» Autumn 2011

www.unionlearn.org.uk

Youcan make

the change

INSIDE� Lee Hall on the

lessons of thepitmen painters

� Why moremanagers needbetter skills

� Give an hour toget someoneonline

learning repthe

Stating our case

2 » autumn 2011

» Comment

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The party conference season has just cometo an end and, as you will see inside thisissue of The Learning Rep, unionlearn hasagain been visiting all the parties at theirannual gatherings to put the case forworkplace training, skills and union learning.

It’s good to be able to report that unionlearnreceived a warm response from delegates andpoliticians at all three conferences and there isgrowing recognition of how effectively unionsand ULRs increase training in the workplace.

With the latest economic forecasts showingthat the UK economy is struggling and thatunemployment is still rising, ensuring effectivetraining and development in the workplaceremains vital. Vital both in terms of ensuringworkers facing redundancy have the skills toseek new jobs but also vital in that a companythat invests in its staff is more likely to survive in harsh economic times – a message that wasreinforced by Stephen Uden, head of skills atMicrosoft UK, at our fringe meetings.

The high levels of youth unemployment, nowover 20 per cent, and concerns about evenhigher levels among Black and Minority Ethnic(BME) youth not in work or training was raised.Both unionlearn and City & Guilds expressedour concerns with the governing parties over the changes to careers advice in schools andreinforced the message that this is vital inhelping school leavers into work and effectivetraining schemes.

We were therefore pleased to hear LibDemDeputy Leader Simon Hughes acknowledge thisas a problem. The Skills Minister John Hayesalso re-affirmed the government commitmentnot only to increasing apprenticeships but alsoto ensuring that the quality and standards werehigh and completion rates were increased, anarea vital for addressing skills for young workers.

Unionlearn will continue to build on the workdone during the conference season to argue thecase for more training, apprenticeships andbetter workplace learning.

Tom WilsonDirector, unionlearn

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Contents: 3 ULR of the year6 News10 Conferences round-up 12 Janet Brownhill14 WorldSkills201116 The Pitmen Painters18 Digital learning21 Quick Reads 22 Learning centre24 Interview26 TUC Education round-up30 Contacts31 Calendar32 Resources

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The Learning Rep autumn 2011Editor: James Asser jasser@tuc.org.ukWriters: Astrid Stubbs, Martin MoriartyCover photo: Speech therapist Janet Brownhillby Paul CarterDesign: wave.coopPrint: Ancient House Printing GroupDistribution: Cavalier mailing

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autumn 2011 « 3

News «

USDAW learning rep JonathanWaterhouse collected his ULR ofthe Year award from TUC GeneralSecretary Brendan Barber at thisyear’s TUC Congress, which washeld in London for the first timesince 1902.“It was a big surprise finding out I’d wonthe award in the first place, but it wasfabulous to go up and get the recognitionat Congress,” says the ULR Coordinator,who runs the Learn4U centre at theMcvitie’s factory in Manchester.USDAW General Secretary John Hannett was

one of the first to congratulate Jonathan andhis team of ULRs at McVitie’s when he heardabout the award.“By promoting lifelong learning they have

given hundreds of their members a secondchance to improve their skills, increase theirconfidence, and enhance their employmentprospects,” he said. “It’s a win-win situation for both workers

and the company and credit to themanagement at McVitie’s, who I know havebeen very supportive.”

Photo: Rod Leon

Usdaw rep takestop award

4 » autumn 2011

When USDAW opened the Learn4U centre at the McVitie’s factoryin Manchester three years ago, Jonathan Waterhouse was soenthusiastic about the possibilities of workplace learning that hevolunteered to run the project.“I was very excited about the challenge of addressing learning in the

workplace,” he says.It was something of a return to the fray for him, since he’d already put

in a few years as deputy convenor onsite before calling it a day a decadeago (although he never gave up his union card).Now named ULR of the Year at at this year’s TUC Congress, Jonathan is

immensely proud of everything the entire ten-strong team of learningreps has achieved over the past three years, with the active support ofthe rest of the branch.The team has encouraged more than 150 workers to use the

Go ON suite of online basics (formerly the myguidepackage) provided through UK online since the centreis a registered UK online centre.In addition, the ULRs have set up an NVQ

programme at the centre, which hashelped 100 workers achieve their firstfull Level 2 qualification (before thecentre opened, the company’s NVQprogramme was restricted to supervisorsand above).And after running the Six Book Challenge

in partnership with Stockport Libraries forthree successful years in a row, the team picked up theReading Agency’s workplace award earlier this year.ULR Coordinator Jonathan doesn’t have particularly happy

memories of going to school in the deprived area of Gorton inManchester during the 1980s.“It was quite a bleak area, and school wasn’t taken very seriously:

unless you were bright, most of the teachers weren’t very interestedand that rubbed off on the rest of us,” he recalls.This less than ideal learning culture meant Jonathan left school without

English and maths qualifications, which severely restricted his optionswhen it came to finding work.But his experience made him an excellent candidate to run the Learn4U

centre when it opened in 2008, since he knew the majority of hiscolleagues had ended up in the same boat.Assessing his own Skills for Life when he trained as a ULR reminded

him how his co-workers would need courage and commitment to returnto learning.

» ULR of the Year

Help yourself!

Anyone at the McVitie’s factory in Manchesterwho wants to develop themselves can take acourse at the Learn4U centre run by ULR of theYear Jonathan Waterhouse and his team.By Martin Moriarty

“I did my own initial assessment of my literacy and numeracy at thestart of my ULR training: it was a big sweat because I’d never done a testin that kind of environment,” he recalls.That’s why he determined that he would do everything he could to

make the Learn4U centre feel light years away from the schoolclassrooms that had proved to be such negative environments for himand for so many of his colleagues.“I put a lot of my experience into the work I do, and I try to put myself in

the position where I can think how other people might feel, which is whyI try to create a relaxed atmosphere in the learning centre that’s nothinglike school,” he says.

“If you’ve got someone who’s in his 50s with no qualifications and youtry to engage them with English and maths, it needs to be in anenvironment where they feel relaxed – and I think we’ve cracked that,because our learners have achieved more than 150 Skills for Lifequalifications.”He’s impressed at the response on the shopfloor, especially the way

more and more people are taking the opportunities to improve their livesat home as well as at work.“One lad who came in here pulled me to one side (because people are

embarrassed when they want help with English and maths) and he saidhe wanted to do some maths,” Jonathan recalls.“I always ask people why they want to study and he said he wanted to

help his daughter who was only six months old at the time: he wasthinking ahead, and helping people with those kind of basic skills is areal important one for me.”Jonathan says that workers who improve their Skills for Life at the

centre can also boost their performance in the company’s SHL testingprogramme, which United Biscuits uses to test problem-solving,communications skills and creativity on the shopfloor.“If you don’t possess the basic English and maths skills, you’re not

going to get through the SHL testing, and that will have a major impact onyour progress and your earnings here,” he explains.The centre allows workers to take practice tests to familiarise

themselves with the approach so that they don’t blow the real thing.Promoting learning has helped grow the union onsite, he says. “We

had quite a high density of union members here anyway but we’ve beenable to get more people through the centre, and we’re now signing upagency workers into USDAW as well.”The branch, which has been supportive of the project from day one, is

now backing plans to hold a ‘union day’ in the canteen this autumn tohighlight all the benefits of union membership to the workforce, andmake another push to recruit more learners.Jonathan is proud of the way learning has changed from ‘added extra’

to part of everyday life in the factory.“What I find exciting is that learning has now become the norm: if

people want to learn, they can just come in. And it’s not dependent onme: if I were to step aside, I’m quite confident this would continue.”

ULR of the Year «

autumn 2011 « 5

“What I find exciting isthat learning has nowbecome the norm: ifpeople want to learn,they can just come in to the centre.”

Jonathan aims tocreate a relaxedenvironment inthe learningcentre that’snothing likeschool

Photos: Jon Super

» News

A new web-based recruitmentsystem to help defence andaerospace workers find newjobs in advancedmanufacturing and engineeringcompanies will become fullyoperational early in the new year.The national web-based Talent

Retention Solution (TRS) will helpmatch skilled employees facingredundancy to advancedmanufacturing and engineeringcompanies that are recruiting new staff.TRS is the outcome of joint work by

the Skills and Jobs Retention Group(SJRG) and Sector Skills CouncilSemta to help defence engineersstruggling to find work in the currenteconomic climate.“This new web-based talent

retention system will assistbusinesses in the high-growth

engineering and manufacturingsector to recruit the staff they need to compete successfully in theinternational market,” says AllanCook, who chairs both Semta and the SJRG.“With leading companies like

Nissan and Siemens partnering withSemta, we have true employerownership to solve a problemaffecting the public and privatesectors and the talented people they employ.”Major employers including Rolls

Royce, Airbus, Siemens and Nissanhave already signed up for thescheme, which aims to have recruited1,500 employers of all sizes by thetime it goes live.“Nissan is currently recruiting for up

to 200 new engineers andmaintenance technicians at ourSunderland plant and we see theTalent Retention Solution as a

6 » autumn 2011

Communications union CWUhas opened a brand new onsitelearning centre at the RoyalMail Heathrow WorldwideDistribution Centre (HWDC) withthe support of the UnionLearning Fund (ULF) and thecompany.CWU learning rep Parminder Kaur

persuaded management to let herturn a defunct shop near the cafeteria

into a dedicated learning centre forthe 1,600 staff, wiring it forbroadband and installing laptopswith the help of its ULF grant.More than 200 HWDC workers

were already studying through theunion onsite, but the new facilitiesmean learners have a permanenthome in which to pursue allaspects of their development.“I am confident in the future we

will bring even better and morevaried courses that everyone willbenefit from,” Parminder told theofficial opening ceremony inSeptember.CWU South East Regional Learning

Project Worker Joe Showler saidParminder had done excellent workto establish a learning culture atHWDC. “It is a large, multi-cultural

workforce and Parminder has createdgood relations through the coursesin English, maths and computer skillsand by putting on social events, suchas trips to Weymouth,” Joe said.HWDC Head of International

Communications Bob Lawrence saidhe was delighted to continue theclose partnership work with theunion on the learning agenda.“The HWDC management team

have always been fully supportive ofthe CWU ULRs based at HWDC andbelieve that the opening of our newHWDC learning centre will enable thelearning reps to continue with theexcellent work they are already doingto promote lifelong learning for allmembers of the HWDC community,”he said.

