The Learnign Rep - Summer 07

the

learningrep Âť Summer 07

Tomorrow’s workforce Training the next generation

www.unionlearn.org.uk

» Comment

One year on Unionlearn has celebrated its first birthday, and much has been achieved since Gordon Brown formally launched us in May last year.

At our first birthday conference this year, hundred of participants heard how we’re making progress towards our targets of 22,000 ULRs, as well as 250,000 union learners a year by 2010. We could also boast of a series of new partnerships that we’ve built during the year with a number of key players in the learning world.

We are now building partnerships with the Sector Skills Councils (SSC) and learndirect. An immediate benefit from the agreement with learndirect is unionlearn’s new careers advice service which learndirect is providing.

This edition of The Learning Rep is a special, which has been supported by the Sector Skills Development Agency. We attach great importance to unions working with the SSCs. This issue carries some important items about a range of sectors from retail and transport, to energy, Government, and audio-visual. I very much appreciated the positive words of Mark Fisher the SSDA’s Chief Executive on the opposite page.

Now unionlearn starts its second year with some real challenges. We’ve taken over the £12.5 million Union Learning Fund. We must win more union-employer learning agreements, and help unions to get employers to sign up to the “skills pledge”. We must build union strength through learning, and ensure that we get the best deal for those who’ve had the least, while making the case for higher level skills – and pathways into them – that will enable the UK to be with the best in 2020 and beyond.

Liz Smith Director, unionlearn The Learning Rep, summer 07 Editor: Mike Power mpower@tuc.org.uk Writers: Astrid Stubbs, Martin Moriarty Design: Redhouse Lane Communications Print: Ancient House Printing Group Distribution: Cavalier mailing Cover photo: Siemens apprentice Alwyn Boxill

by John Jones.

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Contents: 3 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 25 28 30 32 34 36 38 39 40

Welcome Taking the pledge Let’s SCC what we can do Fuel for thought Go East Keeping unions in the picture All the skills that’s fit for print Supermarket sweep Have Mersey on us all And ... action!

You’re hired!

Overcoming the Olympic skills hurdles How green is your workplace?

Skills for Business network Talking point Vocal support Jay knows Contacts

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Welcome «

Sectors and unions skill together Skills for Business and unionlearn have joined forces to produce this special issue of The Learning Rep to provide some insights into how unions and the Sector Skills Councils are working together. Here Mark Fisher of the Sector Skills Development Agency and the TUC’s Brendan Barber highlight the value of the relationship.

It’s four years since the first Sector Skills Council (SSC) was licensed. Since then the SSCs have demonstrated their importance in up-skilling our country’s workforce.

The objectives of the SSCs and unions have a lot in common. Both are working hard to convince employers of the value of training.

By combining our resources we add significantly to the likelihood of success, as can be seen in the pages of this special issue of The Learning Rep. The benefits of working

together can clearly be seen in our joint work. This has resulted in nine SSCs receiving Government funding to improve the chances of women moving into jobs where they are under-represented.

Unionlearn, with the TUC, welcomes the opportunities provided by its relationship with the SSCs to ensure that the UK skills agenda remains strongly focused on employment and employees.

Brendan Barber TUC General Secretary

As strongly evidence-based organisations, the Sector Skills Councils welcome the recent research that shows there is a good match between high performing workplaces, workplaces with high levels of union membership and workplaces which have good training arrangements.

But we also have the evidence of our own eyes and ears: the evidence that comes from day-today practical experience. Sadly there is only room in the following pages to highlight a few examples of good practice. However we would like to pay tribute to all of those unsung heroes

in the movement who are contributing so much to developing the skills of their workplace colleagues.

In making real their high level aspirations, as in the new strategic level Sector Skills Agreements, SSCs know that some of their most effective social partners have been the unions and on the ground that means the union learning reps.

As we urge the Government to spend more on adult skills and as we focus on the tools to increase employer investment in skills, we are pleased to join with unionlearn in showing policy-makers and our employers how the unions are playing their part.

Mark Fisher Chief Executive Sector Skills Development Agency

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» News

You arsed for it!

Ricky Tomlinson’s Reading My Arse!, his contribution to this year’s Quick Reads list, has won the Quick Reads Learners’ Favourite Award for 2007. Ricky’s book topped the poll with readers in a website vote organised

by NIACE.

John Freeman and Verity Bullough signing the protocol

Joined-up learning He now concedes that the proliferation of union learning reps in the workplace was a smart move by the trade union movement.

Stefano Cagnori/report digital

Skills envoy Digby Jones in an interview with The Guardian

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The Midlands TUC has signed a protocol with the East Midlands Learning and Skills Council committing them both to advancing union learning in workplaces with the help of the government’s Train to Gain programme.

Midlands TUC Vice-Chair John Freeman and LSC Regional Director Verity Bullough put their names to the document in early May. On the same day, a joint employer-union delegation visited British Bakeries in Derby and Beamlight Automotives in Nottingham to see how the companies are using Train to Gain to encourage their workforces to get back into learning.

“Signing this protocol today sends a strong message that everyone can win from bringing the benefits of learning to all,” commented TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O'Grady.

“We need more employers to follow the lead of British Bakeries and Beamlight Automotive and work with trade unions to up-skill their employees.”

The signing of the regional protocol was good news for employers and employees of unionised organisations, according to Verity Bullough.

“We’re working with the trade unions to impress upon employers the importance of ongoing staff skills development at work and the very real benefits this brings.”

Using your loaf British Bakeries is keen to introduce National Vocational Qualifications to improve the skills of the workforce and provide opportunities for personal development, according to Nottingham Site Manufacturing Manager Simon Clarke.

“We’re currently discussing the infrastructure that needs to be put in place to make this achievable with the bakers’ union BFAWU,” he said.

“And we hope shortly to make a formal commitment to the employer training service Train to Gain, incorporating as it does an impartial brokerage that will make it so much easier to identify the best value training solutions for our company.”

A national protocol between unionlearn and the LSC was signed in November last year.

news «

Dial L for learning Unionlearn has joined forces with learndirect to deliver a free and independent learning advice line open seven days a week from 8am to 10pm on 08000 92 91 90.

ULRs can access the service on behalf of learners or signpost learners to the service so they can use it themselves.

Professional advisers with a specialist understanding of the needs of union members will be on

the line to give information on learning, including information from a national database of over 900,000 courses delivered by over 10,000 different providers.

Advisers can also help with sourcing financial support, finding childcare or access for people with disabilities. Information and advice is also available in nine different community languages.

The advice line also offers free

careers advice and guidance, including access to over 700 profiles covering just about every job, help reviewing and assessing skills to identify any training or learning requirements plus help with CVs and preparing for interviews.

Resources, including the national database of courses and job profiles, will be available to access through www.unionlearn.org.uk Watch out for more information in the next edition of The Learning Rep.

Speaking out for ESOL Three marches from across north London converged on Hackney Town Hall in April to protest against government plans to restrict access to free courses in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).

Lecturers and students from further education colleges in Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Tower Hamlets joined local residents and community organisations for the demonstration, organised by the

University and College Union.

“ESOL teaches not just language but culture and how to survive in this country,” UCU General Secretary Paul Mackney reminded demonstrators.

Former education minister David Blunkett is also backing the union-led ESOL campaign, becoming in April the seventh former member of the government to sign the Early Day Motion in the House of Commons (supported by USDAW) opposing the cuts.

» Unionlearn has welcomed an additional £35 million of government funding for ESOL provision in London, secured with the help of Mayor Ken Livingstone.

“Unionlearn and the TUC welcome this additional funding for ESOL in London which will benefit some of the capital’s most vulnerable workers,” commented regional manager Barry Francis. “The Mayor’s action in securing these funds will have a huge impact on the lives of many Londoners, who will now be able to access English classes.”

Jess Hurd/report digital

summer 2007 « 5

» news

It’s the LAW of the land Union learning reps all over the country were gearing up for this year’s Learning at Work Day as The Learning Rep went to press.

Co-ordinated by the Campaign for Learning (CfL), the annual event on the Thursday of Adult Learners’ Week was this year organised around the theme “Live Long and Prosper.”

“Learning at Work Day is all about recognising and promoting the benefits that workplace learning can bring: it’s a great

opportunity to engage staff that may not normally take part in learning,” says the CfL. Engagement was the name of the game, with unions and ULRs organising a massive range of events to tempt their colleagues to return to learning, offering sessions on everything from landscape gardening and ballroom dancing to Indian head massage and yoga.

In addition, unions were raising awareness of learning opportunities by formally opening their learning centres, organising

Skills for Life sessions and even – in the case of rail union RMT in Chatham, Kent – using computer equipment to digitally re-master old vinyl records as the hook to interest potential learners.

Spreading the word Unionlearn helped spread the lifelong learning message with its stand at the TUC Black Workers’ Conference in Bristol in April.

“Given that TUC research has shown that black and minority ethnic (BME) workers are less likely to be offered training than their white counterparts, it was important to show BME activists from across the unions how unionlearn can support them,” says unionlearn Skills for Life Advocates

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Coordinator Ranjit Singh.

“The good news is that BME workers can significantly increase their chances if they join a trade union: while 36 per cent of nonunionised BME employees have never been offered training, that figure falls to 16 per cent of those who hold a union card.”

Before the conference, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber laid a wreath on the grave of an unknown slave, accompanied by TUC President Alison Shepherd and

Chair of the TUCs Race Committee Gloria Mills. Brendan then used his conference speech to call for an annual day to remember the victims of the UK slave trade.

Other speakers included Professor Gus John, who was the UK’s first black director of education; and Bristol resident Paul Stephenson, who was behind the successful boycott of the citys bus company in the 1960s when it refused to employ black and Asian drivers and conductors.

Three’s company (from left): Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Roger McKenzie, TUC Race Equality Officer Wilf Sullivan and Skills for Life Advocates Coordinator Ranjit Singh

news «

You’ll never learn alone Workers building Liverpool’s Arena and Convention Centre are improving their skills in their own onsite learning centre.

With ten computers, internet access, college tutors and a variety of courses, the Kings Waterfront centre is a concerted effort to tackle the skills gaps and shortages in the construction industry.

It offers courses in IT, literacy and numeracy and English for Speakers of Other Languages – a major attraction for many of the cosmopolitan workforce, which sometimes numbers as many as 2,000.

“What’s happening at the Kings Waterfront is exciting for the city and for the opportunities it is now providing for the workers to help improve their skills and their

chances of finding future work,” says unionlearn Regional Manager Dave Eva. The project is the result of six months’ teamwork between unionlearn, construction union UCATT, Liverpool Community College, Bovis Lend-Lease and CITC, the national construction skills body.

It’s an important step forward, according to UCATT's National Project Worker Steve Craig.

“If construction staff wanted access to learning and training in the past, they had to go off-site to colleges, which brought problems regarding the men being released from work,” he explains.

“We decided to change this by creating learning centres on each major construction site: it’s about creating a culture of access to learning.”

Putting Northallerton on the map The CWU learning centre at the BT depot at Northallerton has opened its doors to members from other unions and the community with funding from the Equal project.

“We are keen to make the learning centre a sustainable opportunity,” says Project Worker Mark Robinson.

“We can’t do this by limiting the offer to just CWU members: we’re already working with PCS and FBU and we want to broaden our appeal.”

There is little or no day-time learning available in the town and the union wants to offer its facilities to a wider learning audience, in partnership with Stockton College.

The CWU is going to use the experience from Northallerton to make the same offer through its newly opened learning centre at the West Yorkshire Branch offices in Pudsey, where it’s already

working with BFAWU and the FBU. “The lessons Mark learns at Northallerton will be of great help in getting Pudsey up and running as soon as possible”, says Trish Vollans.

