of learning and development, we have made some considerable strides, and in my opinion we wouldn’t have got as far as we have if we hadn’t signed the agreement,” Stephen says.

Apprentice teams battle it out for top title Eight teams of apprentices from some of the country’s top employers put their business acumen, team working and physical endurance to the test in a new six-week contest run by the Brathay Trust children’s charity earlier this year.

After six weeks of fundraising and communications challenges, the teams battled it out on a final day that culminated in a boat race across Lake Windermere.

The eight-strong group from aerospace firm Cobham was named ‘Brathay apprentice team of the year’, beating the squad from MBDA Missile Systems into second place.

“Team Cobham are an example of how, in this new era of higher-quality apprenticeships, young people can really help the nation’s businesses grow,” commented the National Apprenticeship Service Director Jaine Bolton, who presented the team with its award.

While the MBDA team won the PR round, came second in the physical

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MBDA apprentices Heather Peach, Lee Bibby, Mark Richards, Samantha Ball and Gaz Humphreys face the final day of the Brathay Trust apprentice challenge

challenge, and third in fundraising, that wasn’t quite enough to secure the overall title.

“Although we didn't win the competition, we gained so much from the experience and we were all very proud of how we had worked together at the final stage of the challenge,” commented Samantha

Bell, one of five union members in the MBDA team, all based at the company’s Lostock site near Bolton.

The other six teams taking part were from Balfour Beatty, Bentley Motors, the Co-operative, the National Apprenticeship Service, Rolls-Royce and Virgin Media.

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News «

EDF Energy signs groundbreaking deal

Frances is first woman in TUC top job

EDF Energy signed the first national learning agreement in the energy industry during this year’s Adult Learners’ Week in May.

Frances O’Grady is to become the first woman to lead the TUC when outgoing General Secretary Brendan Barber steps down later this year.

Chief Executive Vincent De Rivaz put his name to the groundbreaking agreement at an event in the company’s London headquarters that included the managers and ULRs who helped develop the agreement and officers from GMB, Prospect, UNISON and Unite.

The agreement commits the company and the unions to working together to promote equality of opportunity for personal development and participation in both lifelong learning and Skills for Life.

“This is an excellent example of EDF Energy and the joint trade unions working together to benefit and support all EDF Energy

employees,” commented UNISON ULR Tracey Wainwright.

“The challenge now is to build on this important milestone to turn the principles agreed into meaningful lifelong learning opportunities for the mutual benefit of the company and its employees,” said fellow ULR Vaughan Williams.

Tracey helps run UNISON’s popular Energy To Learn project at the company’s Doxford Park call centre near Sunderland, which has enabled staff to improve their Skills for Life and undertake a wide range of informal learning, in everything from photography to forensics.

Unionlearn Director Tom Wilson warmly welcomed the new learning agreement. “We look forward to working with Tracey and the other ULRs to help EDF Energy champion continued learning in the workplace,” he said.

UNISON Regional Education Officer Les Perkins (left) signs the learning agreement with EDF Energy Chief Executive Vincent de Rivaz

Can you help inspire the next generation?

The Education and Employers Taskforce has launched a drive to recruit volunteers from all sectors and professions to talk to state school pupils about the routes they took into their careers through the Inspiring the Future initiative.

By donating an hour of their time to conduct a career insight session at a local

state school or college, volunteers can help young people fulfil their potential by giving them invaluable insights into the job they do and the route they took to get it.

The new initiative is keen to attract a wide range of volunteers from apprentices to senior and recently retired staff.

Registration is now open for Inspiring the Future at www.inspiringthefuture.org

A long-term advocate of the vital importance of workplace learning, and apprenticeships in particular, Frances will become General Secretary Designate at this year’s TUC Congress in Brighton in September.

Frances has played a major role in the evolution of the TUC’s learning agenda, building the diverse local Bargaining for Skills projects into a coherent national framework while head of the TUC’s Organisation Department between 1999 and 2003, and giving her full support to unionlearn since its launch in 2006, by which time she had become TUC Deputy General Secretary.

She originally joined Congress House as campaigns officer in 1994, moving on to lead the groundbreaking New Unionism project in 1997, from where she launched the TUC’s Organising Academy.

Paying tribute to her predecessor, Frances said Brendan had been a great servant of the TUC. “He was well-respected both within and beyond our ranks and he leaves a firm foundation on which to build,” she commented.

>>

Brendan Barber farewell interview: pp 16–17

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» News

Current workers need more green skills Developing a green economy means investing in the current workforce, according to former TUC President John Edmonds, speaking in his current role as skills workstream lead of the Aldersgate Group (AG).

The group brings together business, political and society leaders and organisations (including the TUC) in a bid to help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.

John was contributing to an AG event jointly run with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), which works with business and schools to promote the shift to a new resource-efficient economic model.

He argued that it was crucial not to abandon re-skilling opportunities for the existing workforce in favour of investing exclusively in the next generation.

John Edmonds (centre) joins Aldersgate Group Executive Director Andrew Raingold and Dame Ellen MacArthur to promote green skills at work

The current workforce should have an “opportunity of changing direction, of taking on new skills, or preparing for the new economy,” John said.

He also suggested that the shift to a low-carbon economy did not mean the development of green skills and green jobs within the current industrial model.

“To say that there are going to be some green skills and some green jobs is very misleading: if you’re going to transform the economy, you are going to change jobs in a very substantial way,” he argued.

CWU rings the changes at BT centre The CWU South East Central Branch re-launched its completely refurbished learning centre at the Withdean telephone exchange in Brighton during Adult Learners’ Week this year.

Originally opened several years ago, the centre had fallen on hard times, with a succession of union learning coordinators unable to breathe new life into the project.

But when branch activist Steve Taylor took over the lead ULR role last year, he set about turning it all around.

With the help of £3,000 of branch funds, Steve replaced the outdated computers, originally donated by BT, with the latest laptops.

And instead of the original emphasis on formal qualifications, Steve developed a new strategy focused on informal learning, backed by the branch.

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CWU General Secretary Billy Hayes was full of praise for the branch when he attended the re-opening cermony in May. “Today we are celebrating the indomitable spirit of a branch that refuses to be put off by a few problems, but rather learns from experience and comes back stronger – I couldn’t think of a better metaphor for lifelong learning!” he said.

Steve is currently running a series of lunchtime cyber-cafés, where members can drop in and pick the brains of a proficient person on different themes such as genealogy, digital photography, social media, PC navigation and Microsoft Excel.

“Since the opening, we have had successful lunchtime learning with a genealogy-themed cyber café, which helped members to find out more about their ancestry, some going back to the 1700s within a few moments,” Steve says.

Once the re-launched centre is running smoothly, the branch wants to move mobile classes out to other sites, such as Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Eastbourne and Burgess Hill.

All smiles (from left): unionlearn’s Tom Wilson, CWU’s Billy Hayes and Steve Taylor and BT Openreach HR Director Joe McDavid enjoy re-opening the Withdean learning centre

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News «

Rail learners celebrate success

Co-op’s Kevin wins Usdaw ULR award Usdaw learning rep Kevin Sheldon, who works as a dispatch operative at the The Co-operative Pharmacy National Distribution Centre (NDC) in Stoke, has won the union’s North West ULR award for his dedication to helping colleagues access learning in the workplace.

Leeds members of rail union RMT at Northern Rail, East Coast and Network Rail collected their certificates for the literacy, numeracy and computer courses they have passed this year at a union celebration at Leeds station earlier this year.

The learners were able to complete the courses thanks to their ULRs, Mohammed Ilyas (Northern Rail) and Trish Morgan (East Coast), who set up the programmes at the station so their colleagues could boost their skills at times that suited their complex shift patterns.

“Before the computer course I had very little knowledge about computers, but now I feel a lot more confident using them and this will

help me if I apply for promotion,” commented Northern Rail conductor Daren Roden.