Heathrow learners cleared for take-off

Web resource helps engineers find work

Defence andaerospaceworkers will beable to findengineering jobsmore easilythrough theTalent RetentionSolution

Photo: Marley Show

ler

valuable source of potential newemployees who could fill theseposts,” says Colin Lawther, Nissanvice-president for productionengineering in Europe.

>>Visit:www.talentretention.biz

CWU GeneralSecretary BillyHayes (left) andULR ParminderKaur helplaunch the newRoyal MailHeathrowlearning centre

Photo: Mark Pinder/reportdigital.co.uk

News «

autumn 2011 « 7

Usdaw learning reps at the Tesco Extrain Hastings celebrated the Six BookChallenge at the store in September bypresenting everyone who took partthis year with a certificate, andrunning a raffle where the top prizewas an Amazon Kindle e-reader.With the help of Usdaw’s Southern Division

Project Worker Peter Chalklin, ULRs SandraCrowhurst and Maura Winchester organisedthe event, which involved 65 staff membersat the store.Unionlearn SERTUC supplied the books for

challenge participants to read and Tescoprovided the raffle prizes.“We are so pleased with the enthusiasm

shown by learners here that we are alreadyplanning to replicate it in stores all over theregion,” commented Usdaw Divisional Officer Jim Carty.He was especially pleased to be celebrating

union-led learning in Hastings, which

famously formed the basis for the fictionaltown of Mugsborough, the setting for RobertTressell’s working-class classic The RaggedTrousered Philanthropists.“In Hastings, where Robert Tressell lived,

it’s great to be celebrating the learningagenda that Usdaw is doing so much topromote: I was inspired by The RaggedTrousered Philanthropists when I left schooland it helped to set me on my learning path,”Jim said.

Every little (book) helps in Hastings

Three-quarters of youngunemployed people believetheir life is being wasted,according to hard-hittingfigures from FutureYou thathighlight the dangers faced bythose not in employment,education or training (NEET).The FutureYou: A Wasted

Generation report also reveals thatthe average NEET spends eightmonths unsuccessfully searching fora job or training, and says almost halfbelieve it is unlikely they will everhave a job or career that utilises theirskills or talents to the full.The report also uncovers how

young people outside education andemployment suffer serious blows totheir emotional health and well-being, with one in five abusingalcohol, one in three believing theyface discrimination and one in fourcontemplating suicide.“Traditional methods of getting

young people into work aren’tworking: young people have told usthat career advisers and Jobcentreswere the least useful tool available tothem,” says Patrick Gifford ofFutureYou.“What they want is support from

people their age, their families andworking people they can take realisticadvice from, and their ‘go-to’destination is online.”FutureYou was launched in 2010

to give young people aged 14–25real-time online access to supportand counselling from trained peermentors, FutureYou Mentors,professional advisers and accredited counsellors.

>>More details:www.comres.co.uk/poll/493/future-you-neet-survey.htm

Jobless youthfear for the future

Unions, employers and government mustwork together to encourage more Blackand Minority Ethnic (BME) youngstersinto apprenticeships, unionlearn DirectorTom Wilson told a conference inSeptember.Almost half of BME young people are not in

employment, education or training, and while 22per cent of school pupils are from BMEcommunities, the figure drops to only 8 per centof apprentices.“Many of the areas hit by the recent riots are

also areas of high unemployment among BMEyouth: too many of these young people arebeing shut out of the labour market,” Tom toldthe unionlearn SERTUC conferenceApprenticeships For All.“We are here today to see how unions,

employers, government agencies and localcommunities can make a special effort to getBME young people interested in qualityapprenticeships.”TUC Race Equality Policy Officer Wilf Sullivan,

Opening doors to more black traineeswho chaired a panel of experts, said radicalaction was needed to end the labour marketmarginalisation of the BME community.“The TUC will be impressing upon

government that it must inject cash into theapprenticeship programme to ensure thatBME young people can find a quality routeinto the workforce,” he said.The conference highlighted a number of

specific initiatives aimed at encouraging moreBME young people to take the apprenticeshiproute, including:� A scheme encouraging Muslim families tolet their daughters find work that providestailor-made training and support for theyoung women.

� Telecoms giant BT marketing its sought-afterapprenticeship programme to BMEyoungsters.

� A Leicestershire college offering nine-year-old primary school pupils a taste of theworkplace and information onapprenticeships.

Photo: Philip Wolm

uth/reportdigital.co.uk

Photo: Wanda Wyporska

Photo: Philip Wolm

uth/reportdigital.co.uk

» News

progress made since the launch ofthe nationwide Skills Strategy.The final report, Work, Society

and Lifelong Learning, called on thegovernment to continue investing inadult literacy to boost economicperformance and combat the socialexclusion that leads to personalmisery and civil dysfunction.According to the inquiry, the

government should prioritise:� raising standards of teaching and learning

� extending family literacy and learning

� creating a Challenge Fund toimprove outreach to under-represented groups by working with unions, employers andcommunity organisations.“In spite of remarkable efforts and

considerable public investment, thisproblem simply won't go away,”commented inquiry chair LordBoswell of Aynho. At least five million adults were

missing out because they did nothave good enough literacy levels, he explained.“This damages their chances of

working, and depresses theirperformance and that of theircompany, if they are at work,” he said. “No less important, it cuts them off

from full participation in our society.”NIACE Director of Development and

Research Carol Taylor echoed LordBoswell, arguing there was much stillto be done to improve adult literacylevels in England.“With the resources at our disposal

in this country, surely we must beable to give everyone the skills ofadequate literacy to help them towork, engage with society and givetheir children the best possible startin life,” she said.

>>Download your copy of thereport from:http://tinyurl.com/6yq3hnb

8 » autumn 2011

Action plan for adult literacy

Adult literacy can be improvedonly by raising standards ofteaching, extending familylearning programmes andimproving outreach to under-represented groups, accordingto a major independent reportpublished in September.The year-long inquiry was

commissioned by the NationalInstitute for Adult ContinuingEducation (NIACE) to examine

Sunderland MPs BridgetPhillipson and Julie Elliottformally opened the newLearning Styles learning centreat Sunderland City Council inSeptember.The Learning Styles workplace

project, which has already helpedmore than 4,800 staff and membersof the community access IT courses,played a vital role in helping theauthority secure £10 million inMicrosoft vouchers to promotelearning throughout the city. Opening the new learning centre

was the best way of moving theproject forward, explained ULRCoordinator Howard Fawcett, theUNISON activist who leads a team ofmore than 40 dedicated ULRs fromUNISON, the GMB, UCATT and Unite."The Learning Styles project has

been a joy to work on from thebeginning and its continuedexpansion and integration into theworkplace demonstrates the needand demand for it,” he said.

"The addition of a further learningcentre was the next logical step: theability to deliver more learning tomore people is the ideal scenario – Ihope everyone who can takeadvantage does.”Houghton and Sunderland South

MP Bridget Phillipson said she wasdelighted to open the new learningcentre, since it provided opportunitiesthat were especially important in thecurrent economic climate. “This impressive partnership

between unions and the city councilhas been very successful in achievingand promoting learning opportunitieswhich will benefit individuals,organisations and the widercommunity by encouraging adults ofall levels of ability to considerreturning to learning," she said.Sunderland Central MP Julie Elliott

was equally enthusiastic at theribbon-cutting ceremony. “The centreis a shining example of what can beachieved when employers andunions work together: everyone

Brand new centre helps Sunderland shine

Sunderland MPsBridget Phillipson(left) and JulieElliott open thenew LearningStyles centre

benefits from employees who haveaccess to lifelong learning andtraining," she said.Sunderland City Council Leader Cllr

Paul Watson said he was sure thenew centre would be a fantastic toolto help the authority provideopportunities for staff to learn newskills to help deliver the best possibleservices to local people.

News «

autumn 2011 « 9

Prospect has handed over its Union LearningSection of the Year Award to the ULR team at theJohn Innes Centre (JIC), the independent centre ofexcellence in plant science and microbiologybased at Norwich Business Park.Gill Ashby, Tom Betteridge and Sarah Tolland secured

the recognition for the very successful Learning At WorkWeek programme they ran in partnership with PCS and JICmanagement last year.More than 100 people took part in sessions on

everything from computer brush-up and speed reading togrowing vegetables and writing a will, while archery andPilates attracted so much interest that the team has sincestarted running ongoing classes.“I liked the idea of encouraging people to continue

learning in some shape or form, using the excellentfacilities here to support them: in fact, it developed morethan we could possibly have imagined,“ explained Gill.The team built on the first Learning At Work Week it put

together in 2009. “In 2010 we learned from the feedbackfrom the first event, and spread the activities more evenlythroughout the week,” Gill said.“It was very rewarding to see the large numbers of

people who signed up for the events and the positivefeedback from them.”

Prospect President Nigel Titchen presented the ULRswith their award at a campus-wide Health and Well-BeingExpo this summer, which they had also helped organiseas part of a cross-site team.“On top of their day jobs, they have put in long hours

and boundless enthusiasm to help others access learningat work, thereby demonstrating the breadth of activitiesthat unions undertake in the workplace,” Nigel said.

Science centre team picks up Prospect award

The CBI has laid down a markerin the ongoing debate aboutinvestment in training with itsnew report that arguesemployers can invest in theskills of their workers toachieve growth withoutrecourse to statutory levies.

Business investment in skills: theroad back to growth argues for avoluntary approach to increasinginvestment in skills, which wouldinclude:� larger companies opening up theirresources and expertise to smallerfirms within the sector

� smaller and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs) in the samegeographic area sharing resourcesto drive efficiency

� universities and further educationcolleges focusing on tailor-madecourses to up-skill junior andmiddle managers through greateruse of unitised learning andContinuing ProfessionalDevelopment (CPD) programmes

� using Investors in People as apeople development tool.

