ulearn summer 2012

UNISON – THE LEARNING UNION

SUMMER 2012

Councils signapprentice deal

NHS staff developtheir careers

Taking the Six Book Challenge

Bringing the unionpast to life

IN THIS ISSUE

GIVING EVERYONE THE

CHANCE TO LEARN

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UNISON ULearn magazine

Editor:

Martin Moriarty, [email protected]

Design:

www.design-mill.co.uk

Cover picture:

Bridges To Learning event by Sasa Savic

Published by:

UNISON Learning and Organising Services

Printed by:

UNISON, 130 Euston Road, London NW1 2AY

To find out more about UNISON and how to joincontact UNISONDirect on 0845 355 0845

Textphone users FREEPHONE call 0800 0 967 968

Lines open from 6am – midnight Monday to Friday, 9am – 4pm Saturday

Or visit our website www.unison.org.uk

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Contents I want to start by thanking ourlearning reps and lifelong learningcoordinators for all the time andeffort you continue to invest in the development of your fellowmembers. Your help, support andencouragement are helping tens of thousands of UNISON membersquite literally change their lives for the better through learning. You should be very proud.

I’m sure you know that you can counton your union’s support in this vitalaspect of our work. That support goesright to the very top: many of you willhave seen the interview in The Observerlast year in which our general secretaryDave Prentis described learning as “a jewel in our crown”.

He’s right, of course. With the financialsupport of the Union Learning Fund, we have helped thousands of membersbanish the bad memories of their time inschool and take their first steps back intolearning for ten, 20 or even 30 years. And with the support of their co-workers,their learning reps and their tutors, thosemembers have gained new computerskills, brushed up their English and got to grips with maths – things that many of them imagined they might never do.

But we haven’t stopped there. We’vealso created the kind of pathways thathave helped hundreds of membersdevelop their careers, not least throughour partnership with The Open University

(OU). We have enabled many of ourmembers in the health and social care sectors, for example, to gain aprofessional qualification without losingmoney from their pay packets as theywould have had to do in the past.

As the country continues to struggle to escape from recession, and many of us face greater job insecurity as a result,brushing up old skills or gaining new onesis a tried-and-tested way of helping ourmembers stay ahead of the game. I hopeyou are inspired by the stories in this newedition of Ulearn to continue playing yourpart in this vitally important work.

Sue Highton, chair of the NECDevelopment and OrganisationCommittee of UNISON’s NationalExecutive Council

4 News

10 Energy staff switch on to learning

12 Councils sign ground-breakingapprentice deal

14 Reaching the staff otherprojects can’t reach

16 Take your next step with the OU

18 Come learn with us

20 Opening the doors to everyone

22 Cleaner Nicola is top student

23 Tracy helps low-paidNHS staff move on

24 Social care workers aim higher

26 Bringing the past to life

28 How it all adds up online

30 Getting all the skills we need

32 Uni cleaners spread the (written) word

34 Everything you needto get active aroundlearning

Sue Highton

WELCOMEAM

ANDA KENDAL

SUMMER 2012 ULEARN 3

With the financial support of the Union LearningFund, we have helped thousands of membersbanish the bad memories of their time in school

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

4 ULEARN SUMMER 2012

HEALTH

New branch ULR coordinator SteveLynch has helped revive workplacelearning at Manchester City Councilsince he was seconded to the rolein September 2011.

With more than 50 new learningreps now in place – there were only five when Steve took over – dozens of learners are now undertakingqualifications in literacy, numeracy andIT skills, and Steve is setting up Englishcourses for migrant workers at theauthority as well.

“The feedback from the learners hasbeen really positive: this is somethingthey want to do and I’ve not yet comeacross a single complaint,” says Steve.

“Learning shows people how theunion is not like the way we’re painted in the media – we’re here to support people and help themthrough their career.”

It’s certainly making a difference topeople’s lives. Steve has, for example,organised adaptations in theworkplace for someone with dyslexia

who had had no support since startingat the council five years ago.