News in brief Story time

The deadline is fast approaching for union members to make their submissions to the third annual short story competition run by the PCS union in conjunction with Words magazine. Winning and commended entires will be published in Words. Entry costs just £2 per story and the closing date is Saturday 30 June.

Guidelines and entry forms are available from www.wordsmag.com Brand U

Unionlearn has joined the ranks of many famous brand names such as Tesco and Boots by becoming registered as a trade mark at the Patent Office.

Registering unionlearn gives the TUC greater protection against the brand being used without permission.

Essay prize

The subject of this year’s Ross Pritchard Memorial Fund essay competition is: To what extent does the UK’s national (including multinational companies) media influence the Labour Party’s agenda? The winner will receive a £750 prize.

Entries of no more than 1,000 words should be sent by Friday 21 September to: RMF, 1 Camden Hill Road, London SE19 1NX or emailed to: megan@gn.apc.org.

The competition commemorates the rank-and-file print trade union activist whose name it bears.

You are here: CWU Project Worker Andy Sorton (left) with learning researchers Mark Robinson and Trish Vallans

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» Update » Skills pledge

Taking the

pledg

By Astrid Stubbs

Employers must sign up to take action to help their staff develop at work nionlearn’s board has thrown its weight behind the Government’s Skills Pledge challenging employers to increase their commitment to training, particularly for the lowest paid and least skilled employees.

The TUC’s submissions to the Leitch review argued that the scale of the challenge required immediate statutory intervention.

But Lord Leitch instead recommended that the Government work with employer representative organisations in making a Skills Pledge.

This, he said, would involve a specific promise to the workforce that every eligible employee would be helped to gain basic and Level 2 equivalent skills – with tuition costs from the Government and time allowances at work.

U

At its last meeting, the board backed a report which stated that while it is disappointing that the statutory approach on training has once again been delayed, the Skills Pledge still offers a major opportunity to increase the pressure on employers to improve access to training for those employees with few or no qualifications.

The TUC, unionlearn and individual unions are already putting pressure on employers to sign the pledge, to maximise its benefits for the workforce and use it to build the union learning agenda.

The board heard that the TUC and unionlearn are also working on strategies to maximise the benefits of the Skills Pledge and in particular to build on the recommendation in the Leitch Review report that employers and unions should agree

The right target Key targets of 22,000 trained union learning representatives by 2010 and 250,000 union learners annually by the same date will form central planks of unionlearn’s strategic plan.

At its meeting in May, the unionlearn board agreed that the targets must be at the heart of the plan.

In addition the board agreed that the plan’s priorities are to offer support, training and other services for unions, learning agreements and committees, a climbing frame approach for union learners, and effective management of the Union Learning Fund.

The board also asked for performance reports to set out progress towards key targets and it was agreed that in the short term the board should receive performance reports that demonstrate progress to the two key targets, plus progress to a third target of 20,000 Skills for Life learners per annum.

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Skills pledge « Update «

dge joint strategies to deliver even more from the Pledge than the Skills for Life/Level 2 guarantee.

The board has already agreed that the TUC and unionlearn should support a proactive approach to the pledge, and: » Raise union/ULR awareness of the Pledge through events, leaflets, toolkits, ULR training. » Encourage ULRs to work with skills brokers to extend the Pledge to above the Level 2 qualification entitlement. » Establish an objective that all unionised workplaces have a Skills Pledge in place by the year 2010. » Support unions/ULRs to work with Sector Skills Councils and employers to develop a sectoral approach to the Pledge. » Persuade employers in unionised workplaces to incorporate a commitment to Apprenticeships in their Pledge (in support of Lord Leitch’s objective of doubling the number of Apprenticeships by 2020). » Ensure that the Union Learning Fund and unionlearn regional projects support delivery of the Pledge. » Identify workplaces taking up the Skills Pledge and highlight good practice by unions and employers in this regard.

The TUC is also involved with the Public Services Forum (PSF) to promote take-up of the Skills Pledge across public services which will involve employers signing up to a wider skills offer.

Good news for Gail The history of the trade union movement as an educator of working people is a cornerstone of the work of the unionlearn board.

And Gail Cartmail, assistant general secretary of the Amicus section of Unite and unionlearn board member, has direct experience to prove it.

“My background is that I failed the 11-Plus and it was through trade unions that I began to acquire qualifications and certificates recognised by an employer as degree equivalent.

“I owe trade unions everything and it is trade unions who have laid the foundations as key educators of working people. The board is based on that tradition of trade union education.”

Gail Cartmail is “knocked out” by the enthusiasm of ULRS

Gail says examples of how people’s lives are being transformed on a daily basis along with a renewed enthusiasm for their unions inspires her membership of the board.

“It’s hugely inspirational to hear of the real examples of union learning. I want to bottle that feelgood feeling!” she says.

In her own union Gail says at Rolls-Royce in Renfrewshire it is no cliché to say that the global aerospace firm’s employees are a key asset.

And since the launch of its learning programme last year, 300 of its 1,200 staff have taken up lifelong courses with ULRs now working at developing a progression programme to meet the demand created.

“It’s created new partnerships between unions, employers and providers: it really is a win-win situation,” says Gail.

“The union is seen as pro-active with an increased number of ULRs, a bigger shop steward committee and a renewed, more confident, union, which adds something important to people’s lives,” says Gail.

“I’m knocked out by the enthusiasm and ingenuity of ULRs,” she explains, whether it’s at Axa Insurance, where ULRs organised awareness of Fairtrade on World Book Day and held dyslexia screening sessions, or companies as big as aerospace giant Eaton or small as the RSPCA organising a huge range of events for Learning at Work Day. “Learning is relevant to workplace skills, it’s fun and it’s confidence building, all of which is relevant to our members and that has got to be good,” she adds.

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» Interview » Jeannie Drake

Let’s SCC

what we can Sector Skills Councils are key to solving the UK’s skills problems, and unions have a vital role to play in all of them, argues Jeannie Drake

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More employers must engage with the skills agenda, argues Jeannie Drake

now seeing the positive outcomes of having had that debate because of the positive union involvement in so many of the SSCs.” Unions have their part to play in helping workers access skills training at all levels, she argues.

“Basic skills is a major challenge which has been dramatically captured in the Leitch report and unions working in partnership with employers and on behalf of their members can make a huge contribution to meet that challenge,” she says.

“But we mustn’t forget higherlevel skills, either: my members in telecommunications know that

training and access to training is key both to raising the skills levels of their companies and raising their lifetime employability.”

For the future, Jeannie says that securing greater employer engagement in the skills agenda remains a key priority for the SSDA – “there’s still a big challenge there in some sectors,” she points out.

The SSDA’s other “major preoccupation” at the moment is how Sector Skills Councils will be involved in delivering Lord Leitch’s recommendations, she says.

“Leitch said that empowering the SSCs was absolutely crucial – and that’s another compelling reason

Photo by Jess Hurd/reportdigital

S

ector Skills Councils (SSCs) offer significant opportunities for unions to influence the skills agenda, according to Jeannie Drake, who represents the TUC General Council on the Board of the Sector Skills Development Agency.

“The SSDA has a key role in raising delivery of training in the workplace, and if you get in early enough you can influence how that training is developed now and in the future, which is why it’s really important for unions to be there at the party, so to speak,” she argues.

Having a seat on the board has allowed the Communication Workers Union deputy general secretary to participate in the process of getting employers to raise their game when it comes to skills.

The fact that a key part of the SSC brief has been to encourage employers to do what’s necessary to improve the skills levels of their workforce has been crucial, Jeannie argues.

“There’s no point in sitting on bodies which can’t deliver – and bodies that didn’t have employer engagement wouldn’t deliver: they’d just become talking shops,” she says.

Her role with the SSDA has also given Jeannie the opportunity to ensure that union-employer partnerships are working in each of the 25 SSCs currently in operation.

“In the early days, this whole issue of employers working in partnership with trade unions needed a lot of debate, but we’re

Jeannie Drake « Interview «

Sector Skills Councils are independent employer-led organisations which cover specific sectors of the UK economy.

They all share the same four key goals: » to reduce skills gaps and shortages » to improve productivity, business and public service performance » to increase opportunities to boost the skills and productivity of everyone in the sector’s workforce » to improve learning supply including apprenticeships, higher education and National Occupational Standards (NOS).

The top priority for SSCs is to help develop Sector Skills Agreements (SSAs), which are designed to help employers, unions and other partners identify and address the skills needed to raise the performance of their sector.

There is statutory provision for at least one union representative on the board of each SSC, and further union involvement in specialist subgroups.

The network of 25 SSCs is funded, supported and monitored by the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA).

for unions to see the importance of engaging with the Sector Skills Councils,” she points out.

“For me the big picture is that if you care passionately about people and their life opportunities, having an economy where everyone who wants to be employed can be employed is so important,” she argues.

“But we know the realities of global competition, so for us as trade unionists, fighting for our members to have access to skills and employment is absolutely key.”

Find out more » »

»

Visit the SSDA website: www.ssda.org.uk You can find out more about how unions and ULRs can work with Sector Skills Councils in these unionlearn/TUC publications: ● The unionlearn offer to the Sector Skills Councils: helping to shape and deliver Sector Skills Agreements ● Sector Skills Councils: a toolkit for trade unionists ● Sector Skills Information Pack.

You can download copies from the unionlearn website.

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Photo by Jess Hurd/reportdigital

What are SSCs?

Photo by Jess Hurd/reportdigital

n do

» Feature » Cogent

Fuel for

thought Management and unions are putting their energies into joint solutions to plug the skills gaps in the nuclear industry

T

The managementunion partnership at Sellafield recognises how both sides benefit from learning

he partnership shaping the learning and skills agenda at British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) is a model for industries across the country, according to Prospect National Officer Mike Graham.

“BNFL works with the unions in partnership, which is not just words; it is in terms of practical support, recognising the mutual benefit to employee and employer. This is a learning partnership I’d like to see replicated across British industry.”

David Bonser, Group HR Director of BNFL, is equally complimentary about his trade union counterparts.

“The levels of training which unions put in place are excellent,” he says.

All of which is vital in an industry facing a shortage of skills caused by a unique set of circumstances, according to David.

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Against the backdrop of overall skills gaps in science, engineering and technology, the nuclear industry is facing its own particular problems: » the resultant loss in skills since the lull in building new power stations since the 1970s; » the need for skills to decommission old power stations; » the possible need for skilled staff to support a new-build programme of nuclear stations; » the possible need for more staff in the defence sector, given recent parliamentary debates about the future of the Trident nuclear submarine programme.

Cogent, the SSC for the chemicals and pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, nuclear, petroleum and polymers industries, is seeking to address

these issues through its new agreement with unionlearn.

It follows close collaboration with Prospect and the Amicus and TGWU sections of Unite to develop the industry-backed agreement, which sets out the key training and development interventions for the Cogent industries.

The agreement follows a two-year investigation into skills gaps and shortages, aimed at identifying what training inputs are needed to tackle the skills crisis facing the sector.

And it represents a long-term relationship between employers and stakeholders to deliver relevant skills, training and development to employers in the Cogent industries.

“The agreement recognises that trade unions’ experience in the areas of equality and diversity, health and safety, and workplace learning is extremely important,” explains TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O’Grady.

Cogent Chief Executive Joanna

Learning and Skills Council

Cogent « Feature «

Engineering a bright future Young engineers in the chemical industry are getting the chance for a fast track apprenticeship – helping plug the industry’s skills gaps.

Cogent has launched a fully funded apprenticeship programme with ChemiCol, the Centre of Vocational Excellence for the Chemicals Sector, Chemicals Northwest and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

The LSC-funded pilot scheme in the North-West involves 24 trainees focusing on electrical/ instrumentation and mechanical

Woolf says skills gaps are one of the biggest challenges facing the sector.