“Our report finds a wealth of goodpractice among employers of all sizeswho are developing the skills of theirstaff by a range of methods includingformal qualifications, but also on-the-job coaching and learning,”commented CBI Director forEducation & Skills Susan Anderson.“But employers are clear that a

regulatory approach, including theextension of levies and licence topractice schemes would actuallyhinder investment in training.”Unionlearn Policy Officer Richard

Blakeley said it was positive that theCBI was joining the debate aboutinvestment in training, given that 10million workers miss out on trainingand lower qualified workers are fourtimes less likely to receive training. “While we may not agree with all of

the CBI’s recommendations, I thinkthere is plenty of room for debateand consensus,” he said.“Unionlearn is actively working

towards co-investment schemes intraining and we would welcomediscussion on the most effective wayto introduce occupational standards

CBI says Yes to training, No to levies

Gill Ashby, TomBetteridge andSarah Tollandpick up theiraward fromProspectPresident NigelTitchen

Lower-qualifiedworkers moreoften accesslearning throughtheir unions thanthrough theiremployers

and licences to practice.”Unionlearn is holding a seminar on

skills investment on Thursday 1December.

Photo: Janina Struk/reportdigital.co.uk

>>To find out more and bookyour place, please contact Zoe Molyneaux. Email:zmolyneaux@tuc.org.uk Tel: 020 7467 1273

>>CMI interview: pp24–25

10 » autumn 2011

» Round up » Conferences

Skills Minister John Hayes and his Labourshadow Gordon Marsden both used the samemantra at different unionlearn partyconference fringe events this year:‘progression, progression, progression’. They were speaking at events under the theme

‘Unleashing The Talent’, which unionlearn organised tospread the message that enabling workers to improvetheir skills is vital for individual advancement andeconomic growth.Unionlearn also took the chance to highlight its

achievements with politicians and policy-makers, andto tell ordinary conference-goers about the 250,000people introduced to learning every year through thework of 28,000 trained ULRs.A parade of politicians, including LibDem leader Nick

Clegg and ministers Vince Cable and Sarah Teather,visited our stall at Birmingham; while at the LabourParty conference in Liverpool, MPs Ed Balls, ChukaUmunna and Stephen Timms called by for a chat.The meetings at all three major party conferences

made the argument that the workforce needs to havethe means to adapt and progress as low-skilled jobsare replaced by work requiring higher-level skills and ITcompetencies.At the Conservative Party conference in Manchester,

John Hayes was fulsome in his praise for unionlearn atour fringe meeting chaired by Julie Margo, deputydirector of Demos. The minister said that the government was serious

about dispelling the myth that the only way to gainaccomplishment, prowess and worth was through theuniversity route.It was time for those with practical and technical

skills to have their moment in the sun, and apprenticesshould be able to celebrate the end of their studies inthe same way as students whose photographs ingraduation robes take pride of place on their parents’mantelpieces.

The government was creating500,000 apprenticeships, he said,and was making good on its pledges toinvest in higher level apprenticeshipswith the conference announcement of10,000 more at Level 3 and above.Unionlearn Director Tom Wilson argued

that it was vital that the expansion of theapprenticeship programme was not at theexpense of quality; the brand must not betarnished and unions would be supportingquality schemes.Microsoft UK Head of Skills and Economic

Affairs Stepen Uden said that the IT giant oversawthe training of 500 apprentices a year and wasworking towards qualifications that would open upjobs, such as software design, to non-graduates.Since 90 per cent of jobs now required the use of a

computer, the workforce of the future would need tobe more highly skilled, and as 70 per cent of thepresent workforce would still be there in 2020,employers should upgrade the skills of their staff, he argued. “We have to get the message across that companies

that do well are those which train their staff,” he said. Tom Wilson pointed out that one practical way to

improve the workforce’s skills was to make employersaccountable for the £5 billion in tax relief on training. At the Labour conference in Liverpool, Tom Wilson

joined City & Guilds Head of Policy & Corporate AffairsKate Shoesmith, Labour’s Gordon Marsden and LordGlasman, creator of the ‘Blue Labour’ philosophy, at afringe meeting organised with the think tank Progress. In a flying visit to the event, Lord Glasman lived up to

his controversial reputation by proposing that half ouruniversities should be closed and turned intovocational colleges, which would include medical, lawand accountancy students, as a way to “get over thecontempt” that the UK holds for vocational education.

Unionlearn took its skills and developmentmessage to all the party conferences thisautumn to show politicians and partyactivists how workplace learning is helpingeconomic recovery. By Frances Rafferty

It’s all about progression

autumn 2011 « 11

Conferences « Round up «

He said the previous Labour government hadmistakenly relied too heavily on the financial sector andan emphasis on ‘transferable skills’: we should have ahigher regard for cable layers and a lower regard fordoctors than we do at present, he argued.Gordon Marsden paid tribute to John Hayes for

supporting unionlearn, praised the crucial role of ULRsand argued that FE colleges and employers would haveto engage more with each other if they were to respondto the needs of the labour market.At our fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrat

conference in Birmingham, chaired by the new head ofDemos David Goodhart, LibDem Deputy Leader SimonHughes revealed that there was a ‘battle royal’ betweentwo government departments over the future of thecareers service. Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation

and Skills (BIS) believed that young people shouldhave access to face-to-face interviews, particularly inthe light of high youth unemployment, rather thanschools deciding what service to provide.Kate Shoesmith from City & Guilds argued that young

people needed career advice at an early age and thatemployers should see work experience as anopportunity to spot talent.

“Apprentices should be able tocelebrate the end of theirstudies in the same way asstudents whose photographsin graduation robes adorntheir parents’ mantelpieces.”

Labour's Ed Balls (left) visitedthe unionlearn stall in Liverpool,while Skills Minister John Hayespraised unionlearn at theConservative Party conference

Photo: Rod Leon

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» Feature » Higher level learning

Since leaving the floristry trade,Unite member Janet Brownhill’scareer has blossomed in theNHS. By Martin Moriarty

Phot

os: P

aul C

arte

r

Getting some career Like many pupils leavingschool, Janet Brownhill didn’thave a very clear idea aboutwhat she wanted to do withher life.She thought that staying on in the

sixth form, let alone planning to goto university, was for the bright kidswho racked up A grades ineverything, not for students like herwho managed only Cs.So when her careers adviser

suggested that she train as a floristat Cannington College nearBridgwater in Somerset, she said Yesbecause she knew she could get alift with one of her friends who wasdoing the same course.

“At school, I was always quite anaverage student: you’re distracted byother things, I didn’t really have anydirection, I didn’t know what to do –hence the fact that I went to dofloristry because there was a girl Icould get a lift with,” she recalls.“I didn’t think university was

something I’d be able to access atthe time: I didn’t think I was brightenough.”After six years in the floristry trade,

Janet took a break to start a family,and it was while she was at homewith her children that she startedthinking more carefully about whatshe wanted to do with the rest of herworking life.

Interested initially in speechtherapy and midwifery, and keen towork in the NHS, Janet realised thatshe’d have to go to night school toget a good grade in Biology at GCSEbefore doing anything else.Once she’d done that, she moved

on to take A Levels in HumanBiology and Sociology, plus a coursein sign language as well.It was while she was taking her

final A Level that she applied for ajob as a speech and languagetherapy assistant at Yeovil DistrictHospital in Somerset.“There were 70 applicants for two

places and by the time theyinterviewed me, they’d alreadyoffered the jobs to other people, butthey ended up creating a third byscratching together some money tomake a post for me,” she says.After a year in the job, Janet

decided she wanted to aim higher –and with the support of her managerwon a place on the HumanCommunication: Speech andLanguage Therapy BSc course atLeicester’s De Montfort University.That meant stopping working as a

childminder and moving her wholefamily from the West Country to theEast Midlands for three and a halfyears, so it’s no wonder that shecould feel the pressure when shefirst arrived on campus.“It was quite terrifying to go back

into full-time education: I sat there

on my first day thinking: ‘At somepoint they’re going to notice me andwonder how I got here’,” she recalls.But the pressure also paid off.

“The fact that I had to drop myincome as a childminder and committo three and a half years study, thathelps to focus you,” she says.“It was a great experience to go

back as a mature student: I loveduniversity, I really enjoyed it – I lovedcoming home having learnedsomething new every day.”It was as an undergraduate that

Janet realised it was fine to own upto not understanding something in alearning context.“When you’re at school, you don’t

like to put your hand up and look abit silly in front of people, but I satright at the front of the class andquite often kept the class latebecause I was asking questions,”she says.“I felt that if I’m going to be here,

I’m going to get absolutelyeverything out of it, and maybe if Idon’t understand it, other peoplemight not understand it as well, soI’ll get the tutor to explain it again ina different way.”Her positive attitude and work

ethic paid off. “I did lots of eveningsand weekends of revision andstudying and assignments, and Iended up getting a First-ClassHonours degree, which was a bit of a shock!” she laughs.

autumn 2011 « 13

“University was a really good way of building myconfidence: when I qualified I was a completely differentperson from when I started.”

Higher level learning « Feature «

therapy

You could aim higher tooUnionlearn and its partners, the OpenUniversity, Foundation Degree Forward, theLifelong Learning Networks, AimHigher and theSector Skills Councils have developed a rangeof resources to help you to find out more aboutthe different routes and pathways you can takethrough higher learning.

>>Visit: www.higherlearningatwork.org

Janet says that one of the biggestbenefits of her degree was theimpact it had on her self-belief.“University was a really good way ofbuilding my confidence: I certainlyfelt that when I qualified in Leicester Iwas a completely different personfrom the person I was when Istarted.”After qualifying in 2006, Janet

secured a speech and language postback in the hospital where she’dbeen working before her degree, andthe family moved back to Somerset.“It’s scary going out there as a

newly qualified therapist, but it wasnice to come back to a team where Iknew most people (almost likecoming back to a bit of a family), andI had regular supervision andsupport,” she says.Eighteen months later, Janet

secured a new job as a SpecialistVoice Speech and LanguageTherapist at Musgrove Park Hospitalin Taunton, and a year latersuccessfully applied to becomeclinical lead for dysphagia(swallowing problems). In learning and development,

taking the first step is always themost difficult and the mostimportant, Janet reckons. “You haveto have the confidence to think ‘I cando this’,” she says.