She is now taking Skills for Life and conversational French coursesthrough the union – and has joined as a result.

The branch is also reaching outbeyond the workplace through apartnership with the central library,whereby when the branch runs a Skillsfor Life course in the library’s IT suite, itwill offer two or three of the ten placesto members of the community.

MANCHESTER REVIVES WORKPLACE LEARNING

A group of 77 UNISON NorthernIreland learners graduated fromthe Open University (OU) nursingprogramme at a ceremony inBelfast in May 2012.

The majority of the learners werehome care workers and nursingauxiliaries who would not have beenable to become nurses through thefull-time study route because of familyand financial commitments.

“These members in social care andauxiliary roles have been able to fulfiltheir dream of becoming registerednurses through this incredibleopportunity provided by their union,”says Regional Officer (LifelongLearning) Fidelma Carolan.

“They’re now going to be able tobring the considerable experiencethey’d already acquired earlier in theircareers into their new roles asqualified nurses.”

The 77 began their learningjourneys six years ago, successfullycompleting the ‘Introduction to health

and social care’ course (K101)through the union’s partnership with the OU that enabled them toapply for the nursing programme.

As they progressed through the nursing pathway, UNISON continued to help them by providing additional study skillssessions, Continuous ProfessionalDevelopment (CPD) workshops and supporting them in their training on the wards.

“The OU pathway allowed them tomaintain their jobs while undertakingtheir study, seconded as nursingstudents for 26 hours a week,”Fidelma says.

“It’s a huge commitment, because they have their tutorials,their placements on wards or in thecommunity, their homework andassignments, plus they continue with their work the rest of the time.”

Take your next step with the OU: see page 16/17

Nursing dreams come true for OU learners

FORMER NURSING AUXILIARY MAIREADCUMMINGS HAS GRADUATED AS A NURSETHANKS TO THE UNISON/OU PARTNERSHIP

SOUTH-WEST

NEWS


More than 30 UNISON members in the south-west enjoyed aninspirational education weekend in March that showcased theenormous variety of the union’slifelong learning programme.

The event allowed members to take part in workshops on dyslexiaawareness, coping with change, thewelfare state, union history, dealingwith paperwork, social media, Return 2 Learn/Women’s Lives, singing andcooking on a budget.

On the Saturday evening, the union ran an information, advice and guidance (IAG) session coveringinitiatives such as The ReadingAgency’s Six Book Challenge andUNISON’s own Skills for Life courses – with nibbles that had been preparedearlier in the cooking workshop.

“A lot of the participants wereordinary members who didn’t knowanything about our education offer and

they were incredibly impressed to findout about all the opportunities open tothem through UNISON,” said regionaleducation officer Kay Mackenzie.

“People loved the welfare stateworkshop, where we explored what it was like for ordinary working peoplebefore the welfare state came into

being: they shared lots of really good stories from their own familiesabout the difference that it made to peoples’ lives.”

Participants called the event‘brilliant’, ‘informative’, ‘fantastic’,‘professional’ and ‘inspiring’ – with one person declaring the timemanagement workshop the bestcourse they’d ever attended.

Somerset local government workerJo Sylvester admitted she had arrivedon the Friday night in low spirits as she was feeling disheartened andfrustrated with her work but that hadall changed by Sunday evening at theend of the event.

“I left the inspirational weekendfeeling that I can go on, stay positive,and get back to being the real me!”she commented.

Jo was not alone. One memberstarted Skyping family members inNew Zealand after taking the socialmedia course, and others wereinspired to run bite-sized singing andcooking sessions in their branchesduring Adult Learners’ Week.

Chorus of approval for regional weekend

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT

POLICE AND JUSTICE


UNISON members working for the probation service in the EastMidlands are able to access moreworkplace learning opportunitiessince the creation of a region-widebranch in autumn 2011.