His driver colleague Surjeet Singh Puee said he thoroughly enjoyed boosting his English skills. “The courses were really useful and made me more aware of my grammar and spelling,” he explained.

RMT Learning Regional Development Worker Graham Chesters, who helped the local ULRs organise the day, said it was good to recognise the hard work and commitment learners put in to gaining their qualifications.

“Mohammed, Trish and course tutors Paula Proud and Alison Aldred should also be commended for all their efforts to ensure these courses were successful,” Graham said.

FBU tackles dyslexia at work

Dozens of union members have improved their English, maths and IT skills onsite through the successful union–management partnership at NDC, supported by Stoke-on-Trent College, and the city council’s adult education and library services.

In addition to literacy, numeracy and computer courses, learners have also taken the chance to explore photography, body language and Spanish.

“This was a great achievement for Kevin, who has been instrumental in delivering a successful lifelong learning agenda at NDC,” commented Usdaw Lifelong Learning Project Worker Julia Baldwin, who nominated him for the award.

Kevin was one of a number of Usdaw members who met local MP Robert Flello when he visited the centre late last year.

“Usdaw is delighted Mr Fello took the time to visit our successful learning centre at NDC,” Julia said.

“Building partnerships with good employers like The Co-operative and local colleges to provide our members with opportunities to return to learning and improve their skills and knowledge is a key priority for Usdaw.”

Nearly 100 union learning reps and officials from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have trained to become dyslexia support advisers (DSAs), with the help of the Union Learning Fund, Leeds City College TU Education Department and the British Dyslexia Association (BDA).

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» Briefing » Annual conference All photos: Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

Financial journalist Martin Lewis, who heads the Independent Taskforce on Student Finance Information, kicked off this year’s unionlearn annual conference with a myth-busting speech on the new funding regime for full and part-time students.

Martin busts some HE money myths “One of the great problems in the student finance debate is that we focus on the political not the financial, and there is an entire subject area about how we operate student finance that we miss – and it’s crucially important,” he said.

The new system for part-time students who start their degrees later this year was the biggest change for a generation, he said. “For the first time, new 2012 starters are eligible for an official student loan for their tuition fees.”

But the sometimes eye-watering nominal costs of a part-time degree should not discourage people from entering higher education, he argued: what was really important was how much people earned once they had finished.

White Rose Training student support officers Dana Captainino and Lucy Medes-Hinkin collected a Quality Award from Brendan Barber and unionlearn Board chair Mary Bousted at the conference, alongside representatives of five other learning providers: Leicester Adult Skills and Learning; N-Gaged Training and Recruitment; Manchester College Trade Union Education Unit; Asset Training and Consultancy; and POA Learning Yorkshire and the Humber.

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“It’s not the nominal amount of what you’ve borrowed that counts: it’s what will be the cost to you, and that primarily depends on what you earn after you finish the course,” he explained.

Under the new scheme, learners begin repaying the cost of their student finance four years after starting their course. The rate is 9 per cent of everything they earn above £21,000 and the debt is wiped after 30 years, regardless of whether all, some or none of it has been repaid.

>> Download the guide to part-time student

finance from the independent taskforce website: www.studentfinance2012.com Calculate how much a learner will pay on Martin’s website: www.moneysavingexpert.com

>>

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Annual conference « Briefing «

Helping silver surfers get online

Conference participants attended a wide range of workshops during the second half of the annual conference, which covered equalities; learning agreements; supporting learners; the results of a survey of union reps trained by TUC Education; community learning; TUC Education’s e-Notes; skills utilisation; apprenticeships; the green agenda; and creative writing.

Oldham community learners Irene and Gordon Jones explained how they got to grips with computing thanks to Unite learning rep Stephen Hewitt, in a Q&A session run by unionlearn Union Development Manager Judith Swift.

The couple first met Stephen when they visited the Oldham Council Moorhey Street Department Learning Centre where he is the coordinator.

Gordon enrolled on an online basics course while Irene began

searching online to find the best place to buy a computer for their home.

Stephen also helped set up their broadband service for them a couple of weeks later.

Since the union opened the doors to the online world for them, Irene and Gordon have made contact with dozens of relatives in Australia (some they didn’t even know about before getting online), and have enjoyed several holidays booked on the internet.

Brendan issues business challenge Outgoing TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber used his public farewell to unionlearn to issue a challenge to British business: follow the trade union example and take real action to boost learning and skills.

“The CBI is great at surveying the state of British skills, but when it comes to the action that’s needed to address skills gaps, too often business seems to abdicate any real sense of responsibility,” he argued.

“Where we have led, employers need to follow, so let’s keep pressing for change.”

Union learning was able to help companies take huge strides forward: a skills utilisation plan put together by management and unions at BAE Systems Military Aircraft Division in the north-west had had “spectacular results” – cutting costs by 20 per cent and helping win new orders for the high-tech Typhoon aircraft, he said.

The recent endorsement of unionlearn’s approach by the Organisation for Economic

Co-operation and Development (OECD) represented “a massive vote of confidence in what we do from one of the most prestigious international institutions,” he pointed out.

“Our work isn’t just changing this country, it’s potentially changing the world.”

The annual conference rose as one to give Brendan a standing ovation at the end of his speech, the last he will make at a major learning event before he steps down later this year.

“We wanted to take this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ for all the support you’ve given over the years, and recognise the commitment you have given to ULRs, and all of those working in the field of education and skills,” commented unionlearn Director Tom Wilson.

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» Feature » Health, work and well-being

Feeling good A new health and well-being toolkit will help ULRs support stressed staff Staff who face bullying or are experiencing mental health issues will find themselves in the capable hands of UNISON reps at Cambridge County Council, thanks to training organised by their union.

Schools Organiser and ULR Liz Walker, who took part in a stress and mental health awareness training course, says she would recommend it to all union activists.

“I found the course very informative and learned more about the relevant legislation we can use to protect our members who are being bullied and suffering mental health issues,” she said.

The training day is only one part of a package of help to members offered by the branch, which is keen to promote health and well-being at all levels.

Acting Branch Secretary Rob Turner says that he was called on to support social work staff who faced two headaches – redundancies and the introduction of changes to the way they worked.

“Staff were not just facing uncertainty over jobs but changes to the organisation and the way they work.

And one of the main factors affecting mental health is change; the whole team was stressed,” he recalls.

Discussing strategies to support staff with mental health issues is helping UNISON in Cambridge promote wellbeing at work

The union set out to conduct a stress survey with the social work staff, but when Rob approached the local authority to discuss his intentions, the human resources and health and safety departments decided to roll it out to all 3,500-plus members of the children and young people’s services department.

Once the results of the survey are out later this year, the branch will be working closely with the council to promote health and well-being in the workplace.

“As a result of the survey we will be in a much better position to support staff going through changes and move quickly to help them,” says Rob. The union and its ULRs will look for support in doing that from the unionlearn SERTUC Health, Work and Well-Being Toolkit.

The new resource enables all reps, especially ULRs, to provide employers, fellow workers and the community with relevant information about ill health and poor work.

The toolkit aims to help reps: ❚ raise awareness of what workers can do to improve their health and well-being ❚ raise workplace issues around health and well-being with their employers ❚ find out where they can access further information and resources.

Rob says UNISON plans to offer its stress survey to other organisations in the area to continue to promote best practice.

Did you know?

The estimated cost of working days lost to ill-health every year among the UK working age population is £100 billion a year.

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Health, work and well-being « Feature « All photos: Peter Everard Smith

By organising a stress survey with the council, Cambridge UNISON has put itself in a good position to support staff going through changes

“When it comes to collective bargaining, unions are primarily concerned to improve terms and conditions for their members.

But equally we’re concerned to see safe workplaces, healthy work and work contributing to overall well-being.

Workers want that too: this is core union business.”

Kay Carberry, TUC Assistant General Secretary

Rob also sits on the union’s Eastern Region health and safety committee, which holds an annual event in September. This year’s theme of stress in the workplace will involve work around the new toolkit and how it could be used to benefit members.