14 » autumn 2011

» Briefing » WorldSkills 2011

Newcastle College won goldand Pembrokeshire Collegetook silver in the environmentalscience competition atWorldSkills 2011 in London,the first union-led challengeever to be mounted at aWorldSkills event.The competition was developed

by Prospect, which has beenworking in partnership withunionlearn and a range of sponsorsand supporters over the past fiveyears to run the pioneering event.“The environment is one of most

important challenges facing theworld and it is vital that we haveyoung people with high-qualityskills committed to taking on thechallenges for climate change,”explained Prospect’s head ofresearch, Sue Ferns, who has beencentral to the development of theinitiative.“The competition raises

awareness and motivates youngpeople in taking up careers inthese areas.”Five teams from the UK and one

from the Netherlands had to designa sustainable energy solution foran island community; build a

Building a better worldrenewable energy generator; andpresent a report to judges tojustifying their solution and winover members of the localcommunity.Robert Lee and Emily Athey (who

competed on the two differentteams fielded by NewcastleCollege) both decided to take partbecause the focus of thecompetition fitted with theiruniversity plans: Robert is thinkingabout studying environmentalmanagement, while Emily wants todo environmental science and law.Robert was especially keen

because he’d heard nothing butgood things about the competitionfrom one of his friends who’d beenpart of the Newcastle College teamat last year’s event inPembrokeshire.“You have to have quite a bit of

endurance to get through the daysbut it is fun when you get into it: it’schallenging, but it’s really fun,” he said.Emily, whose team ended up

taking gold, admits she was feelingthe pressure on day one. “On thefirst morning when we got all theinformation I felt it was too much to

handle, so I had quite a slow start,”she said.“But I picked up really well, got

on a roll, and skipped a couple ofbreaks because I thought: ‘I don’twant to stop now I know what I’mdoing’. I really enjoyed it, morethan I thought I would, to becompletely honest.”Richard Jones and Katie Phillips,

two-thirds of the team from ColegSir Gâr in Carmarthenshire, hadnever taken part in anything on thescale of WorldSkills. “It felt very bigand very official!” Richardadmitted.But they relished the challenge.

“It’s interesting and fun and we’veworked together well,” Katie said.The Netherlands team of Joep

van Meel, Mitch van Vugt andJohnny Eijskoot from Radius College had to overcome thelanguage barrier in addition toeverything else, but enjoyed theLondon challenge even more thanthe Pembrokeshire competitionthat two of the three took part inlast year.“Everything was really well

organised and it was nice to seehow people from other countries

Six teams of young people put their greenskills to the test in the environmental sciencecompetition staged by Prospect and itspartners at WorldSkills London 2011.

Dutch courage(from left): Joepvan Meel, JohnnyEijskoot andMitch van Vugtget to grips withdesigning theirsustainableisland atWorldSkills

Photo: Joanne O’B

rien

autumn 2011 « 15

WorldSkills 2011 « Briefing «

Team UKwins bigTeam UK won its best-evermedals haul at WorldSkills2011 in London, withcompetitors securing fivegolds, two silver, sixbronze and 12 medallionsfor excellence. The five golds were Philip

Green from Lisburn in NorthernIreland (bricklaying); LondonerBen Murphy (cooking); ShaneTrevitt from the Wirral (plumbingand heating); Chris Berridgefrom Crewkerne(stonemasonry); and KirstyHoadley (visual merchandising).Almost 1,000 young people

from 53 countries across theglobe demonstrated theirsuperior skills in competitionscovering everything fromhairdressing and hospitality tobricklaying and plumbing at thefour-day event in London’sExCel centre in October.Organisers ensured young

visitors to the event had thechance to have a go at whatwas on offer and talk toemployers, colleges,universities and trainingorganisations about how to goabout making it happen as acareer choice.Unionlearn maintained a high

profile throughout the event,running a seminar and hostinga reception in Congress Housefor participants in Prospect’senvironmental sciencecompetition.“We need an imaginative

skills strategy fully aligned to anintelligent industrial strategy –delivering the green skills, jobsand industries of the future,”TUC Deputy General SecretaryFrances O’Grady told theWorldSkills Leaders Forum.Business and government

both stood to gain by involvingunions, she said. “You get anew partnership for workplacelearning and, as the evidenceconsistently shows, you get realperformance gains.”

looked at environmental issues,”Joep said.“The language slowed us down,

but we wrote very good reports anddid a really great job, better thanlast year: we worked very hard andwe had a really great time and ifthey asked us again we would do itagain, I’m sure about that.”Their tutor Ruud Janssen was

also very positive about the entireWorldSkills experience. “It’swonderful to see all these studentswho are the best at their skillscompeting in an internationalenvironment,” he said.Baroness Margaret Wall, the

former union official for Amicus(now Unite) who came up with thecompetition idea in the first place,presented the medals to thewinners at the end of the event.She was thrilled with thecompetition’s high profile, eventhough it wasn’t an official part ofWorldSkills 2011.“In our darker moments we had

this view that we were going to be

somewhere away from whereeverything was happening, butactually we were in the middle of it,which was fantastic,” she said.Principal sponsors of the

environmental science competitionwere the Tec Trust Fund and theNational Skills Academy for Power,with supporters including BritishGeological Survey, EAL, EnergySolutions, Green Collar Academy,NNL, Semta, Summit Skills andunionlearn.After the success of the challenge

at WorldSkills London, unionlearnand Prospect are lobbying hard tohave a similar competition as partof the official programme at thenext WorldSkills, to be held inLeipzig in 2013.“I’m absolutely certain that this

competition will go from strength tostrength and hopefully we may seeother unions coming forward withinteresting new competitions intheir areas too,” commentedunionlearn Director Tom Wilson.

“I’m absolutely certain thatthis competition will go fromstrength to strength andhopefully we may see otherunions coming forward withinteresting new competitionsin their areas too.”

BaronessMargaret Wallpresents gold tothe winning teamfrom NewcastleCollege (fromleft): DamianEnglish, MollySecret and EmilyAthey

Phot

o: Jo

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Netherlandstutor RuudJanssen saystaking part wasa positiveexperience

16 » autumn 2011

» Interview » Lee Hall

Newcastle playwright Lee Hall has followedup Billy Elliot with a play that explores theremarkable story of the Durham miners whotook an art class that changed their livesforever. By Martin Moriarty

Anyone who’s ever caught themselveswondering whether trade unions should beorganising informal learning like art classes,poetry workshops or salsa lessons shouldbook a ticket to Lee Hall’s play The PitmenPainters.Set in the 1930s and ’40s, the play re-tells the

remarkable (and true) story of a group of Durhamminers who decided to start evening classes on artappreciation through their union.After a tricky beginning, what made the course really

catch fire was when the tutor from the Workers’Educational Association (WEA) suggested that the bestway to learn about painting was simply to do it.It was a life-changing moment for everyone involved.

At first reluctantly but gradually more and moreprolifically, the miners began to explore their owncreativity, building up a body of work that wasexhibited both locally and in London.Famous in the art world of the time, the

Ashington Group continued to meet and paint untilwell into the 1970s, when a young Lee Hall firstheard about them in an item on the local news.But he’d all but forgotten about that until he

stumbled across a study of the group by art criticWilliam Feaver in a second-hand bookshop a fewyears ago.

“I was just browsing when I saw the title PitmenPainters and I was intrigued: I’d read the first chapterby the time I’d got home and knew immediately thiswas a play,” he says.Working with colleagues in Newcastle’s Live Theatre

(where he’d first developed Billy Elliot in the 1990s), hewrote what became The Pitmen Painters, which waspremiered in the north-east in 2007.But he didn’t have very high hopes for the new play,

he reveals. “You’re always told as a writer that no one’s

interested in class any more, that class doesn’t evenexist any more,” he recalls. “I thought ‘Nobody’s goingto be interested and we’re going to get hammered bythe critics’.”He was wrong on both counts. Since its opening run

in Newcastle, the production has enjoyed massivesuccess at London’s National Theatre, where it pickedup an Evening Standard Award for Best New Play,transferred to Broadway, and is now running inLondon’s West End after a lengthy UK tour. What’s remarkable in all of this is that The Pitmen

Painters doesn’t adhere to the standard formula wheretalented individuals have to escape the collective orturn their back on their roots in order to expressthemselves.It’s one of the aspects of the story that most attracted

Lee, and makes the play all the more resonant in an eralike ours when the biggest challenges we all facedemand collective solutions, he argues.“All the pressing problems we have – the

economic, the ecological, the democratic –cannot be resolved individually,” he argues.“They have to be resolvedcollectively, and this is one ofthe themes of the play, howyou work things throughas a group.”

Painting the stageredPh

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autumn 2011 « 17

Lee Hall « Interview «

“All the pressing economic,ecological and democraticproblems we have cannot beresolved individually: they haveto be resolved collectively.”

The play doesn’t just talk the collective talk: it’s theresult of collaborative effort by a group of people whohave been working with each other in a variety ofcontexts for the past two decades and more.“I went to school and youth theatre with a lot of the

cast, we’ve all known each other for 25 to 30 years atleast, and I think that’s also what’s made thisenterprise work,” Lee points out. “The principle of howwe’ve done the work is the same as what we’re trying tosay with the work.”Born into a working-class Newcastle family in the

mid-1960s (his father was a painter and decorator andboth his parents had left school at the age of 14), Leewent to a comprehensive where his teachers inspiredhim to read English at Cambridge University.

Looking for ideas?