“Cogent employers need thousands of highly skilled and flexible scientists, engineers, production operatives, managers and leaders,” she says.

“They are experiencing an ageing workforce and a decline in the number of technically trained people coming through the system.

The SSA represents a move away from a centrally planned, sometimes inflexible skills system to a demand-led network of training

Union support is helping Cogent employers plug their skills gaps

Frances O’Grady (left) and Joanna Woolf see eye-toeye on the skills imperative

provision which meets real needs.”

In addition to the Sector Skills Agreement, the new National Skills Academy for Nuclear (NSAN) is seen as another way to plug the skills gaps in the industry.

David Bonser chairs the academy’s shadow board and Prospect’s Mike Graham is also a member. The board is putting together a business plan for a formal launch next year with the academy to offer vocational training to Level 4 NVQ and a pathway to foundation degrees.

“The fact that we have the union on the board is an indication that the industry sees the role of unions as central to training,” says David.

“We see no difference between the union and employer views of the industry.

“We want very skilled employees, and unions want to see a benefit in very skilled employees because it makes members more valuable in terms of their prospects – we are all in the business of making our industry a commercial success and generating wealth for us all.”

David says the industry has been looking at union models of training in setting up the academy. “The best implemented training is driven through unions,” he says.

While the academy will help provide the specialist skills the nuclear industry needs, ULRs across the country from the GMB, Prospect,

craft specific training. It is an off-the-job “fast-track” course which lasts between 14 and 18 months, and trainees will achieve an advanced Apprenticeship with their sponsoring employer.

“The sector needs hundreds of new skilled employees every year because of an ageing workforce and is addressing this issue through this programme, which has been designed to suit the current needs of employers,” says Cogent’s Chemicals Skills Director Rob Bevan.

UCATT, UNISON and Unite are engaged in ongoing work to improve the lifelong learning prospects of colleagues.

David Riley of the GMB, who manages the learning centre at Sellafield, says some 50 ULRs have been trained to take the learning message to the 10,000 staff working on the site, from cleaners to senior managers.

The centre now has five full-time members of staff to cope with demand and David says it has just celebrated its 1,000th learner with 2,500 courses completed.

Gina Ennevor, Prospect ULR at the Sellafield satellite site at Risley, Warrington, says lifelong learning is a growing trend among the majority of the 3,000 scientists, engineers and other staff onsite too.

Its new learning centre will offer work-based courses alongside courses requested by staff, including Spanish, digital photography, book-keeping and project management.

The programme follows a training needs analysis, which had an impressive response, says Gina.

“It’s early days yet and what we want is for managers to support us in terms of flexibility. A lot of people come during their lunch hour and after work but we are hoping that as management see the benefits they will allow people to come and learn during core hours.”

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» Feature » Central and local government Partnership between management and unions in the London Borough of Newham is helping staff gain Skills for Life

Go East

By Martin Moriarty

W

hen they started encouraging staff across the authority to improve their English, maths and computer skills over a year ago, the Skills for Life team at the London Borough of Newham didn’t have a learning agreement, they didn’t have their own learning centre, and they didn’t even have a budget allocation.

They also had a massive skills deficit to contend with locally: Newham has highest estimated incidence of poor literacy (38 per cent) and numeracy (78 percent) in London, and the second highest proportion of working age people with no qualifications (30 per cent).

But they’re made of tough stuff in the east end: in their first year, the team still managed to get the 100 members of staff through their first Skills for Life courses for a total

Power trio (from left): Catherine Anderson, Mick Saxby and Oreleo DuCran have helped 150 Newham staff onto courses (above)

expenditure of just £47.50 – which paid for tea and biscuits on the courses.

“We ran ourselves ragged in the first year setting it up and getting everyone through,” recalls learning and development consultant Catherine Anderson.

“But it’s been worth it to see people growing in confidence as they improve their skills.”

With the commitment, dedication and personal time the work’s required, it’s small wonder that the three-strong team of Catherine and

ULRs Oreleo DuCran (UNISON) and Mick Saxby (GMB) picked up an award in the “achieving outcomes” section of the borough’s staff awards scheme in March.

Even more impressively, Newham became one of just 22 authorities throughout the country to secure a full GO award in April in recognition of its commitment to improve the Skills for Life of all its staff.

And equally importantly, while the Skills for Life team is still not exactly flush these days, it has secured £30,000 from the borough and the London Development Agency (LDA) to continue developing the SfL agenda over the next two years.

“The learning partnership is developing well at the moment,” explains Oreleo DuCran (Razor to his friends), who’s currently working as ULR coordinator for the council’s learning and development team, a post partly funded by the LDA money.

“We’ve secured support from senior managers, including Bob Heaton, the executive director resources who’s the project sponsor; we’ve established the Skills for Life Action Group with representatives from across service areas and ULRs; and we’re due to sign the learning agreement during Adult Learners’ Week.”

At the moment, the courses take place in the cramped conditions of the housing department’s training

“It’s been worth it to see people growing in confidence as they improve their skills”

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Photos by Philip Wolmuth

Central and local government « Feature «

It’s all about teamwork: ULR coordinator Oreleo DuCran (third from left) with some of his ULRs

rooms, with tutors supplied by the College of North East London (CoNEL), and a ULR on hand whenever possible to offer additional help and encouragement.

Staff can improve their literacy, numeracy, basic IT and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), with most courses delivered in halfday sessions that run for 10 weeks.

Primary school cook supervisor Tina Cameron called the team to book her friend on a course and allowed them to persuade her to sign up for basic English and IT herself.

“I haven't studied in over 20 years but the classes are very relaxed and I feel comfortable and the course has given me the skills and confidence to use my kids' computer at home.”

In addition to the half-day courses, the team have set up flexible learning for school crossing patrol workers and passenger transport staff that fits in with their schedules.

“We’re showing the flexibility that’s needed to reach people in those areas, and that’s working well at the moment,” explains Mick Saxby.

“We’ve also set up a cyber-café in the Folksetone Road depot, the central depot at the council, where people can drop in and practise their new IT skills, and ULRs can

access their emails.”

The team is also keen to extend learning opportunities beyond directly-employed staff. “We want to open up to contracted-out services in the future,” Catherine says.

For the moment, there are still problems to overcome, of course.

While some service areas have been extremely supportive (the Public Realm departments have supplied more learners than anywhere else), junior managers in other areas are still resistant to releasing staff for courses.

“Many of them have risen through the ranks and some of them haven’t owned up to their own Skills for Life needs and feel threatened as a result,” Oreleo suggests.

“But without explicit commitment from their line managers, staff feel unsure about signing up for learning, and worry that they’ll let other members of their team down by going on a course.”

The team is hoping that an invitation to make a presentation to the senior management board at the authority might help turn that round.

“At the moment, it’s just down to us knocking on doors, but they’re the people with the clout to make things happen,” Catherine explains.

Whitehall pledge With the active support of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), Government Skills (the Sector Skills Council for central government) is beginning to implement a Skills for Life strategy across the civil service.

“Government Skills recognises that union learning reps will play a key role in the implementation of the SfL action plan,” explains PCS National Learning Officer David McEvoy.

“We’re going to be giving joint presentations to all the employers concerned and PCS will also be negotiating separately on getting ULRs trained and time off for members to learn.”

Government Skills has moved quickly since the publication of Lord Leitch’s report on skills last December by helping to launch one of the very first Skills Pledges recommended in the review in April.

Over 475,000 people working to deliver public services in 19 Whitehall departments are now covered by a Skills Pledge signed by Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell and 14 permanent secretaries, committing them to help every eligible member of their staff gain a Level 2 qualification.

“That high-level commitment from Permanent Secretaries is something we’ve not had before and is a specific result of the creation of the Sector Skills Council,” David McEvoy says.

Government Skills has also commissioned a skills survey across the entire sector to help monitor progress against the pledge.

summer 2007 «

15

» Feature » Skills Working in partnership with the unions in the audio-visual industries has helped Skillset make a major contribution to learning and training in the sector in recent years

S

killset Chief Executive Dinah Caine is not exaggerating when she says “unions are at the heart of everything that Skillset does.”

Equity General Secretary Christine Payne and her NUJ counterpart Jeremy Dear both have seats on the Skillset board, alongside BECTU Assistant General Secretary Martin Spence – and that’s vital for the SSC, Dinah says.

“We regard the involvement of our key trade unions at general secretary level as central to our status and remit as an SSC, and without them we would not be properly and adequately representing the interests of our industry,” she argues.

As well as strategic leadership at board level, partnership also means practical projects on issues

like diversity, as well as support and funding for union events.

It’s led to a series of significant steps forward, including the recent transformation of the Skills Investment Fund (SIF) from a voluntary to a mandatory levy (a long-term campaign goal of film and broadcasting union BECTU).

The levy is now collected by a specially established Industrial Training Board – the first ITB to be set up in 15 years – through the collaboration of Skillset, the government, the industry and the union.

“In the voluntary era, the big employers were paying the levy and the smaller ones weren’t, so it’s made the whole thing much fairer to make it mandatory,” explains BECTU Training Officer Brian Kelly.

It’s also going to make more money available for professional development in the industry, since collecting 0.5 per cent of the total production budgets of film companies working in this country has already helped raise over £4 million for training in the last eight years.

“The benefit of working with Skillset is that we can bring the worker voice to bear on the work they do,” Brian says.

BECTU brings the employee perspective to its work with Skillset

A case in point are the new guidelines on work experience in the television industry, which are designed to stop companies getting people to work for nothing (as runners, for instance) on the promise of a permanent post.

“Some employers have abused work experience placements in the past: we will be using the new guidelines to help stop that abuse,” says Martin Spence.

Brian Kelly reckons the unions could make an even greater contribution in the future as a full

Keeping unions in the

pictu 16 » summer 2007

Skills « Feature «

Photos by Philip Wolmuth

Dramatic effects

partner in projects such as collecting labour market intelligence and brokering training based on the research.

“I would like to see a proper structural role for unions in delivering on labour market intelligence so that we can glean worker demand for skills as well employer demand and act on it,” he argues.

ure

Training is a crucial component of a successful entertainment career explains Equity General Secretary Christine Payne, who sits on the boards of both Skillset and Creative and Cultural Skills.

“As a union, we are fully supportive of formal training and continuing professional development which is a key area for performers enabling them to keep skills honed and to develop new ones that will increase their employability,” she says.

Christine says the union’s “excellent strategic relationship” with Skillset is deepening through increasingly practical co-operation.

For instance, they collaborated in 2005 on the Performing Arts Industry Survey, the first on such a large scale to examine the working patterns of performers, their existing qualifications and their career development needs.

Over 8,000 Equity members participated and their responses produced a comprehensive picture of those working in the performance industry and their skills development and training needs which Skillset and the union have been able to use to develop their future action plans.

In addition, Skillset and Equity members have worked together to develop fact sheets and job profiles covering different areas of work in the industry (eg, actor, puppeteer, stand-up comedian) which are available on both organisations’ websites.

And crucially, Skillset stepped in to sustain the union’s Careers and Learning Service when financing for the two-year Union Learning Fund pilot project came to an end in March this year.

The initiative has already been an unqualified success, with a small network of careers and learning advisers (two in London, one in the North-West), offering

information, advice and guidance to over 300 performers in the past two years.

“The Careers and Learning Advice Service has been of immense benefit to the individual members who have made use of it,” Christine says.

“The advisers are all working professional performers and this peer element of the project has given extra credibility to the service and reassurance to members who have used it.”