The committee is inviting a range of organisations, including the Richmond Fellowship, a specialist provider of mental health services.

“The results of my council’s survey will also be part of the presentation for delegates to take back and use in their own workplaces,” explains Rob. He adds that his UNISON branch has also worked closely with the Richmond Fellowship in supporting staff returning to work – a move, says Rob, that has supported phased return which could be over several months rather than the standard four to six weeks.

“They offer a valuable source of support for our members and ‘educate’ our managers at the same time,” he says.

>> Download the Heath, Work and Well-Being Toolkit from www.unionlearn.org.uk/advice/ learn-4455-f0.cfm

>> Richmond Fellowship

www.richmondfellowship.org.uk

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Making skills count A joint union–management skills project is paying dividends at the home of the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.

Photos: BAE Systems

Unions and management at BAE Systems Military Aircraft and Information Division in Lancashire have boosted productivity, reduced accident rates and built a new culture of mutual respect through a pioneering skills’ utilisation project.

Spread over two sites in Warton and Samlesbury, the division is one of the world’s leading manufacturing and support providers of military aircraft and its 4,000 skilled workers build the Eurofighter Typhoon.

The company originally launched its learning agenda in the 1990s, with shop stewards encouraged to take on the learning rep role to help integrate development across the business.

But demarcation between the 13 different trades among the Aircraft Manufacturing, Maintenance and Support Staff (AMMSS) was a barrier to progress that was identified both by managers and Unite, the union that represented the bulk of AMMSS. Production flows were often halted as one trade waited for another to complete its task before the first could continue.

There was also a widespread awareness that informal skills were not being used to their full potential.

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All that began to change when managers and unions began a series of discussions in 2008 about how to move forward.

“There was a culture change, where people began to see that they weren’t maximising the potential of the skilled population on the shopfloor by giving them more roles and responsibilities,” explains union convenor Phil Entwistle.

Negotiations in weekly meetings over the next 18 months culminated in a new scheme, Working Practice Change, which was based on multi-skilling and continual improvement.

“People began to see that they weren’t maximising the potential of the skilled population on the shopfloor by giving them more responsibilities.”

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Skills’ utilisation « Feature « Putting skills to use Using skills effectively is good for workers, good for business and good for the economy.

Numerous surveys have highlighted how UK workers are becoming better skilled, but too few have the chance to put their skills to best use in the workplace.

One survey revealed that employees’ skills match their duties in only half of UK jobs, while another showed that one-third of permanent workers and four-fifths of agency worker in the UK felt they were not fully using their skills at work.

This created a system to enhance and use skills.

But equally importantly, it introduced a culture in which employees were better able to share and apply their skills and knowledge for the benefit of the company.

From the start, management made a strong commitment that employee engagement would be at the heart of any strategy to improve productivity and cut costs. At the same time the union wanted to secure progression opportunities for AMMSS staff to achieve greater parity with other groups of employees at the site.

This resulted in a series of skills portfolios detailing all the tasks carried out by each trade. Each employee was given an individual skills portfolio plan that identified two additional skillsets from other trades that would help them improve the process on which they worked.

All AMMSS workers signed up to the scheme by the beginning of the second year, with staff receiving pay rises linked to participation.

Management and union set up joint committees to review the use of portfolio skills and to identify the skills necessary to improve processes.

Des Graham, outgoing chair of the ULR group at Samlesbury, says the scheme offered workers the chance to gain recognition for the extra skills they had not had the opportunity to use before; reward for using those skills; and help with gaining extra skills and qualifications.

For the company, changes have meant significant improvements in productivity, as employee hours required to complete one Eurofighter were cut by nearly a fifth.

“No one says, ‘No, that’s not my job’ any more,” Des says.

Learning reps would now like to see a Working Practice Change Mark II, with a further increase in learning to allow people to boost their knowledge base at work.

BAE features in a new unionlearn guide Making the Most of Skills, which is aimed at helping workplace reps negotiate a skills agenda to enable employees to fulfil their potential by acquiring the appropriate skills and putting them to best use. Download the guide at www.unionlearn.org.uk /initiatives/learn-4511-f0.cfm

Unionlearn ran six regional workshops this spring to pass on the findings of the skills’ utilisation project and to promote the Making the Most of Skills guide.

Since the Involvement and Participation Association (IPA) produced the case studies, research report and union reps guide, IPA Director Nita Clarke presented the main findings at each workshop.

Workshops also included discussion of the opportunities and challenges for union capacity-building to empower more employees to make best use of existing and newly acquired skills in their day-to-day work. This included the implications of the skills utilisation agenda for developing ULR roles.

“Another key feature of the discussion at the workshops was the crucial relationship between the employee engagement and skills utilisation agendas, which underpinned the success of the approach in each of the three case studies,” explained unionlearn Senior Policy Officer Iain Murray.

Further resources >> Making Skills Work (research report) www.unionlearn.org.uk/policy/learn1852-f0.cfm#paper17

>>

More information on the skills utilisation project is at www.unionlearn.org.uk/skillsutilisation

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» Feature » Learning centre

Photo: Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

With numerous celebrities visiting the Brighton Cityclean learning centre over the past couple of years, ULR Wes Lee Emond shares some of the secrets of the seaside centre’s success. By Martin Moriarty

Getting on the Cityclean What do Forces’ sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn, Newsnight anchor Jeremy Paxman and charity campaigner Heather Mills all have in common?

They have all visited the GMB learning centre at Brighton Cityclean.

Authors Louis de Bernières and Peter James, actress Julie Walters and broadcaster David Dimbleby have also taken time out of their busy schedules to inspire the centre’s learners to aim higher.

And last summer, the Hollingdean centre even secured the seal of Royal approval when Her Majesty’s representative in East Sussex, Lord Lieutenant Mr Peter Field, presented awards to some of the learners.

The man behind this impressive guest list is union learning rep Wes Lee Emond, a GMB member who decided to help both long-established colleagues and new starters improve their skills having himself returned to learning through the centre.

“If this had been here when I was 18, I would have been a lot further down the line and got a lot further in life,” he says. “But I can help the 18-year-olds and the 22-year-olds who are coming through the door now who don’t have to wait 20 years,” Wes says.

“Day one they come to Cityclean they know that learning carries on, and they try and improve themselves and improve the service and improve their

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lives so they’re they’re better employees, they’re better people, and their children benefit,” he says.

Wes knows that while union learning reps can encourage co-workers to take their first steps back into learning, and support them once they’re underway, what can really make a difference is hearing the stories of people who have made their mark on the world in one way or another.

“It’s easy for a learning rep or a tutor to say to someone ‘You’re doing well’, but when someone they recognise from the television says it, when people of note come and visit them, that gives them encouragement to try to improve,” he explains.

For Wes, it’s all about finding people who have inspired him and seeing if they can come and inspire his colleagues at the learning centre. “I approach certain people because they inspire me – and if they inspire me, they’ll inspire the learners here,” he says.

Dame Vera Lynn, the first of the A-list to visit the centre at his invitation, was an obvious example.

“She is an icon, and her visit was inspirational because of her role during the war singing songs about facing adversity and pushing through,” he says.

Heather Mills confounded a lot of preconceptions by talking candidly about everything she has had to overcome both in public and in private, and her latest

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Learning centre « Feature «

Julie Waters (opposite page), Jeremy Paxman (left, with ULR Wes Lee Emond) and Dame Vera Lynn (right) have all inspired Brighton Cityclean learners by visiting their learning centre

“This isn’t just a learning centre: we’re here to change people’s lives for the better.”

n guestlist adventure taking part in the British disabled ski team’s development squad for the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games.

Newsnight anchor Jeremy Paxman explained how he thinks that his role as a broadcast journalist is to ask the questions the ‘common man’ would want to put to politicians but never gets the chance.

These are not celebrities who swing by as part of a PR tour to flog their latest book, show or exercise video. They are people who come to talk to the learners and listen to their stories because they believe the centre is part of something valuable (and they often specify ‘no press’ so they can concentrate on the learners themselves).