Bringing together probation staff from Northamptonshire,Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire,Derbyshire and Lincolnshire, the new branch has made learning a toppriority – and is already achievingimportant results.

“We have already signed a learningagreement with NottinghamshireProbation Service, and the employers inNorthamptonshire and Leicestershire

are very keen on working with us aswell,” explains East Midlands regionallearning & development organiserGavin McCann.

“One of the key things we can offer,which our members really want, is theopportunity to progress throughlearning, and now they’re a branch in their own right they can really dictate what learning they would like for their members.”

In Nottinghamshire, UNISON learningrep Audrey Dinnall has encouraged anumber of her members to take Skillsfor Life assessments, and they havesince gone on to secure literacy andnumeracy national qualifications.

Boosting Skills for Life is especiallyimportant for probation staff at themoment, with their employerencouraging offenders to undertakeLevel 2 qualifications themselves.

“I have now passed my maths andaccomplished Level 2, which had made me feel much more confident in encouraging my clients to do thesame,” one learner told Audrey.

“I really appreciate the time and effortyou put in to making this possible forme: the learner support is an invaluablepart of UNISON and makes me feel thatit is definitely worth being part of anorganisation that comes with benefitslike this.”

NEW PROBATION BRANCH OPENS LEARNING DOORS

The Learning Styles workplaceproject at Sunderland City Councilopened a new onsite learningcentre in September 2011.

The new centre was the logical next step in the development of the successful project, says ULRCoordinator Howard Fawcett, theUNISON activist who leads a team ofmore than 40 dedicated ULRs fromUNISON, the GMB, UCATT and Unite.

“The Learning Styles project hasbeen a joy to work on from thebeginning and its continuedexpansion and integration into the workplace demonstrates the need and demand for it,” he said.

“The addition of a further learningcentre was the next logical step: the ability to deliver more learning to more people is the ideal scenario – I hope everyone who can takeadvantage does.”

The Learning Styles project, whichhas already helped more than 4,800staff and members of the communityaccess IT courses, played a vital rolein helping the authority secure £10million in Microsoft vouchers topromote learning throughout the city two years ago.

Sunderland MPs Bridget Phillipsonand Julie Elliott warmly applauded the

successful project when they formallyopened the new centre.

“This impressive partnership betweenunions and the city council has beenvery successful in achieving andpromoting learning opportunities whichwill benefit individuals, organisations andthe wider community by encouragingadults of all levels of ability to considerreturning to learning,” Bridget said.

Sunderland centre puts on the styleSUNDERLAND MPS BRIDGET PHILLIPSON(LEFT) AND JULIE ELLIOTT OPEN THENEW LEARNING STYLES CENTRE

PATHWAYSHEALTH

NEWS


UNISON and the rest of the health sector unions have launched anew online resource to help union learning reps (ULRs) in Englandencourage more of their colleagues to access opportunities forlearning and development at work. This contains lots of informationthat will be useful to ULRs in Scotland, Cymru/Wales and NorthernIreland as well.

The new resource is a customised component of the union learningClimbing Frame, which brings together a vast amount of informationaimed at ULRs into one place for the first time, organised under fiveseparate ‘learning themes’:• an overview of learning and development in the health sector;• appraisal in the NHS;• career development;• apprenticeships;• workforce development.

The resource also includes a number of case studies.

Register or log on at the Climbing Frame website:https://climbingframe.unionlearn.org.ukTo access the new health sector resources, on the sign-up page, go to ‘Employer Sector’ (directly above the data protection agreementcheckbox), and choose ‘Health’ from the pull-down menu. Thecustomised themes will then be available on the home page under‘Themes for you’.

After taking theUNISON Pathwayscourse in 2011,Stirling Councilmember YvonneDickson isplanning to takemore courses tofurther develop herself at work.

“The Pathways course gave me a great insight into how women canbecome involved in the union and thedifference they can make,” she says.

Yvonne, who is the council webservices team leader, admits she wasworried before taking the course.