In addition, workshops were run in relevant areas such as CV Writing and Marketing for Performers and other workshops were provided for careers advisers working in schools, colleges and universities on careers in the performing arts, resources and labour market intelligence.

Christine Payne

Now that the pilot has come to a close, Skillset has agreed to embed the project into Skillset Careers to ensure it can continue helping performers with their continuous professional development.

For the future, Christine is keen to build on the work all the unions have already achieved through Skillset.

“During the coming period, we will work to further consolidate our relationship and to support Skillset as a champion both of social partnership and of the crucial role that unions play within the industry,” she says.

summer 2007 «

17

» Feature » ProSkills

All the skills

By Martin Moriarty hen it comes to the skills agenda, printing industry trade unionists, employers’ organisations and the Sector Skills Council ProSkills are all singing from the same song-sheet: the industry can’t become any more competitive if its workers aren’t equipped with the skills they need.

That degree of consensus is probably one of the main reasons why there’s a detailed learning and skills clause in the national partnership agreement between the BPIF employers’ organisation and what is now the graphical, paper and media sector of Unite (the newest union on the block,

John Harris/reportdigital

W

18 » summer 2007

Unite is hoping the learning agreement with Quebecor (below) will persuade more print employers to come onboard

created by the merger of Amicus and the TGWU).

Formally launched last April, the clause commits companies to planning their skills needs in partnership with the union at shopfloor level and to investing 0.5 per cent of their payroll costs in training.

But there’s a sting in the tail, according to Bernard Rutter, the sector head of organising, learning and skills.

“The employers are in the lastchance saloon, because the learning and skills clause says that if companies don’t meet the skills levels the industry needs by 2008, the government will introduce a statutory levy.”

The union has also drawn up a second national partnership agreement with the Confederation of Paper Industries which also actively promotes learning and skills.

In addition to good relationships with the employers’ organisations on the learning agenda, the union is also working well with Proskills, the Sector Skills Council.

Bernard is a full member of the Proskills board, and he also sits on the Proskills printing industry group alongside National Training Adviser David Tarren.

“Proskills are really working closely with us: they’ve valued our participation and they’ve always included us in everything,” Bernard says.

A case in point is the latest presentation to the DTI on the proposed Skills Academy for the

Janina Struk/reportdigital

that’s fit industry: when a European Graphical Federation meeting in Rome meant Bernard and Dave were unable to attend, Proskills set up a conference link to Italy to make sure they could still take part.

The good relations are not only at national level: the union’s regional learning organisers have been building an effective network with their opposite numbers at Proskills in the regions as well, and – to a lesser extent – with the BPIF. While he himself is new to the printing industry, Proskills Chief Executive Terry Watts has been very

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pleasantly surprised by the degree of consensus on workforce development between managers and unions.

“For an outsider now working with the printing industry, it’s refreshing to see a union working so hard to support and develop the skills infrastructure – and to see this drive welcomed by many employers," he says.

With good relations with the SSC, two national learning agreements with the employers’ organisations, and another 19 learning agreements with a range of major

Everyone agrees the skills agenda is crucial for the printing industry

companies across the industry, things might seem pretty rosy in the print sector’s workforce development garden.

But there’s still a very great deal of work to do, the union says.

In the wake of the partnership agreement, signed in November 2005 at the Department of Trade and Industry offices in London, the union identified 10 companies in each region which it reckoned might be willing to action the learning and skills clause.

David Tarren is currently finishing an interim report for the DTI on the progress Unite has made to date – and it won’t make very encouraging reading.

Basically, of the 19 learning agreements with major companies that the union has signed in the sector, just one – with specialist printers Bemrose Booth – can be traced to the BPIF agreement.

The others have come about because of long-standing positive relationships companies like Polestar (who print the Radio Times among many other major titles) and De La Rue (who print most of your banknotes).

“We always knew it would be hard to deliver this because we

“For an outsider now working with the printing industry, it’s refreshing to see a union working so hard to support and develop the skills infrastructure”

know that British companies don’t tend to train as much as they should and print companies are especially bad, but we thought that the threat of a levy might make some of them more interested,” David says.

“I’m sorry to say that the initial findings show that around half of the employers we’ve targeted haven’t even responded to our approaches, and even many of those that do train think that the development of an employee in the workplace belongs to the employer, and they don’t want to involve the employee, let alone the union.”

Nor is he alone in his assessment. Earlier this year, ProSkills admitted it “has so far really only worked with those employers ‘converted’ to the message of business improvement through skills” and that “feedback has shown that managers are not always convinced by the skills arguments.”

Meanwhile, Bernard Rutter remains hopeful that more employers will see the learning light: after all, the union has recently signed a learning agreement with Quebecor World, one of the biggest printing companies on the planet.

“I believe the signing of an agreement with Quebecor will indicate to other companies how serious we are about ensuring the union and its members are involved in learning and training decisions within the workplace,” he says.

summer 2007 «

19

» Interview » Hayley Pickles

Tesco cook Hayley Pickles is rustling up tasty courses for her colleagues in Scarborough

Supermarket

By Astrid Stubbs

W

hen USDAW’s Hayley Pickles developed a love of union learning she had no idea that she was walking in the footsteps of a very illustrious ancestor!

“My grandmother used to go on about this place called Tolpuddle and how we were related to this man called James Hammett but it meant nothing to me,” says Hayley, a cook for Tesco in Scarborough.

Now the fact that she is related to one of the Tolpuddle martyrs is a source of deep pride to the learning rep and she would love nothing better than to visit the home of the martyrs.

Hayley admits that her childhood impressions of unions were affected by strikes and the three-day week in the 1970s.

“All I knew was that dad was on strike a lot and coming home in the dark and my parents arguing because we had no money: to be honest, it put me off unions a bit.”

All that was to change however when Hayley took what she thought was a short-term job at Tesco to earn some Christmas money.

“We have five kids, my husband is self-employed and I got a job for six weeks I thought to help with Christmas – that was 14 years ago!” laughs Hayley.

Although an USDAW member, Hayley was not active until the union launched its campaign to halt Christmas Day opening.

“I rang up to find out what I could do and was told they needed more people to be shop stewards – so I did.”

From that began a new understanding of unions.

“I had no idea what modern

20 »

summer 2007

Hayley Pickles (above) spreads the union message, following in the footsteps of her Tolpuddle ancestor (below)

unions were about,” she says.

“We were not told anything about unions at school – we need to put that right.”

Hayley’s first USDAW conference was to prove another turning point.

“I went to Blackpool and proposed a motion on retirement. I was terrified but it also felt like coming home.

When you’re with people like you and you are with people who want to change the world together and who all have the same goal it makes a difference.”

Next step for Hayley was the union learning agenda which she took to with a passion.

“I know what it’s like as a parent and carer, wife and mother.

I struggled at school too and found that having a second chance to learn was not because people are stupid but because school’s not for everyone.”

Along with two other union reps, Hayley was seconded for two days a week to the town’s SAIL Centre, where she offered lifelong learning courses to staff from 16 supermarkets and other retailers.

Through the project, 350 people have now completed 500 courses and 26 ULRs have been trained while Hayley continues to be seconded to the centre.

As an active ULR, she was also invited earlier this year to give evidence to the Education Select

Hayley Pickles « Interview «

sweep

Photos by Tony Bartholomew

Committee, which was considering the effectiveness of post-16 skills provision.

“It was nerve-wracking giving evidence to such a high-powered committee but I wanted to remind them of the clear benefits to retail workers, many of whom had struggled at school,” says Hayley.

“I also told the MPs that the average income in retail is just over £10,000 a year so our members often have no spare money available to spend on training.

“I wanted to impress on the committee the importance of free or cheap courses for low-paid workers and the importance of accessing courses with work colleagues,

especially when many retail staff are initially sceptical of the need for gaining additional life skills through lifelong learning.

“I outlined how we offer taster courses so USDAW members get the confidence for Skills for Life courses like literacy and numeracy.

“I really enjoyed giving evidence and I felt that the MPs were engaged with what I was saying and that I got a fair hearing which will hopefully influence future post-16 skills policy,” she says.

Hayley was also part of a recent USDAW parliamentary lobby to save free ESOL classes, telling MPs about the central role ULRs play in delivering lifelong learning and ESOL courses.

As well as her local activity, Hayley now serves on the union’s equalities committee and has met – and offered her views to – movers and shakers, including Harriet Harman and Tony Blair.

“I’m one of those people that so much has happened to I now just wake up every day and see what’s going to happen. I don’t think long term: I let things happen.”

One of Hayley’s ambitions, however, is to offer lifelong learning to vulnerable teenagers.

She would also love to go to university one day – and of course there’s always her dream about Tolpuddle.

Retail therapy An analysis of Labour Force Survey data on levels of qualifications and training among retail workers carried out by Skillsmart Retail (the SSC) has revealed why people like Hayley are so vital to the industry.

The report says it is evident that the sector will need a cultural change with regard to the ongoing development of older workers.

“This will only become more urgent as the number of younger people available to the sector decreases and the number of older workers available shows a modest increase.

“The overall level of qualifications and training within the retail sector compares poorly with the average for the whole economy. There are significant gaps between the desired levels of qualifications for all occupations in the retail sector, apart from those in the established professions.”

It goes on to warn: “These poor comparisons are troubling for a sector wishing to be perceived as a sector of choice for those seeking to develop a career. However, for candidates making their career choices with further development opportunities and future transferable qualifications as a factor, the sector could be viewed as less appealing.”

For more information visit www.skillsmartretail.com

summer 2007 «

21

» Feature » Transport To find out what makes a successful learning partnership, take a lesson from Merseytravel double act Liz Chandler and Roger Irvine

Have Mer T

here’s something very appropriate about the way that Liz Chandler and Roger Irvine have become the public face of workforce development at Merseytravel.

After all, nothing could better symbolise a genuinely successful learning partnership than the double act featuring the learning and development officer from the management side (Liz) and the UNISON branch secretary (Roger) from the unions.

It certainly impressed the panel at Investors in People, when they interviewed the two of them before awarding the passenger transport operation ‘Champion’ status last year (while 30,000-plus organisations have IiP status, just 33 are designated Champions).

“I thought Roger and I should go to the Champions interview panel, because our story is about partnership,” Liz recalls.

“They’d never had a trade union rep in front of them before, and they spent most of the time after the presentation talking to him – his input was critical and made the difference that made us stand out.”

When it comes to learning, partnership has long been the name of the game at Merseytravel, which operates the Mersey Ferries and Mersey Tunnels and oversees public transport in the

22 » summer 2007

region through the Passenger Transport Executive (PTE).

Driven by Chief Executive Neil Scales, learning is one of the highest priorities on Merseytravel’s agenda. “We are only as good as our staff, so it’s important we give them the foundation to be the best they can be,” Neil says. “Through Merseylearn, we are creating an environment in which people want to make the best of their potential – and because the programme is accessible to every single one of our staff, the business benefits to our organisation have been fantastic.”

But the partnership didn’t spring fully-formed from the tea and biscuits on the negotiating table: it’s taken a lot of hard work to bring it to life.

“We’re a very diverse organisation – we’ve got office workers, Tunnels police, data collectors on the road, bus station staff, travel shop staff – and whole sections of them were getting virtually no training at all,” Roger Irvine explains.

“For a lot of our members it was a case of ‘That’s it for life’ once you’d got a job here because you never had the chance of going anywhere else because you never got any help to go anywhere else: it wasn’t the best starting point!”

Nor did the initiative kick off in the most auspicious of circumstances: within days of Liz starting five years ago, a workplace learning scheme inside Mersey Tunnels fell apart due to funding problems.

“My remit from the chief executive was to go forth and create a learning culture and the

week I joined, the local provider pulled the plug on the courses at Mersey Tunnels – you can imagine how that went down!” Liz recalls.