“They come here with no fee and give up their time because they know what we’ve got here is special and there should be more of it – this is what the country needs: anyone who has an interest in society, who’s passionate about the country, will be interested in the learning agenda at Cityclean.”

The celebrity guests have been very impressed with the learning set-up at Cityclean, adds Wes. “Julie Walters said, ‘This is a fantastic place, it’s absolutely marvellous what’s going on here,’” he recalls.

“People have realised this is absolutely fantastic work that the unions and management are doing

together to progress people’s minds and improve their lives.”

But the visitors themselves also get something out of it, according to City Infrastructure Learning and Development Officer (and GMB learning rep) Elaine Sweetman, who runs the Cityclean learning centre with the ULR team.

“The people that we’ve got here have had an awareness of the issues and that’s part of the reason why they’ve come, to support us, but I think they have learned lots from listening to people’s individual stories about how they have overcome generally terrible experiences at school to get to where they are now on their learning journey,” she says.

They haven’t only learned by listening, either.

After his visit, crime author Peter James went out on a dustround with a crew to find out what it would be like and pick up ideas for future books (perhaps unsurprisingly, he was particularly interested in the detail of the potential disposal of the dead bodies that litter his books).

Wes says the key to persuading busy, successful people to come to Cityclean is passion. “We’re driven by passion – this isn’t just about a learning centre: we’re here to change people’s lives for the better,” he says.

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» Interview » Brendan Barber In his last big interview with The Learning Rep before retiring later this year, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber pays tribute to the ULRs who have helped transform union-led learning during his decade in office. By Martin Moriarty When Brendan Barber took the top job at the TUC 10 years ago, there were just 3,000 trained ULRs, unionlearn didn’t exist, and some significant people in the movement were muttering that union-led learning was a distraction from the real business of collective bargaining.

All that has changed as he prepares to leave the organisation to which he’s dedicated the past 37 years of his working life.

There are now almost 28,000 trained learning reps helping almost 250,000 members access learning every year; they have been supported by their own dedicated organisation, unionlearn, since its launch six years ago; and it’s pretty difficult to find any doubters among TUC affiliates these days.

“I’m very proud that we’ve been able to grow this area of work so strongly, and a central part of that is the work done by ULRs, without whose commitment we could not make the impact we are now,” he says.

“They are the human face of the union learning mission: they bargain with the employer to secure real commitment to this agenda; they act as the catalyst for brokering deals with local colleges; and perhaps most crucially of all, they give the confidence to other workers who may be very apprehensive to take that first step back into learning.”

As advocates for learning inside their own unions, ULRs have helped win the argument for union investment in the skills agenda, he says.

“Learning reps are great champions for the cause of learning inside their own unions, with their stories of what a great difference they have been able to make.”

And they have helped change perceptions among employers, the media and the public at large about what unions are for.

“ULRs have demonstrated the truth (which has always been the case but sometimes gets forgotten) that unions are about making working life better for their members,” he says.

By visiting learning projects across the country throughout his tenure at the top, Brendan has learned first-hand just how significantly learning reps have been changing their members’ lives.

He always remembers meeting Stoke ceramics worker Tommy Dawkins, who had trouble reading signs at work, understanding bills at home and shopping in the supermarket until he took a Skills for Life course through his union CATU (now Unity).

Tommy’s speech about his learning journey to TUC

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Congress in 2000 remains firmly lodged in Brendan’s memory, because his testimony from the heart brought home to delegates what it was really like to struggle with literacy.

“I do not know how many of you went for a meal last night,” Tommy said, “but when you picked that menu up, I expect you could read it: you should have seen some of the meals that I have ordered because I could not read – the worst thing is that I have had to eat them because no one could know.”

It was after a visit to Stoke to meet some of the ceramics workers that Tommy was then helping improve their Skills for Life that Brendan received a memorable packet through the post.

“It was a bundle of 12 individual letters from members who had been on a literacy course and written to say ‘Thank you’ to the trade union movement through me – and for all of them, this was the first letter they had ever written in their lives,” he recalls.

“It was one of the most moving things I’d ever received, a fantastically touching gesture that brought home to me just how important this work is.”

While the TUC and many of its affiliates were already active around learning and skills a decade ago, it was the creation of unionlearn in 2006 that really ramped up union involvement in this crucial element of economic well-being.

Brendan says the organisation has fulfilled all his hopes for it over the past six years, with the phenomenal growth in the number of ULRs now helping nigh on a quarter of a million workers access learning every year, and the organisation now stewarding the Union Learning Fund, which was originally run from the old Department for Education and Skills.

“I think it’s been a positive move that has reaped dividends: the fact that unionlearn was recognised as a hugely valuable part of the learning system in the country when the coalition government took office in 2010 is a tremendous tribute to the quality of the work that has been done under its banner,” he says.

Although he has announced he will be leaving the TUC later this year, Brendan has not yet got to grips with what learning targets he might set himself (beyond improving his golf swing).

“Until you make the change, it’s hard to anticipate what you might do, but certainly there’ll be some further learning, perhaps a foreign language, and with the University of the Third Age, there may be all sorts of things I find myself interested in,” he says.

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Brendan Barber « Interview «

“It’s all about the learning reps”

MY GOOD READ The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck “The search for dignity for working people in the depression years in the United States inspired me when I first read it as a teenager and whenever I pick it up again, I’m reminded what a wonderful writer John Steinbeck is.”

Photo: Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

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» Feature » Reading groups

Photo: Peter Smith

By

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Reading groups « Feature « When you start a reading group at work, you can help support your members in more ways than one. By Astrid Stubbs

y the book Melissa Brown knows the value of literacy better than most, having worked for seven years as a library assistant before becoming learning project worker for UNISON’s Norfolk County Branch last year.

No wonder she jumped at the chance when Quick Reads offered to provide the books to set up a reading group at City College in Norfolk.

“At the time, I had no idea who would become a member of our book group or where they would work: we put up posters and stewards sent emails until people came forward to take part,” Melissa recalls.

The reading group now includes a student adviser, an administrator, a teacher, a help desk adviser and an admissions clerk. As the members came from all corners of the college, Melissa carefully chose the venue to ensure it would be easy for everyone to access.

“Many are already readers, but they love Quick Reads as they can read them rapidly to fit in with busy lives,” she says.

“We have been lucky that the group is very encouraging and supportive of each others’ opinions of the books,” she says.

“The members have a passion for reading but before joining the group didn’t always take the time to read. Because of the length of the Quick Reads titles, they are able to make time to read and reflect on the characters and message of the book from their perspective within the group.”

Group member Joan Girling, Student Employer Partnership Co-ordinator at City College, Norwich, says she enjoys the Quick Reads, which have spurred her on to read more titles by the different authors.

“It’s also great to have a discussion on what other people think and with people you may not see every day. It’s a nice break, too.”

“It’s great to have a discussion on what other people think about a book with people you may not see every day.”

Coming together during a reorganisation of City College, the book group has given its members a safe place to escape from the stresses of restructuring and allowed staff to form friendships with their colleagues and offer each other support, Melissa points out.

“As we have read all the Quick Reads titles gifted to us, I have now set up the group with a reading group card at the library so they can help support their local library by borrowing future titles,” she says.

Melissa believes reading exposes people to new ideas and gives them insight into other peoples’ lives, as well as improving literacy.

“Because of their short length and engaging stories, Quick Reads mean our members don’t have to struggle to find time to read: instead they can be sucked into a book during their lunch hour and just enjoy it,” she says.

“Reading of all types is a useful form of learning we should encourage all our members to do,” she says.

RESOURCES

>> The Reading Group Toolkit

for ULRs includes hints and tips on getting started, facilitating sessions and evaluating your group. You can download it from www.unison.org.uk/laos/ publications.asp

>> Quick Reads has also produced

a free, downloadable toolkit, which contains ideas and activities for using the titles to help build confidence and improve maths, reading, writing and communication skills. http://tinyurl.com/ccbujm4

How to set up your own book group A new UNISON toolkit offers all the help and practical tips ULRs need to help run their own book groups.