“I didn’t think I had enoughknowledge about unions and aboutthe council to enable me to become a rep, but the course and subsequentlearning has given me the confidenceand the knowledge I require to goforward, to advise and supportmembers to deal with employmentand policy issues.”

Since taking the course Yvonne hasbecome the branch communicationsofficer, and now wants to learn more.

“I’m eager to do a few courses inthe UNISON education programme,particularly the ones coveringemployment law,” she says.

Yvonne would recommend thePathways course to anyone – anddoes. “I’ve sat down with a colleaguewho said they didn’t know enough totake the course, but I said that no-one does until they learn: we’re all inthe same boat at the beginning, andI’ve convinced her to go,” she says.To find out more about Pathways for Women or similarcourses, speak to your RegionalEducation Officer.

YVONNE TAKESTHE PLUNGE

Help your health membersdevelop their careers

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SEMINAR

UNISON learning reps got togetherfor the union’s annual learningseminar at UNISON Centre inMarch to discuss their prioritiesfor the union’s new Union LearningFund (ULF) project.

Next Steps For Learning In UNISONbrought together dozens of reps fromall over the country for what was verymuch a working event: they discussedwhat had worked and not workedduring current learning projects; talkedto a number of activists about theirparticular projects in a ‘pop-up’marketplace; and contributed theirthoughts about the new ULF project.

Welcoming everyone to the event,Head of Learning and OrganisingServices Joanna Cain commendedlearning reps on the support theirlearning activity was providing tobranches in difficult times, andcongratulated them on recruitmentsuccesses where workplace learningopportunities were prompting newmembers to join the union.

Membership development officerDonald Cameron explained that thenew project aimed to work with all the different service groups within theunion (local government, health, andso on) to target disadvantaged groupsof workers with opportunities todevelop themselves at work.

The new project aimed to place highpriority both on the development offlexible learning offers and on thesustainability of union learning, he said.

To engage disadvantaged learners,the project would organise Skills forLife provision, help overcome the‘digital divide’, offer informal learningand run courses to support membersfacing redundancy.

To tackle skills shortages and closeskills gaps, the project aimed to helppromote high-quality apprenticeshipsby urging branches to map schemesthat were already in place in theworkplace and to lobby employers to launch schemes where there werenone at the moment.Grants for learning Your branch canapply for a grant to support learningactivity, from £250 for branch levellearning activity up to larger sums fora learning co-ordinator or a cross-branch or regional project. Speak to your regional education team tofind out more or contact Joanna [email protected]. The final roundof bidding for funding will open inearly September and all activity must be completed by the end of March 2013.

ULRs discuss learning priorities

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HISTORY

UNISON has developed a series of wall charts that trace the social,economic and political history of public service issues.

The titles available include Boom, bust and fight back! – a short history of booms,crises and public spending (ACT 027) andWorth Defending – a short history of thewelfare state (ACT 028).

The wall charts can be used in activities byUNISON branches, and they are also a greatresource for workshops, or as a starting point for discussion about public services.

A third wall chart, looking at the history of women in trade unions and society over the last 150 years, will be available later in the year.

THE WRITING’S ON THE WALL

ADDING VALUE

More and more UNISON branchesare adding value to the financialbacking they receive from UNISONand the Union Learning Fund (ULF)by setting up branch funds tosupport learning at local level.

In the East Midlands, theNorthamptonshire County Branch

has established a fund that enablesthe lifelong learning coordinatorKaren Bennett to set up and runcourses specifically designed for her own members.

“Five per cent of everymembership subscription goes into a pot from which I can pay forinformal learning for members, funsessions that people ask for likefitness classes and wine-tasting aswell as day courses on coaching,mentoring and leadership skills,”Karen explains.

“This is the kind of learning that is able to engage some of themembers that Skills for Life andvocational courses don’t reach, and a couple of have become ULRs,which is really good.”