“They made it seem really normal that if you readbooks and discussed them and were pretty good atthat, you should go to the best place,” he recalls.Although he wasn’t he most diligent student when it

came to attending lectures and writing essays, hethrived at a university that had what he calls a“strangely anarchistic” attitude to learning.“I was really allowed to pursue my own intellectual

and artistic interests and you can sort of design yourown course: I think the freedom and the tacitunderstanding and encouragement to trust your ownsense of intellectual curiosity and creativity was veryimportant,” he argues.He remains passionately committed to the ideal of

education for its own sake. “I feel that this cookie-cutter, bean-counting approach where the purpose is toeducate the drones for more exploitation is antitheticalto me – it’s a travesty of education,” he argues.And like the pitmen of his play, Lee believes we

should all be integrating our creativity in our day-to-day lives. “I think we can’t be fulfilled if there is a division of

intellectual and creative labour, where some peoplemake it and some people consume it,” he says.“I don’t know if everybody’s going to be a great

painter or a great writer, but I do think none of us canlive a really full life if we’re not creative.”As the play proves, this is an idea with a long and

distinguished history inside the labour movement.Union learning reps are ideally placed to make sure ithas an illustrious future, too.

>>The Pitmen Painters runs at the DuchessTheatre in London until Saturday 21 January2012. Book online at www.nimaxtheatres.com or call 0844 482 9672

The PitmenPainters followsthe learningjourney of a groupof Durham minersexploring theircreativity in the1930s

UNISON has produced Learning foreveryone: a ULR toolkit for developinginformal learning at work. The booklet gathers together resources and

ideas from branches around the country onrunning sessions as varied as developing ITskills, poetry workshops, using social media,history workshops and dealing with debt.

>>Read and download from:http://tinyurl.com/6do2e39

Food quality control workerHeather Davidson barely knewhow to start a computer a fewyears ago but now she’s makingher own Christmas cards online, toto the surprise and delight of herfamily.

Now Usdaw member Heatherwants to pass on her enthusiasmfor all things digital so she hassigned up to be a DigitalChampion, one of the ever-expanding network of people whohelp their workmates, friends andfamilies get online.

The aim of the Digital Championsinitiative is to enable people like

Heather who use the interneteveryday to help friends,neighbours and customers whoaren’t online to discover what’s onoffer on the internet.

Race Online 2012, which isrunning the Digital Championsinitiative with the support ofunionlearn and others, hopes itwill reach the 8.7 million people inthe UK who have never used theinternet up to now.

Heather has spent the past 27years working at Cavaghan andGray in Carlisle, which makes ready meals for companies likeMarks & Spencer.

When she changed her job fiveyears ago, she realised she wouldneed to improve her IT skills frombasic email.

“The new job involved lots ofinputting figures and usingdatabases and I didn’t want to beforever asking people to help,” she says.

Heather took a basic IT course ather firm’s learning centre and was“absolutely hooked” by the end of

it, she says.

18 » autumn 2011

» Feature » Digital learning

Heather Davidson has joinedthe network of DigitalChampions helping convincethe 8 million-plus people whohaven’t yet used the internet tostart exploring the online world.By Astrid Stubbs

Usdaw memberHeather (left) andmentor Carol Gillimprove theircomputer skills atthe Cavaghan andGray learning centre

There’s a whole world

Ahh, so cute:Heather’sgrandsonfeatured on herChristmas cardlast year

autumn 2011 « 19

Digital learning « Feature «

Why be aDigitalChampion?

Before an online course at hislearning centre at First Bury,bus driver and Unite ULR PeteSlater’s computer experiencewas limited to socialnetworking. So, when the chance arose for

him to attend an ITQ course, hejumped at it, knowing full well thepotential benefits, vocationally and personally.“What I’ve learned has had a

direct impact on my role as a ULR,”he says. “I now have the knowledge to

produce posters, newsletters andinformation that I can pass on tomy colleagues and I can work outbudgets and keep track of my bills. “As a ULR, I am eager for other

learners to take up similaropportunities to enhance theirdigital skills.”Most recently, Pete gained a

Level 3 Preparing to Teach in theLifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS)qualification and he appreciatesthat without the knowledge hegained from his ITQ course, thePTLLS qualification would havebeen far more difficult. “Overall the IT experience has

enriched my life and I feelempowered to embrace digitallearning and my aim is to supportothers with improving their onlineskills,” Pete says.

Pete spreadsthe digital word

She’s now completed numeracyand literacy Levels 1 and 2,applied for the next IT level andreports that her new-found skillshave helped her at work andeverywhere else in her life.

“I was given a new laptop for my birthday and I’m now doingdigital scrapbooking and made my own Christmas cards onlinewith a picture of my new grandson:my family were flabbergasted,” she reveals.

“Now I try and help people: I tellthem that if I can learn IT after 27years at work, so can they. Peopleare missing out by not being online:you can do anything online.”

For example, she says, shedidn’t know where to go for herULR course, so she used GoogleMaps to find out where it was.

“Now I know how to get thereand the quickest way withouthaving to ask,” she says.

“I’m definitely not frightened todo anything online now. Nothingscares me about it. Now I just want to encourage more people to do it too.”

Heather was recruited intolearning about computers by herUsdaw Branch Secretary Carol Gill, who helps run the company’slearning centre and is now also aULR.

Like Heather, Carol had littleexperience of computers when shefirst came to learning. “When Itook my first class I was the starpupil because I knew how to turn iton!” she recalls.

“It’s surprising how many peoplesay they are too old to learn – thenwhen they come along they havereally enjoyed it. I talked onewoman into it and she did thecomputer course and has nowtaken literacy and numeracy and ismoving on to higher courses.”

So what’s Carol’s secret forencouraging people into thecentre?

“We make it as much fun aspossible. We have a cup of tea anda laugh. We’ve just had pensionchanges and people have beenable to complete them onlinebecause of doing the course.People are less frightened.”

online to explore

autumn 2011 « 19

Digital learning « Feature «

� 16 million of us are alreadywatching TV or listening to theradio through the web.

� Households can save up to £560 ayear shopping and paying billsonline.

� Government public information ismoving online – you’ll increasinglyneed to access the web to doeverything from influencingdecisions that affect your area tocollecting benefits.

� Seven million job ads appearedonline last year.

� You now need computer skills for90 per cent of new jobs.

� Good computer skills can increaseyour earnings by 25 per cent.

Pete now has the skills to help othersenhance theirdigital learning

Race Online 2012, UK online centres and the BBC have got together to run the computercampaign Go ON, Give An Hour this autumn.

The idea is that anyone already using the internet canpledge to give the extra hour we all enjoyed when theclocks went back to help someone get online for thefirst time.

There are taster sessions throughout Novemberlargely run by UK online centres and BBC First Clickcentres, where internet beginners can get help takingtheir first steps into the online world.

Unionlearn joined Liverpool City Council, Race Online2012 and UK online centres to launch its Go OnLiverpool campaign this autumn, with an eventfeaturing local MP Louise Ellman, Liverpool City CouncilCabinet Member for Skills and Employment Cllr NickSmall, UK online centres Director of Operations KevinMclean and Natasha Innocent from Race Online 2012.

The Go On Liverpool campaign aims to get an extra25,000 people in the city online by March 2012, withthe help of 5,000 digital champions (including ULRs)across all sectors of the community.

>>Visit www.go-on.co.uk/champions for top tips,videos and information. There’s also a digitalchampion page to make it simple to networkand swap stories and pics with other champs.http://raceonline2012.org/digital-champion-toolkit

Help more people get onlinewith these new resources

BBC First Click bbc.co.uk/firstclick has creatednew resources that will help recent beginnersuse computers and the internet to explore theirhobbies and interests online. New topicsinclude: Family History, Health & Wellbeing,Managing Money and Sport.

HealthThis simple guide helps beginners findlots of useful and important healthinformation online.

What you can do: Host a health andwell-being themed event and ask yourlocal GP surgeries and communityhealth groups to display posters andleaflets; or run additional activities.

MoneyThis guide shows internet novices how touse the Money Advice Service’s interactive‘health check’ tool to help people makedecisions about how to make the most oftheir money.

What you can do: Why not hold a‘Managing your Money’ themed eventand invite local organisations that oftenprovide money advice such as theCitizens Advice Bureau or Post Office?

SportThis sport-themed guide shows beginnershow to explore the BBC’s London 2012website.

What you can do: Run a sports or Olympicthemed session and invite your local leisurecentre or health and fitness groups to getinvolved and support your event.

Marketing materialsTo encourage people to ‘spend anhour’ to give the internet a go, theBBC and UK online centres haveproduced a range of posters andflyers to help partners promotetheir courses and any specialevents during November. Thesecan be downloaded to print fromwww.go-on.co.uk.

20 » autumn 2011

» Feature » Digital learning

Want a computer at home and looking fora low-cost package to get you started? >>£92 from Remploy (www.ecycleonline.co.uk

or 08450 268 293)>>From £95 (available to people receiving

certain benefits and to charities) or from£165 for others (www.getonlineathome.orgor 03719 100 100)

>>£299 from XMA  (www.getonline.xma.co.ukor 0115 846 4120).

Get online for less

Get ready to snuggle up with a good book inFebruary when Quick Reads, its main sponsorGalaxy and freud communications unveil their newcampaign ‘Fall in love with reading’.“The Galaxy Quick Reads ‘Fall in love with reading’ campaign

will include partnerships with national media outlets andengagement of credible, authentic celebrity ambassadors,”explains Quick Reads Chair Gail Rebuck. “Key employers such as Mars, First Bus and P&O will be

introducing ‘reading breaks’ for their employees, to enhancetheir skills and productivity, and self-sustaining reading groupswill be developed nationwide.”All these initiatives will be given prominence by a high-profile

launch, which aims to give renewed impetus to Quick Reads andalso remind everyone of what the initiative has achieved to date.The campaign launches a few weeks before the next set of

Quick Reads is published on World Book Day in March. The 2012 books include titles from best-sellers

Maeve Binchy, Conn Iggulden and AlexanderMcCall Smith as well as a thriller from Lynda LaPlante, books by Tony Parsons and Maureen Lee,a new Doctor Who story and a self-help guidefrom James Caan (from BBC’s Dragons’ Den).Quick Reads has helped hundreds of

thousands of people pick up books and enjoyreading again. In a survey covering 50,000new readers, 98 per cent said that Quick Readshad made a positive impact on their lives. "They have reintroduced me to reading: I

had forgotten how enjoyable it is, they areshort enough to read anywhere and don’ttake that long," said one reader.There are lots of resources for inspiring new readers on the

Quick Reads site, including Being Creative with Quick Reads, ashort guide to give you ideas for engaging new readers.