The union developed the toolkit with Quick Reads after a UNISON survey revealed that a staggering number of people are not confident about reading or speaking up in groups.

The survey showed that many people didn’t feel confident reading long documents or presenting their ideas in public, says UNISON Skills for Life Lead Davinder Kaur Sandhu, who co-wrote the toolkit with Sue Southwood of NIACE. “We had 27,000 people respond to the survey and if people are not confident in literacy and speaking out, it means they will not be confident about speaking out about things in their workplace or in their local community,” she says.

Davinder says reading groups have huge potential to improve morale at work, and can develop job-related skills such as reading and speaking in a group, creative, independent and critical thinking and the ability to question, read between the lines and compare and contrast information.

Sue Southwood says that Quick Reads do more than help adults start reading for the first time or redevelop the habit of reading.

“Research on reading groups in workplace and community settings clearly shows they can boost confidence in both reading and communication skills, as well as bring people together to enjoy sharing and discussing books,” she says.

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» Feature » ALW awards

Lighting up the coalfield

Photos: Chris Brown

When Castleford Community Learning Centre near Wakefield first opened its doors in 1985, the women behind the project had no idea it would still be thriving 27 years later.

Castleford Community Learning Centre has helped 50,000 people access a wide range of courses

Castleford Community Learning Centre collected the Inspiring Learning Project award from NIACE during Adult Learners’ Week this year.

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They originally conceived of the centre after travelling across the country to galvanise support for the miners during the 1984–5 strike: visiting university campuses (and other places) opened their eyes to opportunities they’d never had.

“The women had the feeling that they’d really missed out, and if we were going to do anything after the strike, we were going to get stuck into education in the sense of having a second chance,” explains centre principal Margaret Handforth.

When the miners from the surrounding collieries went back to work in 1985, the women of Castleford set about opening the learning centre they’d been thinking about to help the whole community.

They persuaded the local council to let them use some derelict town centre premises, recycled their furniture from nearby Fryston pit, and had their first publicity leaflet printed by the local branch of AUEW-TASS (now part of Unite).

The numbers of people through the doors on the first day they opened proved they’d been right: there was no question about the huge demand for learning in the area.

“That first day lasted two weeks, it was absolutely unbelievable: from that fortnight we had 48 courses that people wanted, from dressmaking and photography to languages and psychology,” Margaret recalls.

Once they knew the size of the task ahead of them, the women started making phone calls to the local adult education service, social services, economic development, Wakefield College and both nearby universities (Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan) to set up a meeting to thrash out a plan of action.

“During the strike, we’d made an awful lot of contacts with people who had plenty of clout who were able to get things moving for us,” Margaret says.

While learning was soon underway with tutors from the universities and the colleges, finding money to cover the running costs became a major task – the centre had opened a bank account with the princely sum of one pound.

The women were nothing if not inventive: for a year they ran a market stall in the town, selling mining memorabilia on behalf of NUM officials in Barnsley, taking £2 commission for everything they sold.

They also successfully applied for a £10,000 grant from the county council before it was abolished – and were so concerned about doing the right thing with taxpayers’ money that they took two years to spend the first £2,000 of it: Margaret can still remember the discussion about whether it would be acceptable to use some of the cash to buy a new electric kettle.

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ALW awards « Feature «

ds with learning The learning centre quickly became a focal point for the community. “After the strike, the community needed something to cling to: we were a crutch that kept people on their feet,” Margaret says.

After 14 years in its original building, the centre moved into purpose-built premises in the former DHSS offices in the town centre, and six years ago the centre opened its doors to the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) trade union programme, with the help of unionlearn.

“I met a woman on a train to London who told me she started her diploma with the learning centre, went on to do a degree and is now a trainer for the biggest construction company in the country.”

In the nearly three decades since the centre opened, its top quality Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) has helped nearly 50,000 adult into learning – a massive achievement in an area of major deprivation and high unemployment.

Margaret says she has now lost count of the number of community learners who have progressed to degree level and transformed their lives as a result.

“I met a woman on a train to London who told me she started her diploma with the learning centre, went on to do a degree and is now a trainer for the biggest construction company in the country,” she says.

“She told me, ‘I know so many people whose lives have been changed through coming to the Castleford Community Learning Centre’.”

It’s only just begun for carpenter Karen London carpenter and UCATT member Karen King won the NIACE Learning Works Award during Adult Learners’ Week.

After starting work abroad in the late 1980s, Karen returned to the UK, completed her NVQ Level 3 in carpentry in 2001 and went to work for the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham.

It wasn’t only hard to be a woman in that environment at the time: it was also difficult to get safety issues taken seriously, and Karen eventually left the authority when managers branded her a trouble-maker for raising safety concerns and asking for training.

“I then embarked on the TUC Level 1 course in occupational health at Lewisham College Trade Union Studies Unit and progressed from there,” she says.

After taking the TUC Discussion Leaders course at the college, Karen became a UCATT learning rep, and credits the union’s National Training and Education Coordinator Jeff Hopewell with helping her personal development and her career.

“I didn’t want to stop: I’ve got a craving for learning!” she says.

She now works as a trainer for the Construction Skills Certification Scheme, and was thrilled to receive her award.

“I became a ULR because I want to make sure people get the information they need to learn: winning the award is a big bonus,” she says.

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» Round-up » Adult Learners’ Week Union learning projects across the country encouraged people to try something new on Learning At Work Day and throughout Adult Learners’ Week in May.

Getting set for summer Staff at the Caterpillar factory in Peterlee, Durham, had the chance to prepare for the good weather we haven’t seen much of with a brick barbecue building session on Learning At Work Day in May. As well as traditional learning with Maths, English and IT, there were also opportunities in guitar, holiday Spanish, digital photography, making a video and scooter maintenance.

There was a raft of health and well-being pursuits for mind, body and spirit, including zumba, boxercise, circuit training and sessions on the science of happiness.

One of the most intriguing tasters on offer was an outline of a scuba dive – held in the car park of Caterpillar’s Learning Centre of Light by The Diving Centre.

Numeracy and literacy assessments were carried out using mobile assessment tools supplied by unionlearn, which allow learners to test their skills at a time and place to suit them.

“We hope the taster sessions

and the information provided on the day help promote and increase awareness of the importance of learning a new skill – whether for career or recreational purposes,” said Unite Shop Steward Rennie Simpson.

Northern TUC Regional Secretary Kevin Rowan said that Caterpillar had wholly embraced the Learning At Work Day ethos, making sure that there was something for absolutely everyone, no matter what their interests or motivations.

“It is always our pleasure and privilege to be able to support such committed projects where unions and employers are working

together to provide the best for employees, colleagues and even communities,” Kevin said.

Other Northern region union–employer partnership events during Adult Learners’ Week involved a variety of employers, ranging from manufacturing and local authorities to housing associations, government departments and food and drink and utilities suppliers.

These included South Tyneside Council, Nestlé, EDF Energy, Sunderland City Council, East Coast Trains, Vela Group, Sunderland City Council, Cavaghan & Gray and Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Caterpillar staff try out guitar (left) and massage during Learning At Work Day

Everyone has green fingers Staff at BAE Systems Radway Green had the chance to learn how to make a beautiful hanging basket in an event designed to develop their horticultural skills.

Training was provided by Reaseheath Agricultural College and supported by Radway Green’s well-being committee.

“Our aim is to get our people more active, develop healthy pastimes and to enjoy the fresh air,” said Steve Saxon, lead ULR and Unite assistant convenor at Radway Green.

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“We eventually hope to develop a gardening club, with expert tuition from the college.”

Radway Green General Manager John Moorby added: “It’s very important that we support healthy lifestyle initiatives – one of the reasons why we were recently awarded the North West Wellbeing Charter award at excellence level, one of the first companies in Cheshire to receive this award.”