UNISON Power (which organises inenergy company Eon) has topped upfinancial support from head office

for OU Openings courses that hasenabled them to run more coursesand help members defray the costs of learning resources.

And the Nottinghamshire PoliceBranch has set up a fund to helpmembers with the cost of courses,which has supported a wide rangeof learning, from HGV driving tohigher education.

Derbyshire Police branch hasfollowed suit and Leicestershire PoliceBranch is looking into somethingsimilar as well.

“The Derbyshire police serviceused to have a small pot of money to help staff take courses, but thatwas stopped due to cuts in fundingand the branch has stepped in and said, ‘This is a service we canprovide for members’,’’ says regionallearning and development organiser Gavin McCann.

More branches setting up learning funds

Find out moreabout UNISON’sHistory Project –see pages 26-27


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UNISON’s popular Energy To Learn project at EDF Energy’sDoxford Park call centre near Sunderland has helped

pave the way for a national learningagreement with the energy supplier.

The agreement is scheduled to be signed during the 2012 Adult Learners’Week (ALW), exactly three years after the UNISON project got underway in the north-east.

“We invited different learning providers to our first event so people could have alook at what was on offer and sign up for

courses they were interested in,” explainsULR Tracey Wainwright.

Around the same time, the branch gave apresentation to senior management detailingthe results of its learning survey, which amplydemonstrated that staff were keen to takethe chance to develop themselves at work.

The ALW event confirmed the surveyfindings, with a 30 per cent increase in the uptake of company training immediately afterwards.

Ever since then, the project has beenrunning Skills for Life courses in thecompany training rooms onsite, whereworkers have been able to improve theirEnglish and maths before or after their shifts.

But it hasn’t all been about Skills for Lifecourses by any means. The project has alsoorganised holiday language lessons, run avery popular course in forensics (it was over-subscribed several times over) and hasrecently launched a photography course as well, which attracted even more interest.

UNISON is signing a national learningagreement with EDF Energy that builds onthe success of the local learning project atthe company’s call centre in the north-east.

Energy staff switchon to learning

We invited different learning providersto our first event so people could havea look at what was on offer

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“There were 58 people who wanted todo forensics, but it’s hard to get everybodyin on the same day at the same timebecause of the shift patterns, so we ranthe course on a Thursday because thatwas when the most people would be free,”Tracey says.

“We had about 70 sign up to dophotography, but the tutor could only do it on a Tuesday, so there are 15 peopledoing it then, and we’ve already had some positive feedback.”

The project is overseen by a steeringgroup that includes management and unionrepresentatives, and normally meets once aquarter (although it does get together morefrequently as and when required).

It was the steering group that helped set up the Collective Learning Fund with the company, the unions and local learningprovider Sunderland College.

“The fund is able to subsidise the non-vocational courses like the photography and the forensics, and that does make a big difference with getting people back intolearning,” Tracey explains.

“Sometimes they want to do somethingthat is a hobby to them, and by gettingthem in that way, they’re more likely to look at vocational courses as well.”

For the first three years, all the courseshave taken place in learners’ own time, butTracey and her ULR colleague Anne Woodsare hoping to persuade EDF Energy’s headof customer services, Kevin Gatens, torelease staff taking Skills for Life courses inthe near future.

“We’re putting forward a business case forreleasing staff on Skills for Life courses foran hour and a half for six weeks to KevinGatens, who has been very supportive fromthe beginning, and he is part of our localsteering group,” Anne explains.

Organising English and maths courses incompany time would pay off, she believes.“At the moment, people are choosing to doit in their own time but if we get them to doit in company time, I think we’ll get moretakers that way and we’ll see more benefitsmore quickly.”

The branch has steadily grown while theproject has been running. “They started withnine members and they’ve got severalhundred now, so they’re well-established in the workplace,” says UNISON AreaOrganiser Stephen Mead, who helped getthe project off the ground in the first placeand has remained involved ever since.