Tunnels convenor Billy McCoy freely admits he was the most cynical on the union side in the wake of the collapse. “To tell the truth, we were reluctant originally because of what we’d just been through,” he says.

Billy even went on the record saying that if the new learning partnership ever took off, he would moon from a window at Merseytravel headquarters in Liverpool city centre.

It was a pledge Liz reminded him about on the day that the then adult learning minister Ivan Lewis formally opened Merseylearn (the learning partnership) in 2004.

“I emailed Billy to say that now we’d had our plaque unveiled outside the head office learning centre, he’d better do some unveiling of his own!” Liz recalls.

For the record, and to the considerable relief of the inhabitants of the 2008 City of Culture, this has proved to be one promise that Billy has never kept.

Instead, he’s played a vital role in putting together the partnership that is working so effectively that, in addition to the three learning centres open to all staff, the learning offer is now extended both to taxi drivers in the area and workers on the local rail network (uniquely, Merseytravel is the regulatory authority).

One of the major hurdles to overcome was the very different cultures at the three component parts of Meryseytravel, which had always operated very much as

Transport « Feature «

rsey

By Martin Moriarty

Colin McPharson

on us all self-contained businesses.

“There had certainly never been any strategic, coherent approach to learning and development across Tunnels, Ferries and PTE; the unions had never worked together before across the organisation; and when we came to set up the learning centres, we discovered that the different IT systems weren’t even compatible with each other,” Roger recalls.

Roger and Liz both agree that signing a broad framework agreement on learning relatively quickly (rather than getting bogged continues on p24 »

Management and unions must identify common goals to build genuine learning partnerships, say Roger Irvine and Liz Chandler

summer 2007 «

23

» Feature » Transport “Whatever the appearances, we’ve not had it easy here – there have been long nights and big arguments and difficult meetings, but we’ve stuck at it and made it work”

How learning pays off

24 » summer 2007

Colin McPherson

down in detailed negotiation on all Merseylearn has the finer points) was important to opened its doors to get things moving. other transport workers, including Later discussions have been able local railworkers to agree time off for learning, like Steve Foster integration with the Personal Development Review process and Merseytravel, kicking off with even interest-free loans so staff can courses for hackney (black cab) and buy their own computers for home private hire (minicab) drivers in the (£90,000 in total has been loaned region which have attracted over over the past two years).

700 participants since last summer Equally important has been – despite all the usual problems establishing the Joint Learning about finding funding for training Forum, where senior ULRs and senior for the self-employed. management from all three parts of And since the autumn, the organisation meet every six Merseylearn has also opened its weeks to oversee all learning and doors to workers on the local development within the organisation.

Merseyrail network, who have their “Setting up the JLF sent the own learning agreement and their message to management and staff own learning forum (three that this was a serious effort to managers, three ULRs) which meets change things here,” Roger says. every six weeks.

One of the unusual aspects of “We were looking for a learning Merseylearn is that the ULF project centre, Merseylearn offered us manager (in the shape of Liz) sits on theirs, and it’s been a win-win the management side of the table. situation ever since,” explains train “We’ve handed over half a million driver and ASLEF ULR Steve Foster. pounds of union money to Liz and The first courses started in the from my perspective that’s the only autumn, and around 10 per cent of way to do it because unless we’d the Merseyrail workforce are now trusted Liz and her professional expertise it wouldn’t have worked properly,” Roger says.

Before the creation of Merseylearn, low staff morale But the arrangement has paid was hampering the organisation’s ability to deliver dividends, Liz argues. “The high levels of customer service to the travelling public. arrangement is quite unusual but it’s Now that over 90 per cent of the staff have used the worked quite well and helped to scheme to develop themselves, with over 300 mainstream the union involvement achieving NVQs, measurable improvements have and that’s had quite an impact,” been made on a broad range of indicators: she says.

The project has now extended » Industrial relations have significantly improved, reflected in a 4 per cent drop in the number of learning opportunities to transport disciplines/grievances. workers not directly employed by » Staff retention now stands at 7 per cent – the best for any Passenger Transport Executive in the country » Sickness days, which had previously run at high levels, dropped by an average of over two days between 2002/03 and 2005/06 » Internal staff promotions have increased by 10 per cent as a result of training and learning programmes.

involved in learning: computing courses are most popular and a Learning at Work Day focused on languages is set for June.

Merseytravel is also currently one of 10 organisations piloting unionlearn's Collective Learning Fund, while GoSkills (the SSC for the passenger transport industry) sits on the project steering group.

Asked about the key ingredients for a successful learning partnership, Liz and Roger strike the same thoughtful pose – and come up with almost identical answers: support from senior management, commitment from key personnel, and shared aspirations for the workforce.

Plus a great deal of determination to make it work.

“You’ve got to be tenacious and committed,” Liz says. “Whatever the appearances, we’ve not had it easy here – there have been long nights and big arguments and difficult meetings, but we’ve stuck at it and made it work.”

The two of them meet a lot of management and union teams from other organisations who are interested in following in their footsteps – and Liz reckons she can tell which ones will make a go of it and which won’t.

It’s all about attitude. “When management and unions approach learning at work by trying to see what they can get out of each other, that’s never going to work,” she says.

“But when they look at identifying their common goals and how they can support each other to reach them – that’s what makes the difference, that’s what will drive it through.”

Equality « Feature « Shooting star: Dinkesh Miesuria films on location and (below) interviews broadcaster Loyd Grossman

And...action!

A powerful TUC initiative is helping black and minority ethnic workers get on in the film and broadcasting industries

F

reelance TV producer Dinkesh Miesuria never dreamed a poster offering black and minority ethnic (BME) workers the chance to meet industry movers and shakers might lead to an on-the-spot job offer.

Dinkesh, who studied for an MA in TV production at Manchester University, was working on University Challenge when he saw the poster for the TUC’s Move On Up, which aims to address the under-representation of BME people in film and broadcasting.

“I was at a career crossroads and not doing what I wanted, which is to work on network projects on a bigger scale,” he explains.

“The event offered me the chance to meet people – in the past I’ve had to send letters out on spec knowing I’ll probably never hear back.”

Now in its fourth year, Move On Up (not to be confused with Move On, the Skills for Life programme involving many unions and

unionlearn) addresses underrepresentation of BME workers by facilitating one-to-one meetings for professionals with key hirers of staff and freelances plus executives who can commission programmes.

“Where else do you get a chance to meet a roomful of people from ITV, BBC and independents and have one-on-one time with them?” asks Dinkesh.

He was offered a job there and then by a BBC talent manager who had seen his CV and wanted to hire him to work on Honey … We’re

Killing the Kids for BBC3.

“Unfortunately she wanted me to start the following week but I couldn’t as I was working on University Challenge and I don’t believe in stopping a job half way through,” says Dinkesh.

But he says that as well as the job offer he also received advice and contacts which have served him well since seeking new work.

“I’ve been turned down in the past because I’m ‘not the right kind of person’ but I believe people should get jobs on their own skills not because of their creed or colour to tick equal opps boxes,” he says.

“People should be recognised for their ability and given the opportunity to excel at various levels in the industry.”

Haroon Siddique, who works for the Ham and High newspaper in London, heard about the initiative from his union, the NUJ. “I was interested because I want to

Move On Up aims to increase BME representaion in film and broadcasting

continues on p26 »

summer 07 «

25

» Feature » Equality

Delivering for deaf people Photo by Paul Herrmann

ULRs at the Royal Mail in Chester are celebrating a first-class learning double. The training DVD they filmed to promote deaf awareness has been nominated for a Royal Mail award. And their learning centre has become the first in the business world to be officially recognised as a Deaf Awareness Centre.

Martin McNally and Ady Prins thought it would be a good idea to lay on deaf awareness courses for colleagues after attending a deaf awareness evening themselves at a nearby college.

“We knew a couple of people who were deaf and thought training would be a good idea so that people could communicate better with one another,” explains Martin.

The ULRs (both drivers at Royal Mail) discovered that the cheapest way to run the courses was to set up an an in-house learning centre, which lays on other courses for staff, including IT and languages.

The centre was assessed and

officially recognised as a deaf awareness centre by the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP). The first deaf awareness courses this year were attended by Royal Mail managers, ULRs and other members of the workforce.

Martin, Ady and unionlearn

« continued from p25

26 » summer 07

Move On Up has opened doors for Haroon Siddique

film and television executives.

BECTU was expecting more than 200 BME professionals to participate.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet key people and obtain hard information,” explained BECTU NEC member Suresh Chawla.

The success of the previous event, Move On Up in Radio, led to the formation of the Radio Industry Diversity Group.

Starring role: Martin (left) and Ady show off the new training DVD

Photo by Paul Herrmann

move from print journalism to broadcast, so making contact was valuable for me.

“I had one-to-ones but got to speak to the person I wanted to at the end of a seminar – Matt Morris, from Radio 5, 1Xtra and Asian Network.

“He told me to send my CV but not to worry if he didn’t get back to me quickly,” recalls Haroon.

“So I sent if off not expecting anything but he got back to me within the hour offering to introduce me to the editor of Breakfast News on Radio 5!”

Haroon has now been gaining valuable experience – both paid and unpaid – on the programme.

“Move On Up was definitely a worthwhile experience: the event has opened doors for me,” he says.

This year’s Move On Up, held at the TUC in June, included BBC Director General Mark Thompson and PACT Chief Executive John McVay, as well as more than 100

Project Worker Ged Bretherton went on to make a training DVD to help other colleagues. Unionlearn helped the ULRs script and film the 20-minute DVD in which both appear as postal workers dealing with deaf customers.

Bosses were so impressed by the DVD that it has been put forward for a Royal Mail Chairman’s Diversity Award. And Royal Mail says it will use the DVD as part of its two-day induction programme for new staff.

“It seems that no one had done this sort of thing before, so it has opened up a lot of opportunities to raise deaf awareness within the Royal Mail,” says Martin.

Dave Eva, unionlearn Regional Manager, adds: “It’s great to see how the determination of union learning reps at Chester Royal Mail will lead to a better quality of services for deaf and partially deaf people across the country.”

Equality « Feature «

Closing the gender gap

Ph o

» Photo by Paul Box/reportdigital

Government responses to improving the opportunities of women at work have been welcomed by Baroness Margaret Prosser, former TUC president and deputy general secretary of the TGWU. Margaret chairs the Women’s National Commission, the official and independent advisory body giving the views of women to the government. She is also chair of The Women and Work Commission, set up in 2004 to examine the problem of the gender pay gap and other issues affecting women's employment.

Margaret says she is pleased at The government’s programme of the government’s response to a action is set to Women and Work Commission help more women report, which sets out a widemove into maleranging, demanding agenda for dominated action to address all the causes of industries like construction the gender pay gap, from challenging assumptions about gender-stereotyping which still affect the choices children make at school, to giving people greater choice about balancing work and family life.

The response comes in the form of a programme of action across government, which includes working with employers and Sector Skills Councils to increase the training available to lowskilled women and to explore new ways of helping women get jobs and progress in those jobs.

These include supporting eight Sector Skills Councils, through the /reportdigit £10 million Women and Work al Hu rd ess J y Sector Pathways initiative, to b to develop projects providing women with the skills, confidence and mentoring support to move up within or move into maledominated occupations.

Union involvement has been written into all of the projects: » Asset Skills will work with women in low-paid, low-skilled Margaret Prosser jobs in the cleaning says unions have and facilities management a crucial role to sector enabling them to move play in delivering equality into higher level or

management roles or into alternative employment. » Automotive Skills will concentrate on the automotive retail sector, upskilling female skill coaches to work with women in low-skilled jobs and enable them to progress. » Construction Skills will work with the Major Contractors Group on a number of major construction projects to support women coming out of university and to help administrators to move into craft/technical roles. » Energy and Utility Skills will work to empower women to take ownership of their career and build confidence to progress into higher level/more demanding roles. EU Skills will also train two trainers to mentoring training to middle/senior women managers to become role models and mentors for women.