Radway Green staff admire the hanging baskets they created during Adult Learners’ Week

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Adult Learners’ Week « Round-up «

Making skills appointments at London surgery

Putting faith in the future The Bakers, Food & Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) supported a day of learning at St Matthews church in Criftins, Shropshire.

Participants took the chance to try out a range of different activities in taster sessions that tackled issues including computer awareness, craft skills and financial advice.

BFAWU’s Meeting Points project at the church offers learning opportunities, money advice and care opportunities to the wider community – unrelated to the church.

The project is particularly targeted at supporting the unemployed and those

with debt problems in the Oswestry and North Shropshire districts. Meeting Points has three fully trained money and debt advisers, enabling it to reach all members of the community, including the elderly, young families and those experiencing exclusion.

BFAWU is increasing its work with the community to support people looking for a job in the baking industry, who now have to go through an assessment for employment before an interview. The union seeks to reach people in different communities so that they can boost their skills, update their CVs and acquire or improve their IT skills.

Stoke supermarket staff check it out Shopworkers’ union Usdaw held a three-day learning event at Sainsbury’s distribution centre in Stoke-on-Trent.

The days were filled with digital photography, dressmaking, crafts and IT tasters.

Stoke College offered Skills for Life assessments and all shifts were covered to ensure everybody had a chance to access learning in the dedicated learning centre.

The event culminated in the presentation of Skills for Life certificates to learners.

Lambeth Walk GP Practice invited patients and other members of the local community to a day of informal learning at the south London surgery during Adult Learners’ Week.

A member of the practice showed people how to identify the major organs in the body in a session called Where are your Bits and Pieces?; while a reading group opened up the world of books. There were also tips on how to grow your own vegetables plus a tailoring workshop.

As well as running a stall, unionlearn SERTUC’s Oreleo Du Cran and Lambeth UNISON ULR Sheila Simpson ran online basics sessions throughout the day, which helped introduce people to computing fundamentals.

More than 35 people who took part in the online basics sessions run throughout the day signed up to take a formal IT qualification later this year.

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» Round-up » Adult Learners’ Week

Unionlearn joined forces with UNISON’s Dorset County Council Branch to stage a long lunchtime event in Dorchester’s Corn Exchange.

Dorset County Council staff improved their cycling safety

UNISON achieved a very positive buy-in from the local authority, with which the union has a learning agreement.

Sessions included safe barbecue cooking; cycle safety; an introduction to first aid; and wildlife gardening.

There were also Skills for Life and digital photography sessions offered by Dorset Adult Learning, while First Dorset Credit Union was on hand to help people manage their money and support those in difficulty.

Other activities included green skills with sessions from West Dorset District Council Recycling Officer Dave Levi and Jim Sherman, a solar panel expert from Bridport, plus the chance to try wicker weaving and cake decoration as well as a community singing workshop delivered

by Jane Silver-Corran.

Keith Hatch of unionlearn said he hoped the event would promote union learning and recruit new ULRs as well as being a springboard for more learning activities in the workplace.

Rail project steams ahead Rail union members learn first aid at Newcastle Central Station

A partnership learning project between train operator East Coast and rail unions Aslef, RMT and TSSA held a bumper workplace learning event at the Central Station in Newcastle.

The event was open to the 350-plus East Coast staff and their families, and Lord Lieutenant Nigel Sherlock, the Queen’s representative in Tyne and Wear, joined in the on-site activities.

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A big draw was the Driver Simulator Challenge, which allows budding drivers to experience what it’s like to drive an East Coast train, complete with a full-size control panel and real-time screen showing their location.

Other sessions included holiday Spanish; making the most of technology; guitar lessons; and first aid.

UNISON members learned how to avoid kitchen or barbecue disasters

Photos: Geoff Moore/Dorset Media

Council staff get on the move

Kicking off less than a year ago, the union-led project is already creating a huge buzz and has steamed ahead since train driver Tony Paul climbed aboard as a ULR. With valuable support from management, Tony has been responsible for setting up a Collective Learning Fund.

“We are still a really young project but I can’t believe just how much the learning agenda has taken off and been embraced by absolutely everyone at East Coast,” Tony says.

“It’s been lots of hard work but an amazing success and myself and the other ULRs are ‘full of busy’!”

East Coast Driver Team Manager Bob Howes says the management–union partnership shows what can be achieved when people come together.

“For me, the greatest outcome is giving staff opportunities – and Tony has done just that,” Bob says.

“I am looking forward to the future and I am sure more people will be given the chance to develop and be proud of the success that they will most certainly achieve!”

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TUC Education with unionlearn « Roundup «

James Shipley says it with hands during the deaf awareness course at Tesco in Long Eaton

Every little sign language skill helps Two ULRs at the Tesco store in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, have been helping colleagues improve their customer skills with deaf awareness learning.

Michelle Coleman and Angela Scanlon started by organising a deaf awareness course for their colleagues.

“We ran a basic deaf awareness course for 12 learners in the store and it was so successful that people wanted to carry on and do more,” says Usdaw Lifelong Learning Project Worker Neil Chapman.

As a result, both Michelle and Angela signed up to a free British Sign Language Level 1 course run at South Notts College, which has won a unionlearn Quality Award.

The women also had the bright idea of linking with the area’s deaf community: they visited Stanton Vale Community Special School in Long Eaton, where learners practise in the classroom with youngsters who communicate by sign.

“It’s a great arrangement: the children love it as they get to see new faces and we get to practise our new skills and techniques,” Michelle explains.

Union members from Usdaw and UNISON also joined the course from Tesco South Wigston, Bulwell, Rugby and Lincoln, as well as at the Trade Union City Learning Centre in Nottingham.

The course is delivered at times convenient for the learners, with the college completely flexible and catering for all shift patterns.

Tailored for shopfloor members of staff, the course teaches them signs they may need to know when being asked, for instance, where certain products are.

Summer school set for autumn The Eighth Annual Women Officers Summer School runs from Monday 15 to Friday 19 October 2012, to avoid clashing with the London Olympics.

TUC Head of Equality and Employment Rights Sarah Veale will discuss employment law, while TUC Senior Equality Policy Officer Sally Brett will focus on equality law.

Former CWU Deputy General Secretary Jeannie Drake, a member of the board of the Pension Protection Fund, will talk about key pension issues for women.

Other sessions will cover organising women and vulnerable workers; and international networking, with participants and experts from outside the UK. There will also be the chance to learn professional presentation skills and hear from senior women officers about their careers and experiences in the trade union movement.

>> TUC Education Trust offers a number

of bursaries to support participation in the course. For more information and an application form, contact tdaly@tuc.org.uk

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» Roundup » TUC Education with unionlearn

Role model Rita r

Photos: Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

Rita Stephen may have stepped down from her role at the Mary Macarthur Trust, where she spent decades helping working women access learning opportunities, but she’s still progressing her own education.

By Astrid Stubbs

“Rita is an inspiration and role model for women trade unionists, just as Mary Macarthur was before her.”

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TUC Education with unionlearn « Roundup «

remains hungry to learn At the age of 86, former Mary Macarthur Educational Trust stalwart Rita Stephen is a shining example of the power of learning.

The spritely octogenerian has relaxed, but only a little, since stepping down from her job as a national officer with the GMB union in 1991.

But she still spends lots of time attending lectures; has enrolled on a lip-reading course at her local community college; and even admits to being very tempted to apply to The Open University!

She also communicates happily by email; surfs the net when she wants to chase information; and loves to use her e-reader.

Little wonder, then, that she served for decades as trustee, secretary and treasurer of the prestigious Mary Macarthur Trust, now part of the TUC Educational Trust, which has helped hundreds of women to improve their knowledge and skills with grants to carry on their education.

Rita, who left school at 15, is herself a recipient of a TUC scholarship.

One of her first jobs was in a Glasgow telephone exchange: there she began a lifetime’s work for the movement by stepping into the breach when her union rep joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS).