Energy To Learn has changed perceptionsof UNISON among management and staffalike, he says. “The project has shown thatUNISON is there to work in partnership withEDF in developing and improving skills in theworkplace, making it a better place andexperience for employees.”

Stephen hopes the new national learningagreement will help encourage other partsof EDF to follow suit (Tracey and Ann aregetting email requests for more informationabout their project from across the UK andEurope as well).

“The national learning agreement willestablish learning at the core of thebusiness, and provide the impetus for other projects to be set up in other parts of the company in the UK,” Stephen says.

“It will provide that baseline, thatthreshold, to make sure that learning notonly takes place but grows in emphasisacross the company.” ■

EDF ENERGY


We’re putting forward a business case for releasing staff on Skills for Life coursesfor an hour and a half for six weeks

UNISON HAS PROVED ITSLEARNING PARTNERSHIPCREDENTIALS THROUGH THEENERGY TO LEARN PROJECTAT DOXFORD PARK


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The leaders of St EdmundsburyBorough Council and ForestHeath District Council (which areboth Conservative-controlled)

put their names to the agreement at aceremony in the council offices in Bury St Edmunds attended by councillors,council staff, and union representatives.

“I’m proud that UNISON has beeninvolved with St Edmundsbury and Forest Heath Councils in developing

this agreement, which can be held up as a model for other organisations to adopt,”UNISON Regional Secretary Glynn Hawkertold the signing ceremony.

UNISON Learning Co-ordinator CraigYoung, who led the work to develop theagreement, said it would be “an essentialtool in maximising the benefits to theorganisation and the individuals involved.”

Unionlearn Regional Manager BarryFrancis pointed out that developing qualityapprenticeships had been a key labourmovement priority since the creation of the bookbinders’ union, one of the very first established in the 19th century.

“Trade unions have always beenconcerned with the quality of the trainingwhich apprentices receive and that is nodifferent today,” he said.

St Edmundsbury Borough Council iscurrently training 11 apprentices; has another25 people on the payroll who have comethrough the system; and has helped createmore than 70 new apprenticeships in smalland medium-sized enterprises in the area.

UNISON member Ben Polley who is sixmonths into a two-year apprenticeship inthe waste and recycling department, wasone of a number of St Edmundsburyapprentices and former apprentices whoattended the signing ceremony.

“The scheme has been really good: theylook after me, they’re really friendly, they havea laugh and a joke, and I’ve got my ownmentor, which works really well,” he said.

When he completes his apprenticeship,Ben will have an NVQ Level 2 inEnvironmental Skills but he’d like to go further. “There’s an AdvancedApprenticeship that focuses on themanagement/supervisor role, and I’d like to go for that one,” he said.

As an apprentice, Ben enjoys the reducedUNISON membership rate. “One of the bestthings about it is you get a discount on yourunion membership: I pay £10 for a wholeyear to UNISON, and they’re reallysupportive,” he says.

Catherine Scarfe is a trainee visitor servicesassistant in the tourist office who recently

UNISON signed a pioneering apprenticeshipagreement with two neighbouring Suffolkcouncils during National ApprenticeshipWeek in February 2012.

Councils signground-breakingapprentice deal

Ben Polley

FOREST HEATH DISTRICT COUNCILLEADER JAMES WATERS SIGNS THEAPPRENTICESHIP AGREEMENT WITHUNISON BRANCH CHAIR JANE ORTON

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completed her one-year apprenticeship with an NVQ in Customer Service.

“Most of my friends went to uni, but in my opinion I’m better off because a lot ofmy friends are going to be in a lot of debtand don’t have any guarantees of a jobwhen they leave uni, whereas I’ve donetraining and have been paid at the sametime,” she explained.

Apprentice maintenance mechanic Tom Powell is learning his trade working on the full range of council vehicles fromlawnmowers to dustcarts, spending oneday a week extending his knowledge atWest Suffolk College.

“I love working here and I get on witheveryone: I keep myself busy but it’s quiterelaxed because you’re not dealing withcustomers all the time,” he says.