Improve will help food and » drink manufacture operatives achieve an NVQ Level 3 qualification and progress into managerial roles » Lantra will work with the micro-businesses in their environment and land-based sector to enable women to progress into managerial and technical roles. » SEMTA will work with trade unions and employers to support the career development of women technicians and managers from the aerospace,

»

engineering and science sectors. The long-term aim is for women to progress into senior level technical and managerial roles.

Skillfast will work with footwear and apparel manufacturing operatives to improve their position in the labour market and increase progressions into managerial and technical roles. They will also develop a new entrant route for fashion design graduates.

Skills for Logistics will recruit and train women to become LGV drivers. They will also work with warehouse operatives to enable progression into managerial and technical roles as well as introducing a management mentoring programme to support women into higher level management roles.

Margaret says the programme represents a “good step in the right direction” and argues that unions can play a crucial role in helping deliver equality. “Unions have such an opportunity here to work with employers – you only have to walk into a workplace and see men and women doing different jobs to realise it’s not rocket science that things could be different. What’s needed is the enthusiasm and energy to do that.”

Margaret says the action programme recognises the problems about women taking jobs which fit with family responsibilities but which are below their capacity and which offer no hope of progressing.

“It’s an exciting piece of work but there is a need for it to continue – this in itself will not change the labour market. What we need is to reach a critical mass so that it is no longer seen as odd that women become engineers, electricians or whatever. If the work does not continue to be funded it will just be seen as a pilot and it won’t change society.”

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27

Photos by John Jones

» Feature » Apprentices

T

he massive gothic cathedral which still towers over Lincoln today was a triumph of medieval engineering, and the world’s tallest building for much of the Middle Ages.

These days, the city maintains its engineering reputation in a more secular setting – the Siemens factory by the river Witham, where the 2,200-strong workforce manufactures gas turbine engines for the world’s oil and gas producers.

The company is renowned for its commitment to training: its highspecification products require a highly-skilled workforce, and it commits considerable resources to its Apprenticeship programme.

But although it’s the largest private sector employer in the city, with a long-standing reputation for excellence both for the work it does

Siemens apprentice Andy Ritchie (left) learns his way round the job with the help of Mick Cole

(it’s won five Queen’s Awards for export achievement) and the training it offers, it still takes constant work to keep attracting potential new recruits, according to Initial Training Manager Roy Bilton.

That’s why the company fosters close links with local secondary schools, especially those with engineering, technology or scientific specialisms, and provides dozens of work placements every year for school students who might be interested in a career in engineering.

But those close relationships pay off, given that many of the current 54 Apprentices currently working onsite first heard about the company while they were still at school.

Apprentice machinist James Patching and electrician Gareth Webber both say it was their teachers who encouraged them to

apply while they were taking their A Levels (some apprentices arrive earlier, after their GCSEs).

Apprentice fitter Alwyn Boxill says he was pointed in the direction of the company by his tutor at Boston College where he was already studying engineering (he’d also visited the site on tours organised by the college before he applied).

Of course, some young people get their advice closer to home: Andy Ritchie was encouraged to take the apprentice route by both his father and older brother who work at the factory.

After a two-week induction into the world of work at the plant, the Apprenticeship really kicks off with ten months’ full-time study on a Foundation course at nearby Lincoln College.

But the new kids don’t lose

You’re hired!

Eat your heart out Alan Sugar: the next generation of real apprentices are being trained by engineering companies like Siemens in Lincoln

28 » summer 2007

By Martin Moriarty

Apprentices « Feature « contact with the company: Apprentice Training Officer Ed Buckle drops in on them once a week to see how they’re getting on, and they also stay in touch with their mentors from the shopfloor (they’re each assigned one for the duration of their training).

“The mentoring is concentrated on the first 10 months: surveys we’ve done in the past have shown they can feel a little bit detached from the business during that time, so the main emphasis of the mentoring for that period is on keeping them connected,” Roy explains.

Once they’re back in the factory, they spend the next two and a half years or so on a variety of work placements rotated around the plant with one day a week spent back in college.

The placements help them collect evidence for their NVQ portfolios (assessments are conducted inhouse by trained assessors) and give them deeper insights into the business itself, Roy says.

“The apprentices do four or five 16-week placements in different departments, mixing what they need

for their qualifications and what the company wants them to have in terms of experience,” he says.

It’s a system which suits the apprentices themselves. “You get to move around to different areas, get to know people there and in the end hopefully get a job in one of them,” says Alwyn.

There’s also a degree of flexibility about their chosen path: while Andy started out as a technician after his Foundation course, he’s since moved on.

“After giving it a good go, he decided that wasn’t what he really wanted to do, so after consultation, he went to be a fitter,” Roy says. if ever they run into problems, they can always talk to their mentor, or to their union rep, as James has had to do on one occasion (like the majority of apprentices, all four have joined Unite, the product of the recent Amicus-TGWU merger).

“The union were good: they’d always make time when I wanted to talk to them, or come to find me – they helped me out,” he says.

Pay rates vary according to what stage of their training they have reached, but usually start at around £7,000, rising to £20,000 by the time they complete – money which few other local companies could match.

The apprentices themselves are glad they’ve taken the training route.

“We’re getting paid while we’re gaining our qualifications – we’ve getting our National Certificates and Higher National Certificates, we could even go and do a degree afterwards,” says Andy. “I’m getting a skill for life, and I should have a job at the end of it as well.”

Find out more »

Visit the Apprenticeships website: www.apprenticeships.org.uk/

»

Download the TUC booklet ‘Apprenticeships: A guide for union reps and negotiators’ from: www.tuc.org.uk/extras/ APP7final.pdf

»

Download the TUC leaflet ‘Your rights as an Apprentice’ from: www.unionlearn.org.uk/extrasUL/ Initiatives/apprenticesrights.pdf

Gareth Webber was encouraged onto the scheme by his teachers

James Patching has had the support of the union during training

Because they’re worth it Investing in the next generation is definitely paying off for Siemens: » The company takes on around 25 apprentices every year from more than four times that number who apply » Around 85 per cent of apprentices stay the distance, a completion rate above the national average of 60 per cent » More than 99 per cent of those who complete are offered a job at the end of their Apprenticeship » 42 per cent of the current manufacturing workforce are former apprentices themselves.

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» Feature » ConstructionSkills

Overcoming the

Olympic skills hurdles The Olympics in 2012 offers an ideal opportunity to reduce the chronic skills shortages faced by the British construction industry

30 » summer 2007

A

t a time when direct labour, and is on course the British to be delivered on time and construction on budget. If the ODA fails industry is suffering to heed these lessons then chronic skills taxpayers’ money will shortages, it is vital that disappear into a financial blue ribbon developments black hole.” such as the Olympics are at Alan Ritchie Alan is undertaking intensive the forefront of training the negotiations with the ODA to building workers of the future. agree what kind of employment model That’s the verdict of Alan Ritchie, should be adopted for the Olympics – general secretary of construction talks which are currently deadlocked. union UCATT, who has warned that UCATT fears that rejecting the direct the Olympics will only be labour model could dash hopes that delivered on time and on budget, the Olympics will be a catalyst for the if the Olympic Delivery Authority regeneration of East London physically, makes the decision to only use economically and socially. direct employed labour.

The direct labour model would allow “The ODA must learn the lessons for the creation of a substantial of the Wembley stadium fiasco where number of Apprenticeships and would a reliance on a sub-contracted help reduce the chronic skills workforce led to chronic delays, shortages in the British construction confusion and spiralling costs,” industry.

Alan argues.

“In the run-up to the actual event in “We should follow the model of 2012, as building workers lay the Heathrow Terminal 5, which used foundations for the Olympic stadiums and regeneration of East London, the country should be able to show that the Olympic project has been delivered using well-trained, skilled, directly employed labour,” says UCATT National Training and Learning Coordinator Jeff Hopewell.

“We want local, indigenous labour up-skilled and securing ‘real jobs’ with migrant labour trained and earning the same pay and conditions as other workers, rather than being used by unscrupulous employers to undercut established pay rates, terms and conditions.”

UCATT also wants the Major Contractors Group and sub-contractor employers involved in the Olympic

ConstructionSkills « Feature «

London 2012

Ready steady skill

The Olympics offers a huge opportunity for policy-makers and employers to widen out the availability of skills to other groups and that means a lot of opportunity for traditionally disadvantaged groups Margaret Prosser, former TUC president and chair of the Women’s National Commission and Women and Work Commission build to play their part in supporting ULRs and helping the union establish learning centres on-site so workers can access learning and training opportunities.

Meanwhile, ConstructionSkills SSC has joined UCATT in committing to work together to address the skills challenges facing the industry by signing a Sector Skills Agreement.

The union is currently working with agencies and employers to address skills shortages, provide training opportunities for all workers and improve the sector’s poor health and safety record.

Leaders from the world of business, industry, education and skills expressed their full support for WorldSkills 2011 when they attended a reception at 11 Downing Street.

Hosted by the Treasury, guests toasted the success of the UK in winning the bid to host 2011 and charting the country’s course to a successful 2011 competition.

WorldSkills, which is supported by the TUC, is the largest skills competition in the world with 40 different countries participating.

Medals are won in over 40 skills areas, ranging from hairdressing and beauty therapy to landscape skills and welding.

Interactive technology will be used to promote the competition widely and raise the profile and status of vocational skills, technicians and specialist crafts to a wider audience.

The Department for Education and Skills is giving full support to the project. “World Skills 2011 provides a once-in-a-lifetime chance to raise the status of vocational education and training and permanently change public attitudes towards it,” said Education Secretary Alan Johnson.

“It’s also an opportunity to inspire young people to achieve the very best they’re able to reach in their chosen profession, and engage employers in their quest for a more productive and competitive workforce,” he argued.

“Success at 2011 will provide a national celebration for achievement in vocational skills.”

Education Secretary Alan Johnson (right) stirs up interest in World Skills with award-winning chef Adam Peirson

Chris Humphries, who chairs UK Skills, the organisation which spearheaded the UK bid, added: “This is such an achievement for the UK. We now have the foundations to raise the profile of WorldSkills in the UK and at a global level.

“We also now have the chance to raise the profile of the skills that will make the London Olympic and Paralympic Games possible. For too long the vocational route has been seen as inferior to academic studies but succeeding in the skills sector takes just as much dedication, determination and hard work.

Participating in skills competitions drives forward individuals' aspirations, provides them with a way to benchmark their skills and to recognise their achievements.” www.worldskills.com

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» Update » TUC Education

How green is your workp TUC Education can help you save the planet

C

aroline Ashmele leapt at the chance to get involved when she heard about unionlearn’s course on the environment.

The course helps reps identify environmental changes affecting the workplace and research and identify appropriate environmental legislation, policies and information that offer opportunities for trade union action.

“I have been concerned at the state of the world we live in for quite some time,” says UNISON member Caroline, who works for EDF Energy in Hove.

So when EDF Energy’s certified environmental management systems required it to enlist staff volunteers to help raise awareness and implement ideas, Caroline was a natural to get involved.

Volunteers from EDF Energy were first recruited in the South-East to fill this vital role, followed by a similar group in the east of England. The One Planet Ambassadors (OPAs) scheme builds on these first employee groups as a way of engaging employees across the company, explains Caroline.

Flushed away Toilets use huge quantities of water so the Met Office uses rainwater to flush its toilets.