It was through the Union of Post Office Workers (now part of CWU) that she won a scholarship to the London School of Economics (LSE) for a course in trade union studies from 1957–58.

She followed that by securing a further scholarship to Canada, where she spent a year at McGill University, travelling from coast to coast, meeting trade unionists and making lifelong friends along the way.

Rita became involved with the Trust in the 1960s, one of a handful of steadfast volunteers who have run the fund since its inception.

Since then, hundreds of women have benefitted from the fund and its support for their further education.

One of its recipients went on to become the first woman factory inspector, says Rita.

“Having a scholarship made me feel that it was a very good thing to encourage active members to get into, and stay in, education,” she says.

“I’m very glad to have had the chance to keep the Trust going: it’s highly satisfying to help people who could do well academically but who would not have had the chance otherwise,” she recalls.

“And if they were in the field of helping others as a result, that was in their favour, and quite a thrill for us.”

The TUC has always been there as a support for her, she says.

“Perhaps because of my initial scholarship I’ve always seen it as a friendly resource and encouraged other people in that view.”

Incoming TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady says Rita has proved a worthy successor to Mary Macarthur herself: “Rita is an inspiration and role model for women trade unionists, just as Mary Macarthur was before her,” Frances says.

For Liz Rees, Head of TUC Education and Secretary to the TUC Educational Trust, it has been a pleasure to work with Rita over the years, especially on the administration of the Mary Macarthur Trust.

“The TUC Educational Trust Trustees will ensure that its good work continues,” she says.

The Mary Macarthur Trust was established in memory of Mary Macarthur, Emma Patterson, Lady Dilke and Jessie Stephen, early twentieth-century trade union leaders whose aim was to advance the educational opportunities of working women. The TUC Educational Trust, which has now taken over the work of the Trust, will continue this work, initially by supporting the TUC Women Officers’ Summer School with nine bursaries a year.

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» Roundup » TUC Education with unionlearn

Letting a thousand flowers bloom “I went along just to find out a bit more about how it all worked!”

Those were the famous last words of firefighter Simon Jakeman before he dipped a toe into learning and found himself studying for an Open University degree and changing lives all around him.

Simon, who’s based at Surbiton Fire Station in London, was inspired to start studying again after taking his eldest son to view potential secondary schools.

“I saw so much opportunity to go down different paths.

I realised as you get older you seem to channel your career down a smaller and smaller path so changing that seemed like a good idea.”

He decided to take advantage of a learning opportunity offered by the FBU’s Lifelong Learning project through the Open University’s Openings courses, which act as an introduction to higher education.

“I decided to choose the environment course as I already had an interest in this area having studied A-Level geography at college, 20 years ago,” he says.

Openings courses last for about 20 weeks with about six hours a week study, which Simon found possible to schedule around work and a busy family.

Unsurprisingly, studying reignited his passion for the subject area and Simon is now taking a BA/BSc in Environmental Studies through the The OU. “While I was waiting for the course to start, I completed a further two Level 1 courses in astronomy and science, just to keep my mind in the zone!” he says.

28 » autumn 2012

Simon has now recycled his knowledge in his role as Surbiton’s Green Champion.

“The fire station recycling system is now working well and a Green Issue notice board has been placed in the mess. A garden has been created on the flat roof, where we have actually grown our own station fruit and vegetables. Surbiton also won the greenest fire station competition this year with a noticeable reduction to our energy consumption,” he says.

“Other work colleagues have responded positively as I have passed on the knowledge learned during my courses but I have always ensured not to preach but just give a gentle nudge and this has allowed them to come on board at their own pace.”

In addition, Simon has created his own local community project The Great BiG Earth DiG to encourage neighbours, friends and family to become more sustainable by growing their own food.

“As you can see, union learning has inspired me beyond measure in studying and using my new-found knowledge both personally and in my career,” he adds.

FBU London Region Learning Co-ordinator Tim Davis, who helped arrange the Openings courses, is delighted with the response from fire brigade staff, as over 100 people attended the presentations.

“It’s brilliant that so many potential learners took up this opportunity and when somebody like Simon uses it as a springboard to more learning and improving lives for others it makes it even more worthwhile,” he adds.

Thanks to Simon, learning is growing at his workplace and in his community

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TUC Education with unionlearn « Roundup «

Eric and Stan’s legacies to learning E R I C H OY E S Eric Hoyes, who died this year aged 70, worked in TUC Education for 23 years.

When Eric started work at the TUC in the late 1960s, the college was based at Congress House, but later moved to the National Education Centre when it opened in Hornsey, north London, in 1984.

Eric led the Education Service work on employment law for union officers and many senior officials in the movement were trained by him in everything from employment law basics to tribunal representation.

Eric came to the TUC from Ruskin College, which he attended on a scholarship from the NUM. He had previously worked as a pit electrician at Markham Colliery in Chesterfield and remained close to friends and old colleagues in the mining community and was very active during the 1984–5 strike.

His commitment to trade union values was absolute and he believed that union reps’ role in the community was as important as in the workplace.

He developed and delivered a valuable programme on social security benefits for trade union officials and he supported many through claims and tribunals after he retired in 1992.

Eric’s enthusiasm for betting on the horses was matched only by his tendency to lose, a fact that colleagues kept in mind once they had been the recipient of one or two of his tips.

He loved cricket and once bowled Neil Kinnock for a duck at a match between the TUC staff and a Norman Willis invitation XI. He was a Spurs supporter and was passionate about music, particularly Bob Dylan, whose songs he sang at the top of his voice whenever the mood took him.

At his funeral service, his daughters Melanie and Janice spoke of how much he was loved, how he enjoyed his life right to the end and how he will be missed by his wife Chooi (whom he met and married at Ruskin), and by his friends and family.

Eric is remembered with great affection by friends and colleagues past and present at the TUC.

Eric Hoyes (far left, kneeling) loved cricket and once bowled Labour leader Neil Kinnock for a duck

S TA N G R E AV E S Stan Greaves, a key player in the development of trade union education during the 1970s and 1980s, has died at the age of 77.

Stan Greaves made everyone feel they were working for a common cause

Stan worked for the TUC from 1968 until 1993. For most of that period he was in charge of the regional education officers who manage the delivery of a service to thousands of union reps and officers, equipping them with the skills needed to represent their members.

Kindly and humorous, Stan was a unique and well-loved character, with a memorable turn of phrase.

No matter how difficult the job (and he managed the work during the most difficult of times), Stan was known for his commitment to the high standards that he expected from those working for the trade union movement.

He always reminded colleagues that working for the trade union movement was a privilege.

Following his retirement, he and his wife Anne, who had been health and safety officer first for Nalgo and then UNISON, moved to Swaffham in Norfolk where they

played a big role in the local community.

Anne died in 2010 and Stan spent his final few months in a nursing home.

Many former colleagues paid tribute to Stan.

“Despite a heavy workload and often having to deal with difficult issues and sometimes difficult people, Stan was always keen to make newcomers welcome to the TUC and made everyone feel that they were part of a small group working together for a common purpose,” commented TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber.

Liz Rees, Head of TUC Education, recalled how Stan was well-known for his pithy aphorisms.

“When I was appointed to this post, he advised me not to forget that a good number of people I met would think they could do a better job than I could – and half of them would be right!” she said.

“They were words to live by, I always thought.”