>>www.quickreads.org.uk

autumn 2011 « 21

Quick Reads « Feature «

>> Download the titles as e-Books: youcan buy them directly from a range ofonline retailers. Applications thatallow font and text size to be changedcan help readers with impaired sightor dyslexia.

>> There are special offers for employers to engage staff atwww.quickreads.org.uk/resources/employers-resources

>> Run a Six Book Challenge. The ReadingAgency’s scheme encourages less-confident readers to read six booksand record their reading in a diary inorder to receive a certificate and thechance to enter a national prize draw.www.sixbookchallenge.org.uk

>> Do something different. Try an‘extreme reading competition’encouraging members to read in crazyplaces and record their adventures oncamera, or run a creative writing orpoetry competition on a themeinspired by any of the books.

>> Contact your local bookshop orparticipating supermarket, and ask if itcould make sure it has someone onhand to answer questions about therange of books that is available.

What you can do

There’s going to be much more to Februarythan Valentine’s Day cards, flowers andchocolates when Quick Reads launches itsnew campaign to encourage us all to fall inlove with reading. By Astrid Stubbs

Are you ready for love?

When the old Red Star railway parcels operationwas swallowed up by courier company Lynx in1999, what used to be its office just outsideChatham station in Kent became something of aglorified dumping ground. Not any more. Five years ago, the three rail unions

RMT, Aslef and TSSA cleared out all the rubbish, gavethe rooms a bit of a makeover and re-opened as a newlearning centre for staff working for the Southeastern rail company.Jointly run by the rail unions in partnership with

Southeastern, Red Star Learning offers a range of mostlyinformal courses to railworkers and their families, withdigital photography and British Sign Language provingmost popular.“The majority of courses tend to be informal: that

seems to be the way people like to learn,” says RMTDevelopment Worker Ivor Riddell, during a break fromteaching a British Sign Language course at the centre.Digital photography is a case in point. Not long after it

opened, the centre ran a couple of photography coursesdesigned by Lewisham College, but learner feedbacksuggested the approach was too academic and notinteractive enough.Now Ivor runs the courses himself – and he takes a

very hands-on approach. After introducing learners tohow cameras work and what makes a good picture, hesends them out of the centre for an hour to startphotographing by themselves. When they return, heshows them how to transfer the images to a computerfor editing and how to burn them onto a disc they cantake home.“It’s very basic stuff: we’re not going to teach them to

be David Bailey, but we take them through what theyneed so they can start learning themselves, and thecourses have been really successful,” he explains.In fact, the courses have helped bring on so much

talent that the centre ran a photography competitionduring Adult Learners’ Week this year, with the best of

the 36 entries on display revealing aremarkable variety (and only two

pictures of trains).Most of the courses mightbe non-accredited, but

they’re all extremelyeffective.

In fact, you couldsafely say that manyrailworkers havechanged their lives

as a result ofvisiting RedStar Learning.

» Feature » Learning centre

Railworkers and other union membersare taking education into their ownhands at Red Star Learning in Kent. By Martin Moriarty

22 » autumn 2011

Letting yourfingers do the talking

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Learning centre « Feature «

autumn 2011 « 23

“There’s one guy who hadn’t read a book since he leftschool so I gave him a copy of Ricky Tomlinson’s QuickRead,” says Ivor. When I saw him six weeks later he said,‘I hate you – that book’s started me off again and now Ican’t stop reading!’” What makes the story even sweeteris that he was reading with his kids for the first time.Andy Green is another Red Star success story. Andy

came looking for help when he decided to try to returnto work after long-term illness: he was terrified of theprospect of the written assessment in the applicationprocess, especially since he hadn’t had a job interviewin 30 years.At Ivor’s suggestion, he tried a mock assessment at

the centre: it took him several hours to finish andshowed he needed a lot of help with his English andmaths. But with Skills for Life support from the centre over the

following weeks, Andy was eventually able to finish amock assessment with 10 minutes to spare and get apassing grade.When he did the same on the day of the real thing, he

was so chuffed with his results that he headed straightback to the centre to spread the good news. Ivor happened to be in the middle of a meeting with

the extremely old-school director of human resources,Nigel Cotton, when Andy burst in celebrating his successwith the kind of Anglo-Saxon you don’t usually comeacross in a literacy test.“It frightened the life out of Nigel but he saw the funny

side of it,” Ivor laughs.

Now Andy’s one of the best ambassadors for thecentre and for the union, Ivor adds. “He goes out thereand he’s sold on the RMT – he thinks we’re the bestthing since sliced bread – and he’ll tell everybody elseabout it, so it’s very powerful stuff.”Red Star Learning doesn’t only help railworkers: it’s

also currently the only venue for TUC Education in thewhole of Kent, and holds courses for all workplace repsdelivered by Lewisham College.Although he’d always been a union man since he

started working for the old British Rail in the late 1970s,Ivor himself had never been active before he became aunion learning rep a few years ago.

“RMT lead ULR Caroline Goodwin found out I did signlanguage (my daughter is profoundly deaf) and asked if Iwould do a taster session for Adult Learners’ Week,which I enjoyed,” he recalls. “And then she and MikeSargent, who was the project worker at the time,persuaded me to take on the role.”The centre’s achieved a great deal since RMT General

Secretary Bob Crow officially cut the tape back in early2007, Ivor reckons.“It’s really coming together,” he says. “When you step

back and take stock, you see we’ve done quite a lot overthe past five or six years: Red Star learning centre is alittle jewel in the crown.”

RMT lead ULR CarolineGoodwin (right) teachessome basic BSL words

“When you step back and take stock,you see we’ve done quite a lot overthe past five or six years: Red StarLearning is a little jewel in the crown.”

Ivor Riddell(left) hasshared his signlanguage skillswith dozens oflearners at thecentre, whichalso hosts TUCEducationcourses (right)

24 » autumn 2011

Organisations thattrain their managersas well as theirworkers improvetheir performance,argues Petra Wilton,the CMI’s director ofpolicy and research. By Astrid Stubbs

Leaders n

“It is important thatbusinesses genuinelyencourage a cultureof ongoing skillsdevelopment bycreating a supportiveand learningenvironment.”

autumn 2011 « 25

eed learning, tooPetra Wilton « Interview «

The success of union-led workplace learningover the past decade has helped persuademore and more companies to boost theirbottom line by investing in the skills of theirworkers.But it’s often a different story when it comes to

developing leaders at work. Only 40 per cent of UKmanagers have any professional qualifications, andover 65 per cent describe themselves as ‘accidental’managers who have ended up behind a desk throughpromotion rather than vocation.As the professional body for management and

leadership in the UK, the Chartered ManagementInstitute (CMI) exists to change all that, and it’scurrently working closely with unionlearn on commonconcerns about developing leadership in theworkplace.“We have a shared interest in terms of leadership

skills, relations with employees and how effectivemanagement can drive up employee engagement,”says Petra Wilton, CMI’s director of policy andresearch.She likes what she’s seen so far. “I’m impressed by

the work with unionlearn supporting learning acrossworkplaces where we are looking for greaterinnovation, use of technology and up-skilling ofworkforces generally to keep the economy going,” she says.A survey of human resources managers at the joint

CMI/TUC Management and Leadership Workshop atthis year’s TUC Congress confirmed some of thechallenges ahead.Of the 13 HR managers who took part, only two said

they had been adequately trained before taking onmanagement responsibilities, and nearly half believedtheir organisation didn’t provide enough managementtraining and development.Nearly three-quarters thought most UK

organisations were not well managed; over three-quarters reckoned management failure wascompromising UK economic performance; and they allbelieved the country should invest more inmanagement development. All that means it’s good news that CMI is working

with unionlearn to ensure more managers have betteraccess to learning.“Training and skills studies show significant

increases in performance when companies haveincreased management learning and development,”Petra points out.Management development also has an important

knock-on impact. “When you have improvedmanagement teams who understand the benefits oflearning and have had appropriate learningthemselves, they are far more likely to pass that

learning on and also give workforce development amuch higher priority,” she says.“Effective managers do understand the need for

training and to develop their own skills: it’s very hardto inspire your own team to see value in learning ifyou are not a role model.”Petra singles out transport firm First Group as a

shining example of best practice. “They have done alot of work to enable real career progression fromemployees joining as apprentices to reach seniormanagement positions, and they have also openedup their learning environment more widely to familiesand the community at large – it’s fantastic,” she says.CMI is currently working with the TUC and

conciliation service ACAS on a new research projectlogging more examples of partnership working todeliver new skills through effective managementrelations with their unions.CMI supports the Skills Pledge, which encourages

companies to demonstrate their commitment todeveloping the talent and skills of their workforce,and Petra hopes to see more explicit commitments todeveloping management and leadership skills insimilar initiatives in future. “It’s important that businesses genuinely encourage

a culture of ongoing skills development by creating asupportive and learning environment,” she argues.Failure to invest in management training will hand

the UK’s competitors a massive advantage, she warns.“The need is very urgent: in terms of management

training, we are being left behind with the amount weare investing, much less than France and evenRomania per head,” she says.The problem will only become more acute given

that the number of managers is expected to grow inthe years ahead. Figures from the UK Commission forEmployment and Skills suggest we’ll have 5.7 millionmanagers by 2017, or 18 per cent of the total UKworkforce.Clear about the need to continue to invest in skills

during our current economic troubles, Petra isencouraged by the cultural shift towards treatingtraining as an essential rather than a luxury that canbe foregone when times are tough.“It used to be that training budgets would be the

first to go in hard times, but in this recession we haveseen more cooperation from employers to work withemployees, whether it’s to reduce hours or have a pay freeze – anything rather than lose staff,” shepoints out. “People are realising that having the right staff in

place is vital: it costs a huge amount to recruit duringan up-turn, so if we can keep skilled staff that doesbenefit the business in the longer term – it’s anencouraging new way forward.”