32 » summer 07

On your bikes The UNISON branch environment officer at the University of Brighton has negotiated secure cycle storage on all four sites and an interest-free cycle loan to include helmets and locks, while at the Pensions Service, the PCS has negotiated the installation of a shower for those cycling to work.

OPA schemes have included marking World Environment Day with various activities such as a bike surgery offered by local charity Bike 4 Life, with professional checks and safety tips.

OPAs also set up a green stall with lots of information and recycled/energy-saving freebies and green dress-down day.

OPAs have also introduced: » new recycling bins; » One Planet Ambassador intranet pages; » greener printing with many printers defaulted to doublesided and economode; » EarthMobile partnership – over 600 phones donated

over Christmas to raised £18,000 for MENCAP from recycled phones; » CRTs replaced with thin screens; » internal screenings of Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth.

“Ongoing OPA activities include answering questions from employees and raising awareness through posters and emails; identifying problems and investigating solutions; proposing ideas to management; attending local public meetings, TUC conferences and courses, and EDF Energy conferences; and visiting industrial recycling facilities,” says Caroline.

Such measures benefit the company as well as the planet, comments Caroline.

“We have to start thinking ahead – we can’t keep taking and taking without thinking about what is left at the end of the day,” she warns.

And for anyone who thinks such changes can’t make a difference at work, Caroline says that in

TUC Education « Update «

place?

Hove alone, ambassadors for EDF Energy have improved recycling from 85 tons in 2005 to 133 tons in 2006 and reduced photocopying from 1.3 million sheets in 2005 down to 0.9m in 2006.

“That’s about 35 trees saved!” she points out.

The environment rep course was a chance to take this work a step further, says Caroline.

“It gave me the chance to meet other people and people from other unions, who are all trying to do the same thing. It was encouraging and gave us the chance to share our ideas as well as get practical ideas.”

She adds: “I found it energising. It fills you with the feeling that you are not alone and others are fighting to take these issues seriously – the support was as much psychological as practical.”

In general, employers have proved slow off the mark in adopting the green agenda, even though over half the UK’s energy is directly used in the workplace.

However, a recent survey by the Labour Research Department shows that environmentally committed workplace reps like Caroline can make green progress when management agrees to work with them, and underlines the need for environment reps to gain statutory rights (full details are available on the LRD website, www.lrd.org.uk).

Truth be told Caroline and EDF Energy colleagues organised a screening of the Al Gore film An Inconvenient Truth for managers which is now to be screened for all EDF employees.

For more details of the film and its message, visit: www.climatecrisis.net

Reps on the Disability Champions course at CONEL rated it “fantastic”

Just champion Unions have now trained over 500 Disability Champions who help disabled workers negotiate with employers to fulfill their needs, and raise awareness of issues at work. The Disability Champions project emerged from a joint venture between the Amicus section of Unite and TUC Education.

“This is a fantastic milestone.

Although there is still a long way to go until there is equality of opportunity for all workers, in the meantime thousands of individuals are reaping the benefits from the dedicated work of the Disability Champions,” says Liz Rees, unionlearn Trade Union Education Manager.

There are now over 500 Disability Champions, representing 24 unions.

Some 43 per cent are disabled; 39 per cent are aged 50 or over; 40 per cent are women; and 14 per cent are from ethnic minorities. Some of the many companies and organisations that have welcomed the programme are BT, Royal Bank of Scotland, Waitrose, and Humberside Probation Service.

Unionlearn has established a 30hour course to train members in disability issues, including conducting access audits of buildings, documents, and policies; influencing recruitment procedures; and negotiating reasonable adjustments.

The project is overseen by Dave Parr, one of the Trade Union Studies team at East Riding College, who has developed the website www.disabilitychampions.com.

Reps from the TGWU, USDAW, PCS and UNISON were among the latest to attend the College of North East London (CONEL) as part of the champions project.

“What a fantastic course this was. Just what we needed. Now we will be able to champion disability at work. Brilliant!”

And the course was so good even the signers asked to sign-up as Disability Champions! The lively and wide ranging forum covered disability discrimination legislation, sickness absence procedures, the social model, language and how reps can champion disability issues in the workplace.

Personal experiences of reps being disabled by society and the barriers put up in work were also exchanged.

“What a fantastic course this was.

Just what we needed. Now we will be able to champion disability at work.

Brilliant!” said Dave McCluggage, UNISON steward at Thames Water.

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» Directory » Sector Skills Councils

Skills for Business At the heart of the Skills for Business network are 25 Sector Skills Councils (SSCs). Each SSC is an employer-led, independent organisation that covers a specific sector across the UK. The four key goals are: » to reduce skills gaps and shortages » improve productivity, business and public service performance » increase opportunities to boost the skills and productivity of everyone in the sector's workforce » improve learning supply including apprenticeships, higher education and National Occupational Standards (NOS).

SSCs provide employers with a unique forum to express the skills and productivity needs that are pertinent to their sector. By coming together as SSCs, employers have: » greater dialogue with government and devolved administration departments across the UK » greater impact on policies affecting skills and productivity » increased influence with education and training partners » substantial public investment.

All SSCs are licensed by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, in consultation with Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Asset Skills Sector: Property services, housing, cleaning services and facilities management Tel: 01392 423 399 Email: enquiries@assetskills.org Web: www.assetskills.org

Energy & Utility Skills Sector: Electricity, gas, waste management and water industries Tel: 0845 077 9922 Email: enquiries@euskills.co.uk Web: www.euskills.co.uk

Improve Ltd Sector: Food and drink manufacturing Tel: 0845 644 0448 Email: www.improveltd.co.uk Web: info@improveltd.co.uk

SEMTA Sector: Science, engineering and manufacturing technologies Tel: 01923 238 441 Email: infodesk@semta.org.uk Web: www.semta.org.uk

Skills for Logistics Sector: Freight logistics industry Tel: 01908 313 360 Email: info@skillsforlogistics.org Web: www.skillsforlogistics.org

34 » summer 07

Automotive Skills Sector: The retail motor industry Tel: 020 7436 6373 Email: info@automotiveskills.org.uk Web: www.automotiveskills.org.uk

e-skills UK Sector: InformationTechnology and Telecommunications and the lead body for Contact Centres on behalf of the Skills for Business network Tel: 020 7963 8920 Email: info@e-skills.com Web: www.e-skills.com

Lantra Sector: Environmental and land-based industries Tel: 0845 7078007 Email: connect@lantra.co.uk Web: www.lantra.co.uk

Skillfast-UK Sector: Apparel, footwear and textiles and related businesses industry Tel: 0113 2399 600 Email: enquiries@skillfast-uk.org Web: www.skillfast-uk.org

SkillsActive Sector: Sport and fitness, the outdoors, playwork, and the caravan industry Tel: 020 7632 2000 Email: skills@skillsactive.com Web: www.skillsactive.com

Sector Skills Councils « Directory «

network Cogent Sector: Chemicals and pharmaceuticals, nuclear, oil and gas, petroleum and polymers Tel: 01925 515200 Email: info@cogent-ssc.com Web: www.cogent-ssc.com

Financial Services Skills Council Sector: Financial services industry Tel: 0845 257 3772 Email: info@fssc.org.uk Web: www.fssc.org.uk

Lifelong Learning UK Sector: Community learning and development, further education, higher education, libraries, archives and information services, work-based learning and development Tel: 0870 757 7890 Email: enquiries@lifelonglearninguk.org Web: www.lifelonglearninguk.org

Skills for Health Sector: The health sector across the UK Tel: 0117 922 1155 Email: office@skillsforhealth.org.uk Web: www.skillsforhealth.org.uk

Your all-in-one guide to the 25 SSCs

ConstructionSkills Sector: Construction Tel: 01485 577 577 Email: info@cskills.org Web: www.cskills.org

GoSkills Sector: Passenger transport Tel: 0121 635 5520 Email: info@goskills.org Web: www.goskills.org

People 1st Sector: Hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries Tel: 0870 060 2550 Email:info@people1st.co.uk Web: www.people1st.co.uk

Skills for Justice Sector: Custodial care, community justice, court services, prosecution services, customs, excise and police.

Tel: 0114 261 1499 Email: info@skillsforjustice.com Web: www.skillsforjustice.com

Creative & Cultural Skills Sector: Advertising, crafts, cultural heritage, design, music, performing, literary and visual arts Tel: 020 7015 1800 Email: info@ccskills.org.uk Web: www.ccskills.org.uk

Government Skills Sector: Central Government (including government departments and their agencies, non-departmental public bodies and the armed forces) Tel: 020 7276 1611 Email: info@government-skills.gov.uk Web: www.government-skills.gov.uk

ProSkills UK Sector: Process and manufacturing in the building products, coatings, glass, printing, extractive and mineral processing industries Tel: 01235 833844 Email: info@proskills.co.uk Web: www.proskills.co.uk

Skills for Care and development Sector: Social care, children, early years and young people's workforces in the UK Tel: 0113 241 1251/85 Email: sscinfo@skillsforcare anddevelopment.org.uk Web: www.skillsforcareand development.org.uk

Skills for Care & Development

Skillset Sector: Broadcast, film, video, interactive media and photo imaging Tel: 020 7520 5757 Email: info@skillset.org Web: www.skillset.org

Skillsmart Retail Sector: Retail Tel: 020 7399 3450 Email: contactus@skillsmartretail.com Web: www.skillsmartretail.com

SummitSkills Sector: Building services engineering Tel: 01908 303960 Email: enquiries@summitskills.org.uk Web: www.summitskills.org.uk

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» Feature » Sport

Listen with Now that former Premier League player Mickey Bennett has hung up his football boots, he’s helping other players stay on top of their game

By Astrid Stubbs

F

ormer football star Mickey Bennett is using all the experience he gained as a player to help others make a better life for themselves.

Mickey, whose playing days included stints at Charlton, Wimbledon, Brentford, Millwall and Brighton, has re-trained as a counsellor and life coach.

None of this would have been possible, he says, without the help of his union, the PFA. The union provides advice and guidance about educational and vocational courses, in preparation for a second career, for all registered and ex-registered Premiership and Football League players and PFA members.

In Mickey’s case, it gave him

support with money for courses, books and computer equipment.

“The union was fantastic,” says Mickey, who retired from the sport in 2004.

Mickey now works part-time for Charlton and Arsenal clubs, with a client base of players.

“I’ll go along and talk to a player, watch their game and see how they’re doing and if their game has gone to pot we can talk about why and what’s going on for them,” says Mickey.

He is convinced that if such a service had existed when he was a player he would have been in better emotional shape.

Mickey received a cruciate ligament injury in the early stages of his career that left him on the bench for nine worrying months.

“I recovered 100 per cent physically but not mentally.

Managing the future The League Managers Association hopes that affiliating to the Educational Sports Forum will give a welcome boost to the work it already has underway.

“If our members don’t have the skills they need, clubs don’t give it to them. There is no real scope for personal development – in-house training in clubs is very poor,” says Graham Mackrell, education and training officer for the LMA, which represent managers, coaches, administrators, financial and commercial staff in 92 Photo by Jess Hurd

36 » summer 2007

Premiership and league clubs.

“This wouldn’t happen in any other big company,” says Graham, who explains that if a particular skill is needed, the LMA will try and find a course to provide it – whether it’s in leadership, time management or languages. Working with Oxford Brookes University, the LMA has set up courses in running your own business to help members find a new direction once their match days are over.

“If a football manager has lost their first appointment, there’s a 49 per cent chance

Sport « Feature «

Mickey Knocking ’em out (from left): Barry McGuigan, ESF Secretary Alan Irwin and former British champion Micky Cantwell

If there had been something in place and someone to speak to about my insecurities that would have been better than it all being there in my head,” he explains.