Tom will complete his two-yearapprenticeship in the autumn and is alsolooking to move up to Level 3. “If you wantto learn, an apprenticeship really is a greatway of getting through and getting a goodjob,” he says. ■

Gateshead UNISON branch lifelonglearning officer David Smith was verypleased that the local authority wonunionlearn’s prestigious Quality Awardfor its apprenticeship programme earlierthis year.

“Gateshead trade unions are totallycommitted to supporting qualityapprenticeship opportunities and we areextremely proud Gateshead Council hasachieved the unionlearn Quality Award,”he says.

“Apprenticeships not only providevaluable opportunities for young peoplebut they also create vitality and energyacross our workplaces.”

David received the Quality Awardalongside council Chief Executive RodgerKelly from music mogul and engineeringboss Pete Waterman at a unionlearnconference during National ApprenticeshipWeek in February.

GATESHEADPROGRAMME WINSQUALITY AWARD

APPRENTICESHIPS

Catherine Scarfe

Thomas Powell

BELOW: PETE WATERMAN(RIGHT) AND NATIONALAPPRENTICESHIP SERVICECHIEF EXECUTIVE SIMONWAUGH (LEFT) PRESENTGATESHEAD COUNCIL WITH THE UNIONLEARNQUALITY AWARD


Most of my friends went to uni, but in myopinion I’m better off because many ofthem are going to be in a lot of debt

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UNISON is helping health andsocial care workers in non-unionised workplaces benefit from the union’s rich experience

of supporting learning at work through itsground-breaking ‘Learning Together’ project.

The project is piloting the work in theMidlands, the south-west and the north-east, working with employer forums andemployers to bring learning opportunitiesinto care settings where UNISON does not have recognition agreements.

“We’re building positive relationships withemployers by showing them how UNISON’s

learning offer can help them deliver betterquality care and motivated staff,” explainsLorraine Mirham, UNISON’s national lead on learning in non-unionised workplaces.

The project is targeting social careproviders because the union recognises that many workers in the sector wouldbenefit from UNISON’s learning offer – and then bring those benefits into thebusinesses they work for.

“There are large numbers of social careworkers who present all those learningneeds that UNISON is really good at helpingto tackle, such as confidence-building,brushing up literacy and numeracy skills andovercoming the digital divide,” Lorraine says.

“In addition, we know from last year’sSkills for Life survey of our own membersthat many workers don’t get as muchtraining as they’d like when they move intosupervisory roles, and UNISON learning can prove really useful to care staff who take on managerial responsibilities.”

In the East Midlands, Lorraine kicked off the initiative by presenting the union’slearning package to the South

An inclusive new project is bringing the benefits ofUNISON-led learning to non-unionised workplaces.

Reaching the staff other projectscan’t reach

This pioneering project offers immense benefits


ROGERMCKENZIE

Nottinghamshire Social Care Forum, anemployer body run by the Sector SkillsCouncil Skills for Care.

Forum vice-chair Simon Hodgkinson,proprietor of the Westcliffe Care Home, wasso interested in the scheme that he askedone of his care staff to become a learningchampion for his home and is helping tospread the message to other employers inthe sector.

“I am extremely keen to be involved in thisproject and trust that others will share myenthusiasm: with the whole sector sufferingfrom funding cuts, we must start to makeuse of resources such as this, pull togetherand learn from one another,” Simon says.

In the north-east, Lorraine got togetherwith UNISON community organiser EmmaLipscombe to run an event for supportworkers for adults with learning disabilities.

Participants were able to improve theirFirst Aid skills, pick up stress-bustingtechniques and try out craft activities, while local theatre company TheLawnmowers, run by and for adults withlearning disabilities, both performed and ran a workshop.

“The event brought our Newcastlebranches closer to their potential members;enabled partnership working withcommunity groups and local services; andshowcased UNISON’s learning offer, notleast the highly successful Bridges toLearning project in the area,” says Lorraine.