Donations in Stan’s memory can be made to Mencap via the funeral directors Chapmans, Lynn Road, Swaffham, PE37 7AY.

autumn 2012 «

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» Contacts

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

» Unionlearn

» U-Net centres

» North West

» Union contacts

Tel: 020 7079 6920 Fax: 020 7079 6921 unionlearn@tuc.org.uk www.unionlearn.org.uk Director Tom Wilson Tel: 020 7079 6922 twilson@tuc.org.uk

Helen Gagliasso Tel: 0191 227 5567 hgagliasso@tuc.org.uk

Regional Manager Dave Eva Tel: 0151 236 2321 Union Development Coordinator Tony Saunders Liverpool office Tel: 0151 236 2321 Manchester office Tel: 0161 445 0077 Regional Education Officer Peter Holland Tel: 0151 243 2564

Aslef Shirley Handsley Tel: 07739 473 174 shirley.handsley@aslef.org.uk Aspect Nelly Tackla-Wright Tel: 01226 383 428 nelly@aspect.org.uk ATL Kate Quigley Tel: 020 7782 1558 kquigley@atl.org.uk BECTU Brian Kelly Tel: 020 7346 0900 bkelly@bectu.org.uk BFAWU John Vickers Tel: 01132 565 925 john.vickers@bfawu.org BSU Vikki Botham Tel: 07717 805 521 vikki.powell@britannia.co.uk Community Tom Davis Tel: 01562 749 170 tom.davis@communitas.org.uk CSP Penny Bromley Tel: 020 7306 6666 pbromley@csp.org.uk CWU Trish Lavelle Tel: 020 8971 7340 tlavelle@cwu.org Equity Louise Grainger Tel: 020 7670 0214 lgrainger@equity.org.uk FBU Trevor Shanahan Tel: 07917 759 473 trevor.shanahan@fbu.org.uk FDA Neil Rider Tel: 020 7401 5575 neil@fda.org.uk NAPO Jonathan Ledger Tel: 020 7223 4887 jledger@napo.org.uk NASUWT Stephen Smith Tel: 0121 453 6150 lifelong.learning@mail.nasuwt.org.uk NUJ Linda King Tel: 020 7843 3717 lindak@nuj.org.uk NUM Chris Skidmore Tel: 01226 215 555 rossomain@fsmail.net NUT Andrew Parry Williams Tel: 020 7380 4800/4780 learning.reps@nut.org.uk PCS David McEvoy Tel: 020 7801 2727 ext 2360 david.mcevoy@pcs.org.uk

» National unionlearn managers Standards and Quality Ian Borkett Tel: 020 7079 6940 iborkett@tuc.org.uk Communications James Asser Tel: 020 7079 6942 jasser@tuc.org.uk Trade Union Education Liz Rees Tel: 020 7079 6923 lrees@tuc.org.uk Union Development Judith Swift Tel: 0151 243 2568 jswift@tuc.org.uk Business and Finance Catherine McClennan Tel: 07795 606 982 cmcclennan@tuc.org.uk Informal Adult Learning Joe Fearnehough Tel: 0151 236 7678 jfearnehough@tuc.org.uk Policy Iain Murray Tel: 020 7467 1264 imurray@tuc.org.uk Apprenticeships Fred Grindrod Tel: 020 7079 1367 fgrindrod@tuc.org.uk

30 » autumn 2012

» Website Ben Furber Tel: 020 7079 6943 bfurber@tuc.org.uk

» Southern and Eastern Tel: 020 7467 1251 Regional Manager Barry Francis Union Development Coordinator Jon Tennison Regional Education Officers Rob Hancock Theresa Daly

» Midlands Tel: 0121 236 4454 Regional Manager Mary Alys Union Development Coordinator Gary O’Donnell Regional Education Officer Pete Try

» Northern Regional Manager Kevin Rowan Tel: 0191 227 5565 Union Development Coordinator Beth Farhat Tel: 0191 227 5576 Regional Education Officer Ian West Tel: 0191 227 5572

» South West Regional Manager Helen Cole Tel: 0117 947 0521 Union Development Coordinator Ros Etheridge Regional Education Officer Marie Hughes Tel: 0117 933 4443

» Yorkshire and the Humber Tel: 0113 245 4909 Regional Manager Alan Roe Union Development Coordinator Sharon Burke Regional Education Officer Trevor Sargison Tel: 0113 200 1071

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Calendar «

PFA Alan Irwin Tel: 07717 467 718 ieteuk@yahoo.co.uk POA Phil Kelly Tel: 020 8803 1761 pkellypoa@yahoo.co.uk Prospect Rachel Bennett Tel: 020 7902 6687 rachel.bennett@prospect.org.uk RCM Denise Linay Tel: 020 7312 3422 denise.linay@rcm.org.uk RCN Linda McBride Tel: 020 7647 3855 linda.mcbride@rcn.org.uk RMT Teresa Williams Tel: 07881 812 244 t.williams@rmt.org.uk SCP Liz Salem Tel: 01625 829 396 liz@scpod.org TSSA Sal Morawetz Tel: 020 7529 8049 morawetzs@tssa.org.uk UCATT Jeff Hopewell Tel: 01302 360 725 jhopewell@ucatt.org.uk UFS Patricia Mayo Tel: 01242 253 259 patricia.mayo@ufsdirect.org UNISON Joanna Cain Tel: 020 7551 1700 j.cain@unison.co.uk Unite Jim Mowatt Tel: 020 7611 2780 jim.mowatt@unitetheunion.org.uk Unite Jim Telford Tel: 07980 874 662 jim.telford@unitetheunion.org Unity Gerald Crookes Tel: 01782 280 588 geraldcrookes@unitytheunion.org.uk URTU Graham Cooper Tel: 07795 562 874 grahamcurtu@yahoo.co.uk USDAW Ann Murphy Tel: 0161 224 2804 ann.murphy@usdaw.org.uk

Forthcoming events For full details of the events and details of events arranged after we went to press, go to the unionlearn website www.unionlearn.org.uk/events

August 7

Equality & Diversity Forum (North West)

September 5 9–12 18 19 21 26 28

Equality & Diversity Forum (North West) TUC Congress, Brighton East of England ULR network meeting South East ULR network meeting Derbyshire ULR Forum Wolverhampton ULR Forum Birmingham ULR Forum

October 2 4 30

Equality & Diversity Forum (North West) Go Online Workshop, Birmingham (Midlands) Unionlearn Midlands regional conference, Coventry (tbc)

November 8 13

Go Online Workshop, Birmingham (Midlands) Unionlearn SERTUC regional conference, London

autumn 2012 «

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Resources « Roundup «

Fmrateerieals

Order now from www.unionlearn.org.uk/freebooks And postage and packing is also free

Delivering better learning agreements When negotiating channels are established with the employer it is time to discuss making a learning agreement. This practical guide for trade union reps and officers discusses what learning agreements are, what they should cover and provides a template for a framework agreement.

new

Health, work and well-being toolkit One of the most important roles a trade union can play is to ensure the welfare, health and safety of its members. This toolkit discusses strategies and initiatives to identify and overcome ill-health issues at work.

Reaching communities – the community learning toolkit This toolkit has been specifically developed for union learning representatives (ULRs), community learning champions (CLCs) and other learning advocates but can be used by any trade union and community representatives working to promote and support learning.

Negotiator’s guide for Bargaining for Skills A guide for union negotiators on engaging employers in bargaining for skills which sets the scene for putting learning and skills on the bargaining table. The guide is aimed at union reps and officers who are in negotiating positions, but helps everyone representing union members in the workplace.

Research Paper 16 – The role and impact of unions on learning and skills policy and practice: a review of the research Unionlearn has commissioned 15 research papers and an in-depth evaluation over the last five years. The research is focused on the role of unions in learning and skills policy and practice and covers a range of topics. This research paper is a summary of all this research.

new Making the most of skills – a guide for reps There is a consensus that supporting workers to improve their skills is essential in the pursuit of the twin aims of improving the nation’s economic competitiveness and achieving greater social justice.

However, in recent years the evidence has been growing that enabling individual employees to acquire new skills is only one part of the equation.

Disability and work: a trade union guide to the law and good practice This guide has been written to assist unions in challenging discrimination and in negotiating good policy and practice. It includes up-to-date case studies, examples of audits and monitoring, and a full resource list.

Spread the word about the work of ULRs and learning project workers by ordering more copies of The Learning Rep. Give them to colleagues at work, learners and anyone interested in union learning.

Scan this code to go straight to the link for The Learning Rep mailing list or to order additional copies.