Mickey says players have always been able to talk to him.

“They must have felt that I was approachable,” he says.

Now he has formalised that approachability and his clients talk to him about anything from injuries to problems with contracts and other personal issues.

A trained drug and alcohol counsellor, Mickey says he likes to reach people before they reach for the bottle, pills or powder to try to escape their problems.

“They trust me because they know I played football: it’s not like I’m someone who turns up in a shirt and tie. I can relate to

they will never work again. We can help them identify the skills they have that they are often not totally aware of. We have a lot of people who have worked in the game all their professional lives who suddenly realise they have got to think about what they are going to do,” adds Graham.

them and their problems – I’ve seen it and done it.

“I have experienced the excitement of making it with a big club at 16 and the despair of suffering a serious injury when my career was just taking off.

“Young players need to know it is okay to talk to someone.

Football is very closed and I want to help people become more open and get stuff off their chests before the panic sets in.”

In addition to his club work, Mickey is a counsellor for Turning Point in London, which offers drug and alcohol counselling support to young people.

Through his own business, Unique Sports Counselling, he also works for four secondary schools in London, counselling youngsters with problems.

And as part of its community commitment, Charlton has set up a drop-in centre in Gravesend at which Mickey supports young people once a week.

Mickey also works with the PFA to help players talk about the possibilities of education before their playing days are over so that the transition period to a new career is not so traumatic.

“I didn’t think this career change would happen to me but then I didn’t have plans to get into football – it was just a way of keeping out of trouble!” he says.

In the future, Mickey would like to branch out to supporting players in others sports as well as footballers.

“Players in all sports are under pressure and they all need the space to talk,” he says.

Forum for sport Boxing star Barry McGuigan has given a punchy start to the launch of a new website for the Educational Sports Forum www.educationalsportsforum.co.uk.

The ESF provides an opportunity for sports unions to discuss lifelong learning in their industry, consider best educational practice and develop educational strategies that will benefit the members they represent and the communities in which they live.

Former world boxing champion Barry launched the new website in Belfast.

It will provide a vital additional resource to the work of the ESF, whose impact has already been felt across the industry with lifelong learning courses for affiliates.

“The ESF understands the feelings of utter devastation, isolation and lack of worth that are often experienced when people lose their employment. It happens in all industries. Despite what some may think, the sports industry is no different and is not immune,” says secretary Alan Irwin.

Members of the ESF have also met with Richard Caborn, minister for sport, to discuss the impact of ULF funding on its work. “None of our work would be possible without ULF funding,” adds Alan.

Barry also supports the conversion to learning programme for boxing and rugby league employees and volunteers in Yorkshire, run by the GMB and SkillsActive with a £400,000 grant from the Union Learning Fund.

The gloves are on: Alan Irwin (right) with world champion Ricky Hatton

summer 2007 «

37

» Update » Organising

Teacher Dawn Groves knows just how important the voice is when you’re working in the classroom.

That’s why the NUT ULR organised a voice care session for teaching colleagues across Bedfordshire.

Dawn teaches Key Stage 2 and 3 cookery and Key Stage 3 English to pupils at Robert Bruce Middle School in Beford.

A member of her union since qualifying, she became more active when she attended a course about the NUT and how to get involved.

“I wasn’t actively involved at that point and from what I heard on the course I thought that being a ULR seemed really interesting so I took it from there,” she explains. “From that, I went on the TUC’s ULR course and found I was inspired by what I could do.”

One of Dawn’s first tasks as ULR was to circulate a learning needs analysis questionnnaire among NUT colleagues and organise appropriate courses in response.

These have been mainly in ICT but Dawn also maintains good contacts with her local college to signpost teachers who want to take up other lifelong learning opportunities.

And it’s in response to the needs of teachers that she decided to lay on the voice care session.

“There can be big problems with teachers’ voices and the taster session gave them advice on how to look after it and use it properly. There were tips and exercises on warming up the voice and protecting it – quite a few people had a go at the

Photo by Jess Hurd

Vocal support

exercises and it went down very well,” she says.

As a result of her ULR activities, Dawn has been inspired to become a health and safety rep.

And she has been active at national level too, attending the union’s young teachers’ conference.

Dawn says her work with the union has helped her build the profile of the NUT and spread the organising message as well as offering her the opportunity to inform NUT policy and campaigns.

“A lot of people don’t know about the union and by promoting courses people are hearing more about what’s going on. In this way people can come and find out what they can do for their union and what it can do for them.”

Dawn Groves looks after her voice while teaching her cookery classes

Watch on the web Billy Hayes, chair of the unionlearn board, and TUC Deputy General Secretary Frances O’Grady promoted the launch of two new pieces of research into union learning with a panel discussion you can watch on the web.

The audience of senior officials, officers and organisers from a wide range of unions enthusiastically took part in a lively debate around the key issues raised by the new research.

38 » summer 07

The two new reports under discussion were Organise to Learn and Learning to Organise and Union Learning, Union Recruitment and Organising.

They conclude that unions can have a positive effect on the organisation of learning and that, just as importantly, this learning can have a positive effect on trade union organisation.

To watch this lively debate log onto www.unionlearn.org.uk.

Thanks for the memory A pilot campaign in which learners and ULRs receive a free memory stick when they sign up colleagues to lifelong learning has been launched in 27 learning centres across England.

The aim of the WinWin campaign is to increase learner engagement and contribute to the learning and organising agenda.

Existing learners/ULRs will receive a free memory stick for each new learner they bring to the centre. The new learner will also receive a stick. Each memory stick will contain information on joining a trade union and becoming a ULR. “The campaign is very much about engaging new audiences ideally in workplaces that are not fully unionised and need to engage new learners. This campaign should increase engagement and hopefully union membership activism,” says unionlearn Organising Officer Anna Burton.

If the campaign is successful it may be rolled out from September 2007.

Q&A « Feature «

Jay knows Contact us...

If you have a question you want answered or want to take part in online discussions, please visit www.unionlearn. org.uk/discuss

Jay Sreedharan, unionlearn’s website officer, answers some recent questions raised by site visitors

Q I’ve been doing ULR work for a

couple of months and at work we already have a Skills for Life Programme in place. My question is how do I keep the momentum going, without overwhelming people with learning?

A There are several things that you can do to build on this success without overpowering your colleagues. You may want to try some of the following: » Distribute some quizzes and puzzles with pay slips. These are fun and interactive ways to get potential learners to identify how they could benefit from learning without being too intrusive. » Establish a ‘learning notice board’. You can use this to keep colleagues informed about activities taking place in your learning centre, and a space to put up posters and fliers about the benefits of learning. » Use the intranet or internal email system to publicise activities and the achievements of learners.

You may want to develop an electronic newsletter just for your workplace. » Link into national programmes: eg, Adult Learners’ Week or World Book Day. You can invite a college you work with to run taster sessions of courses. » Link the learning centre to wider issues. Run a campaign to promote ‘fair trade goods’ and invite guest speakers. This is a good way to get people into the learning centre and to highlight other important issues. » Hold an awards ceremony for people who have successfully passed courses or gained qualifications through the learning centre.

These are just a few ideas that can be used to keep the momentum going; I am sure there are many more. Email ulweb@tuc.org.uk if you have more suggestions to share.

Where can we get free resources?

If you would like to get access to some of the resources to help you, log onto the unionlearn website. www.unionlearn.org.uk/ freebooks to get leaflets, quizzes, scratch cards and posters and other useful resources.

You may also find it useful to link in with the Get On at Work Programme, which can help you with ways to engage with your members. www.move-on.org.uk

The BBC has a website for adults who want to improve their basic skills in reading, writing and maths. The site offers free fact sheets, worksheets, quizzes and games. www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/

Register free with the Campaign for Learning and download free worksheets on developing an Individual Learning Plan, using Indian Head Massage as a learning activity, Job Swaps, how to run a Tai Chi event, Bitesize Learning as a means of engaging people in workplace learning and plenty more. www.campaign-for-learning.org.uk/ WorkplaceLearningNetwork/

These are only a few examples. If you know of other useful websites, please email me at ulweb@tuc.org.uk

summer 07 «

39

» contacts

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

» unionlearn

» Midlands team

Tel: 020 7079 6920 Fax: 020 7079 6921 Liz Smith, Director Secretary, 020 7079 6922

0121 236 4454 Mary Alys, Regional Manager Gary O’Donnell, Union Development Coordinator Pete Try, Regional Education Officer

» National unionlearn managers Ian Borkett, Standards and Quality Manager, x 6940 Bert Clough, Research and Strategy Manager, x 6925 Matthew Fernandez-Graham Business and Finance Manager, x 6936 Mike Power, Communications and Marketing Manager, x 6942 Liz Rees, Trade Union Education Manager, x 6923 Judith Swift, Union Development Manager, 0151 243 2568

» Learndirect centres 0191 227 5567 Helen Gagliasso

» Equal 0151 243 2571 Joe Fearnehough, Equal National Project Manager

» Website 020 7079 6943 Jay Sreedharan, Web Officer www.unionlearn.org.uk

» Southern and Eastern team 020 7467 1251 Barry Francis, Regional Manager Jon Tennison, Union Development Coordinator, Rob Hancock, Regional Education Officer

Supported by:

» Northern team Barney McGill, Regional Manager 0191 227 5552 Elizabeth Killoran, Union Development Coordinator 0191 227 5557 Ian West, Regional Education Officer 0191 227 5572

» North West team Dave Eva, Regional Manager 0151 236 2321 Tony Saunders, Union Development Coordinator, Liverpool office 0151 236 2321 Manchester office 0161 445 0077 Peter Holland, Regional Education Officer 0151 243 2564

» South West team Helen Cole, Regional Manager, Ros Etheridge, Union Development Coordinator, 0117 947 0521 Regional Development Workers: Alan Shearn, Bristol 0117 947 0521 Geoff Hale, Cornwall 01209 611 604 Marie Hughes, Regional Education Officer 0117 933 4443

» Yorkshire and Humberside team 0113 245 4909 Alan Roe, Regional Manager Sharon Burke, Union Development Coordinator Trevor Sargison, Regional Education Officer 0113 200 1071

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

» Union contacts Tom Beattie Amicus 020 8462 7755 tom.beattie@amicustheunion.org Mark Holding ATL 020 7782 1596 mholding@atl.org.uk Kirsi Kekki Connect 020 8971 6052 kirsi.kekki@connectuk.org Trish Lavelle CWU 020 8971 7340 tlavelle@cwu.org Trevor Shanahan FBU 07917 75 9473 trevor.shanahan@fbu.org.uk Jennifer Moses, Stephen Smith NASUWT 0121 453 6150 lifelong.learning@mail.nasuwt.org.uk Andrew Parry Williams NUT 020 7380 4800/4780 learning.reps@nut.org.uk David McEvoy PCS 020 7801 2727 ext 2360 david.mcevoy@pcs.org.uk Andy Rowett POA 07917 699 210 poaulf@yahoo.co.uk Rachel Bennett Prospect 020 7902 6687 Rachel.Bennett@prospect.org.uk Andrew Barton RCN 0207 647 3657 andrew.barton@rcn.org.uk Jim Mowatt TGWU 020 7611 2628 jmowatt@tgwu.org.uk Rail Union Learning RUL Programme Support Team 0207 317 8612 info@rul.org.uk Jeff Hopewell UCATT 01302 360 725 jhopewell@ucatt.org.uk Pam Johnson Unison 020 7551 1267 pam.johnson@unison.co.uk Graham Cooper URTU 07795 562 874 grahamcurtu@yahoo.co.uk Ann Murphy USDAW 0161 224 2804 ann.murphy@usdaw.org.uk