Photo: Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk

» Roundup » TUC Education with unionlearn

26 » autumn 2011

Public funding for workplace ESOL ceased inAugust and the government now expectsemployers to pay for it.Other adult ESOL will be fully funded only for

those from settled communities on activebenefits, while ESOL learners not on activebenefits will have to pay 50 per cent of fees.ULRs can discuss the imact of these changes

with other workplace reps and their unionbranches using these key discussion points:❚What are the ESOL learning needs in yourworkplace/learning centre?

❚ Are there current learners and arrangementswith employers and providers?

❚ How can you map these arrangements and thefuture need for ESOL courses?

❚ Keeping the new funding arrangements inmind, how would you approach the employer topay for the course cost?

❚What are the winning arguments for ESOL?❚What does the union gain from having alearning agreement on ESOL funding?

❚What are your first steps in starting thisdiscussion with the employer?

>> Literacy,Language andNumeracy is a packof publicationsthat offer essentialinformation onSkills for Life,including ESOLwww.unionlearn.org.uk/ skills/learn-4072-f0.cfm

Unite ULRs Paul Brown, StuartSmith and Bob Holt haveworked tirelessly over the lastfive years to design anddeliver customised Englishlanguage courses for migrantworkers at bus firm FirstManchester.They started the programme

to help colleagues who werehaving trouble understandingthe local dialect and neededsupport with their English.“It’s important that all

colleagues understand theregulations that apply to theirparticular role, especially in thearea of safety and injuryprevention,” says Stuart.“These key issues for the

business were the initial motivefor English for Speakers ofOther Languages (ESOL)materials we developed tosupport mainstream training.”Stuart and Bob’s material

initially focused on workplacehazards and industryregulations, as well asencouraging staff to becomemore comfortable in speakingEnglish in an everyday context.They have focused their

attention on fostering a relaxedlearning environment in theonsite learning centre, wherethe company covers therunning costs and the unionsupplies the computers.

To fit in with shift patterns,the ULRs run ESOL sessions onWednesdays and Saturdaymornings, with ‘drop-in’sessions available most days.One of 30-plus migrant

workers at the company, depotsupport worker Gosia Piaseckacouldn’t speak a word ofEnglish when she first moved toManchester five years ago. “I started attending the ESOL

classes on Saturdays and foundthe relaxed and friendlyenvironment made it easier tolearn: here you are encouragedand supported every step of theway by the ULRs,” she says.“My confidence has improved

greatly and I am now able tocommunicate without the needfor a translator and I canconverse with confidence inEnglish with my mum andsister.”As her English has improved,

Gosia has been given moreopportunities at work, includinga recent appointment to theFirst UK Bus North RegionCharity & SponsorshipCommittee, where her roleincludes reading lengthy charityapplications and engaging inregular committee meetings. Gosia now has Level 2

qualifications in Maths, Englishand ECDL, and is currentlytaking a Preparing to Teach in

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the Lifelong Learning Sector(PTLLS) qualification.The company has been

supportive throughout. “FirstManchester has a positiveapproach to lifelong learningand the senior managementteam appreciates the benefitsthat have been brought to thebusiness,” Stuart says.

Migrant worker GosiaPiasecka (centre) hasprogressed at work wih thehelp of First ManchesterULRs Bob Holt (left) andStuart Smith

We need to talk about ESOL

English for everyone

Come and learn onlineTUC Education is taking its programmesonline in a bid to help reps having troublegaining release from the workplace toattend training.Online learning offers a convenient and effective

solution for reps who want to develop their skillsand knowledge.It’s especially useful at a time like this when

some employers are feeling too hard-pressed bythe state of the economy to grant release for repsto attend courses in person.The online course structure aims to suit the

needs of both the reps and their employers. For more information and for a list of available

courses visit: www.unionlearn.org.uk/online.This autumn, TUC Education launches an

innovative addition to its online trainingprogramme in the form of bite-sized e-learning. Each module is under an hour long and is

designed to provide brief summaries of topics such as the changes to the sick note and newpaternity rights. By compiling these highly digestible and easy-to-

watch modules, TUC Education is hoping to keepreps up to date with learning that they can accessquickly and conveniently. The modules include the use of video and

interactive technology such as a fun online quiz.They are available on: www.tuclearning.net.In addition, the TUC is at the forefront of a new

European project for Developing e-Learning Toolsfor Trade Union Education (DeLTTUE). The project aims to produce innovative tools,

strategies and good practice guidance to supportthe development of online learning withinEuropean trade union education. It involvespartners from Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria andGreece as well as others in the UK. The results of the project will be shared through

conferences, events and workshops, with the firstconference taking place in Brussels. For more information, visit www.delttue.org or

www.etuinet.org.

TUC Education with unionlearn « Roundup «

autumn 2011 « 27

Dagenham film showinspires new reps

Made InDagenhampacked them in at the WEALondon Regionshowing

A free showing of the filmMade In Dagenham at the WEALondon Region Learning Centreproved so popular people hadto be turned away. The film tells the story of the Ford

women sewing machinists’ strugglefor equal pay in 1968 that eventuallyled to the implementation of theEqual Pay Act. The room was packed with union

reps from Bectu, PCS, RMT, UCU,UNISON and Unite, many of whomhad been on WEA courses, as well asmembers of the Latin AmericanWorkers’ Association (LAWAS) withwhich WEA London Region has apartnership. WEA branch members and work

colleagues and people who hadconnections with Ford were also inthe audience.TUC Regional Education Officer

Theresa Daly introduced the film byspeaking about her early memoriesof her first proper job in 1974working as an assembler on thetrack at Wilmot Breedon inBirmingham. When she asked why she got an

increase every month, the womentold her it was an equal pay rise –which immediately won her over towhat a good thing equal pay was.

Theresa also used the opportunityto profile the brand new TUCDiploma in Equalities course,expected to run at the WEA in 2012.Documentary film maker and

author Sarah Boston, whointerviewed the Ford Dagenhamsewing machinists for a TUC oralhistory project, spoke at the end ofthe film on the historical perspectiveand some of the factual inaccuraciesin the film.“Each day you learn something

new and, just as important, yourelearn something old,” commentedGurdeep Ubbi, a new PCS rep for theLondon Courts Service.“The film showing taught me that,

even in your 60s, if you really wantsomething you can get it withdetermination – it’s certainlyinspired me in my new role as a PCSworkplace rep.”The Construction Safety Campaign,

London Hazards Centre, Institute ofEmployment Rights, PCS,Thompson’s solicitors, Unite and theUnited Campaign to Repeal theTrade Union Laws all ran stalls at theevent.Audience members also picked up

information on TUC and othercourses that will be running at WEALondon Region in 2011/2012.

» Roundup » TUC Education with unionlearn

Debbie Wooley’s dad died when she was five and her mum didn’t cope well. Teachers at her primary school helped a lot and

Debbie was top of the class, but all that changedwhen she went to secondary school and she foundherself falling behind and hating school. A stint at college didn’t help and Debbie left, finally

getting a job as a production worker with BAE Systemsin Radway Green near Crewe – a job she’s held for 29years.Debbie came back into contact with education

when she decided to become a health and safety repfor her union, Unite.“I needed the training to do the job properly,” she

says. “And it was great, so relaxed, so different fromschool. You are not on your own, you are part of ateam.”Since then she has taken not only Stage 1 and 2

Health and Safety stages but also her Diploma inOccupational Health and Safety. She’s now taking anITQ course to improve her IT skills and lifelonglearning is a constant feature of her life.With women in the minority at the company, Debbie

is also a member of its women’s forum.She found herself at one such event talking to 150

people about her horse, Bee, who, in a movingparallel to Debbie’s educational experience, wasneglected but, with support and training, has gained anew-found confidence.

28 » autumn 2011

Debbie rides to successThe horse andher girl: Debbieand her trustysteed, Bee

The Trade Union Education Women’sSummer School more than fulfilled the

expectations of its participants. The 15 women of all ages whotook part had held a variety ofunion roles and hailed from arange of unions, including Aspect,

CWU, FBU, NASUWT, NUJ, PCS,TSSA, UNISON and Unite.

The high-powered programmeheard from TUC Head ofEqualities and Equal Rights SarahVeale and Unite AssistantGeneral Secretary Gail Cartmail,who recalled her days as anapprentice hairdresser, while

Baroness Jeannie Drake unravelledthe mysteries of pensions. Lots of group work meant that

everyone had a chance to learn from eachother, which helped create a genuinelysupportive environment.

Sessions on economics, organising,employment law and pensions all generatedserious and impassioned debate andemphasised how these are all extremelyimportant issues for women. “This course was distinguished by the

patience and respect shown by all participantsand the genuine space for mutual discussionand learning,” commented one participant.“The week was also a time to take stock of

our lives as women and as trade unionists, toplan how we could improve things for otherwomen, but there was also a lot of laughter.”The course also provided access to policy

officers and high-ranking trade union women,who were able to speak frankly about thechallenges they faced as women in amovement still dominated largely by men. A different perspective on reaching the top

was provided at a reception organised at theHouse of Commons, where the group met anumber of women MPs.

Women map way forward at summer school

Photo: Paul Herrm

ann

autumn 2011 « 29

TUC Education with unionlearn « Roundup «

The TUC Education Tutors’Course earlier this yearbrought together everyonefrom college and universitylecturers to informal tutors inlearning centres, with unionroles ranging from ULR to AGS. With a mix of characters, ages,

ethnicities and backgrounds, everyone was united by the desireto teach and prepare unionmembers for their role. An important element was to

look at people’s motivations forbecoming reps or tutors.By the end of the course,

confidence in teaching abilitieshad grown to such an extent thatno one doubted their ownintentions. The course was intense and

built up to a teaching practice,with participants asked to delivera 30-minute lesson, which wasthen critiqued by the class andtutors.It also looked at learning styles;

the specific needs of trade unionlearners; barriers to learning; andhow to get the best out of groupwork. Some of the most interesting

aspects were in learning what notto do and how to deal withchallenging behaviour.

Equalities was an importantstrand of all the work, allowingpromotion of the Tackling Racismpublication as well as a range ofTUC Education products such asthe union professionals’ website,new courses and online courses.

Tutors go back to school

Tutors looked at thespecific needs ofunion learners onthe TUC Educationtutors’ course

“With a mix of characters, ages,and backgrounds, everyone wasunited by the desire to preparemembers for their union roles.”

Prize-winning architect givesStephen Lawrence lectureThe Stephen LawrenceCharitable Trust’s 11thMemorial Lecture wasdelivered by Stirling prizewinning architect and globalphenomenon Zaha Hadid.Through her work around the

world and her experiences inpractice, Zaha reflected on designand diversity in an ever morecompetitive global marketplace. Previous speakers at the annual

memorial lecture have includedthe Prince of Wales, Mayor BorisJohnson, Dr Maya Angelou,

Michael Mansfield QC and LordRichard Rogers. While Stephen Lawrence had his

dream of becoming an architectcruelly taken away, the trust thatbears his name hopes to ensurethat other young people are givenevery opportunity to fulfil theiraspirations. Through its bursary programme

it aims to help young people, inthe UK and internationally,achieve their ambitions of workingin construction, design andarchitecture.

Forthcoming events>> TU Education Women’s Conferencetakes place on Friday 18 November atUnite the Union, Jack Jones House, 2 Churchill Way, Liverpool. Details:Kath.Wood@wmc.ac.uk

>> Introduction to Greening theWorkplace takes place on Friday 2December at the Northern TUC office inNewcastle upon Tyne. It will considerwhy the environment is a trade unionissue and the implications of climatechange for work, jobs and skills. ContactHelen Parry. Email: hparry@tuc.org.ukTel: 0191 232 3175.

30 » autumn 2011

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

» Contacts

» UnionlearnTel: 020 7079 6920Fax: 020 7079 6921 unionlearn@tuc.org.uk www.unionlearn.org.uk Director Tom WilsonTel: 020 7079 6922twilson@tuc.org.uk

» Nationalunionlearnmanagers

Standards and Quality Ian Borkett Tel: 020 7079 6940iborkett@tuc.org.uk Research and StrategyBert Clough Tel: 020 7079 6925bclough@tuc.org.ukCommunications James Asser Tel: 020 7079 6942jasser@tuc.org.uk Trade Union EducationLiz ReesTel: 020 7079 6923lrees@tuc.org.uk Union DevelopmentJudith Swift Tel: 0151 243 2568jswift@tuc.org.uk Business and FinanceCatherine McClennanTel: 07795 606 982cmcclennan@tuc.org.uk Informal Adult LearningJoe FearnehoughTel: 0151 236 7678jfearnehough@tuc.org.uk

» U-Net centresHelen Gagliasso Tel: 0191 227 5567hgagliasso@tuc.org.uk

» WebsiteJay Sreedharan Tel: 020 7079 6943ulweb@tuc.org.uk

» Southern andEastern

Tel: 020 7467 1251Regional ManagerBarry Francis Union DevelopmentCoordinator Jon TennisonRegional Education Officers Rob HancockTheresa Daly

» Midlands Tel: 0121 236 4454Regional ManagerMary Alys Union DevelopmentCoordinator Gary O’Donnell Regional Education OfficerPete Try

» NorthernRegional Manager Kevin Rowan Tel: 0191 227 5565Union DevelopmentCoordinatorBeth Farhat Tel: 0191 227 5576Regional Education Officer Ian West Tel: 0191 227 5572

» North West Regional ManagerDave Eva Tel: 0151 236 2321Union DevelopmentCoordinatorTony Saunders Liverpool officeTel: 0151 236 2321Manchester officeTel: 0161 445 0077Regional Education Officer Peter HollandTel: 0151 243 2564

» South WestRegional Manager Helen ColeTel: 0117 947 0521Union DevelopmentCoordinatorRos EtheridgeRegional Development WorkerAlan ShearnTel: 0117 947 0521Regional Education Officer Marie HughesTel: 0117 933 4443

» Yorkshire and the Humber

Tel: 0113 245 4909Regional ManagerAlan RoeUnion DevelopmentCoordinator Sharon Burke Regional Education Officer Trevor Sargison Tel: 0113 200 1071

» Union contactsAslef Shirley HandsleyTel: 07739 473 174shirley.handsley@aslef.org.ukAspect Nelly Tackla-WrightTel: 01226 383 428nelly@aspect.org.ukATL Kate Quigley Tel: 020 7782 1558kquigley@atl.org.uk BECTU Brian KellyTel: 020 7346 0900bkelly@bectu.org.ukBFAWU John VickersTel: 01132 565 925john.vickers@bfawu.orgBSU Vikki BothamTel: 07717 805 521vikki.powell@britannia.co.ukCommunity Tom Davis Tel: 01562 749 170tom.davis@communitas.org.ukCSP Penny Bromley Tel: 020 7306 6666pbromley@csp.org.uk CWU Trish LavelleTel: 020 8971 7340tlavelle@cwu.org Equity Louise Grainger Tel: 020 7670 0214lgrainger@equity.org.ukFBU Trevor ShanahanTel: 07917 759 473trevor.shanahan@fbu.org.ukFDA Neil RiderTel: 020 7401 5575neil@fda.org.ukNAPO Jonathan LedgerTel: 020 7223 4887jledger@napo.org.ukNASUWT Stephen SmithTel: 0121 453 6150lifelong.learning@mail.nasuwt.org.ukNUJ Linda KingTel: 020 7843 3717lindak@nuj.org.ukNUM Chris SkidmoreTel: 01226 215 555rossomain@fsmail.netNUT Andrew Parry Williams Tel: 020 7380 4800/4780learning.reps@nut.org.uk PCS David McEvoy Tel: 020 7801 2727 ext 2360david.mcevoy@pcs.org.uk

30-31_AUT11_PRF6_REV_Layout 1 copy 4 21/10/2011 12:38 Page 30

autumn 2011 « 31

Calendar «

PFA Alan IrwinTel: 07717 467 718ieteuk@yahoo.co.ukPOA Phil KellyTel: 020 8803 1761pkellypoa@yahoo.co.uk Prospect Rachel BennettTel: 020 7902 6687rachel.bennett@prospect.org.ukRCM Denise LinayTel: 020 7312 3422denise.linay@rcm.org.ukRCN Linda McBride Tel: 020 7647 3855linda.mcbride@rcn.org.ukRMT Teresa Williams Tel: 07881 812 244t.williams@rmt.org.ukSCP Liz Salem Tel: 01625 829 396liz@scpod.orgTSSA Sal MorawetzTel: 020 7529 8049morawetzs@tssa.org.uk UCATT Jeff Hopewell Tel: 01302 360 725jhopewell@ucatt.org.ukUFS Patricia Mayo Tel: 01242 253 259patricia.mayo@ufsdirect.org UNISON Joanna Cain Tel: 020 7551 1700j.cain@unison.co.uk Unite Tom Beattie Tel: 020 8462 7755tom.beattie@unitetheunion.org Unite Jim TelfordTel: 07980 874 662jim.telford@unitetheunion.org Unity Gerald CrookesTel: 01782 280 588geraldcrookes@unitytheunion.org.ukURTU Graham Cooper Tel: 07795 562 874grahamcurtu@yahoo.co.uk USDAW Ann Murphy Tel: 0161 224 2804ann.murphy@usdaw.org.uk

Forthcoming events

November30 October–6 November Give an Hour Week

31 October–6 November Dyslexia Awareness Week

1 SERUC regional conference (Southern & Eastern)

1 Update on Equality Act (Northern)

8–10 CIPD annual conference

10 A day of equality and diversity (North West)

10 Tackling Racism (Northern)

12 Creativity in the workplace (South West)

16 North West regional conference (North West)

18 Voice of the Apprentices

18 TU Education women’s conference

18 Yorkshire & the Humber regional conference (Y&H)

21 Understanding disability at work (Northern)

December1 Skills Investment Seminar

2 Introduction to greening the workplace (Northern)

12 Employment law update (Northern)

14 Equality and diversity forum (North West)

Unionlearn’s offices are closed from Monday 26 December until Tuesday 3 January for Christmas and New Year.

For full details of the events go to the unionlearnwebsite www.unionlearn.org.uk/events

20126–10 February National Apprenticeships Week

3 March World Book Day

5 March World Book Night

12–18 May Adult Learners’ Week

17 May Learning at Work Day

20 May Digital Day including Silver Surfers’ day

Dates for your diary

unionlearn AnnualConference Report

Review of the previous yearfor unionlearn. Publishedfor the annual conference.

Resources « Roundup «

Order now fromwww.unionlearn.org.uk/freebooksAnd postage and packing is also free

Learning journeys – trade unionlearners in their own words

This report explores, in the words of thelearners themselves, the extent to whichunion learning facilitates equality anddiversity in access to learning andprecipitates further personaldevelopment, job progression and/oremployability for learners.

Spread the wordabout the work

of ULRs and learningproject workers byordering more copiesof The Learning Rep. Give them to colleaguesat work, learners andanyone interested inunion learning.

Freematerials

Supporting learners (2011 revised version)

The popular toolkit of SupportingLearners Guides for all union repshas been updated and is nowavailable to download or as aprinted copy. If you have any of theolder versions please order the newones because things have changedquite a lot. All new reps will get acopy as part of their basic training.

If you are a ULR or other unionrep and are involved in supporting unionlearners in the workplace then these guideswill be a useful additional resource.

Progression pathways forall trade union reps

This guide is about progression inthe work that you do to supportunion learners. It will help you tothink about gaining skills andknowledge in advice and guidanceand coaching, mentoring andfacilitating learning.

Literacy, language and numeracy These six new Skills for Life

publications are essential reading forULRs. The six booklets come in a handyfolder. They include:

Union learning:adding value

Summary of the reportpublished last yearevaluating unionlearn andthe Union Learning Fund bythe Centre for EmploymentRelations at Leeds University.

Working for learnersThis handbook is one of the

resources unionlearn has designed tohelp unions and their ULRs inEngland negotiate and brokerlearning opportunities and to supporttheir members in that learning.

This third edition has been revisedto include new developments inunion learning as well as changes ingovernment policy resulting from theelection of the coalition governmentand also new case studies.

new

new

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link for The LearningRep mailing list or toorder additional copies.

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� General guide � Reading and writing � English for speakers

of other languages(ESOL)

� Dyslexia� Speaking and

listening� Maths4Us