Now that the Learning Together projecthas successfully built constructiverelationships with employers and employerorganisations in the social care sector, it’sexpecting to help more and more learnersover the coming 12 months.

“This pioneering approach to potentialmembers and employer organisations in thesocial care field has immense benefits forthe workers involved,” says AssistantGeneral Secretary (Organising andRecruitment) Roger McKenzie.

“We can see the evidence of this in the interest in the union generatedamong those who take up theselearning opportunities.” ■

HARD TO REACH


Community organiser EmmaLipscombe has been taking the UNISON learning offer to members in the health and social care andcommunity/voluntary sectorssince early 2011, through ajoint project funded by the three UNISON branches that cover thecity council, the hospitals and the mental health trust in Newcastle.

The project has developed a thriving relationship with Dimensions, a not-for-profit organisation that supports people with learningdisabilities, which recognises UNISON at national level.

“We didn’t used to have much contact on a local level apart fromwhen we went in to represent members, but now I have regularmeetings with the regional manager and HR manager to offerlearning opportunities to their staff,” Emma says.

The relationship she’s built up with Dimensions is helping opendoors with other third sector organisations, she explains.

“When I speak to other organisations, I’m able to say what we’ve done with Dimensions, and how their staff have been able to access learning, and they think, ‘Why are we missing out on thisopportunity for our staff?’,” she says.

The other big step forward has been developing a learning-focused relationship with the Dementia Care Partnership, whichdoes not yet recognise the union.

“Getting access to staff in a lot of the health and social care sectoris really difficult because they often work in people’s homes, not in acentral office, and many care homes have very few staff so it’s noteasy to organise for people to come on a course,” Emma says.

Nevertheless, she’s still managed to organise for a group of staffto attend a ten-week computer course at the Trade Union EducationCentre in Newcastle, which they enjoyed so much that they’vespread the word and many of their colleagues now want to sign up for the next one.

MAKINGCONNECTIONS

Emma Lipscombe

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FLEXILEARNFlexiLearn is an innovative, web-linked,high quality, new learning scheme beingdeveloped in partnership with the OU thatprovides short workshops, bite-sizedtaster sessions and podcasts linked tocontinuing professional developmentacross the public sector.

UNISON and the OU jointly plan andadminister the workshops, which aretaught by an OU tutor to key targetaudiences such as healthcare assistants(HCAs) and teaching assistants (TAs).

Most UNISON regions and nations are now involved in this work, with the largest programmes in the East Midlands, Northern, West Midlands and Northern Ireland.

FlexiLearn is already going down well with UNISON members, so much so that

the very first workshop delivered by thepartnership in Scotland was so popular thatpeople had to be turned away – and this onone of the first sunny weekends of the year.

The ‘positive approaches to well-being’workshop held at UNISON’s Invernessoffice aimed to help participantsunderstand their own sense of well-beingand enhance their ability to bounce backwhen life gets tough.

“We were surprised by the number ofpeople interested, especially as it wasplanned for the Saturday,” says KhadijaPatel, who ran the workshop with UNISONlifelong learning fieldworker Philippa Clark.

“We ended up having to turn peopleaway, which was a decision that was nottaken lightly, as it was clear that there wasa need for this type of workshop inpeople’s minds.”

Using a series of personal reflectionexercises and course material, the 14 participants engaged with each other’sexperiences and discovered new ways oflearning about themselves and practisingthe changes they wanted to make.

“This is the beginning of what will be a very positive and mutually beneficial

With higher education fees tripling inEngland and a new generation of Accesscourses due to replace the popular Openingsmodel, UNISON and the Open University(OU) are keen to promote their shared goalsof widening participation in learning.

Take your next step with the OU

UNISON will continue to work with the OU to help develop work-based lifelong learning


THE FIRST FLEXILEARN WORKSHOP IN SCOTLANDPROVED VERY POPULAR WITH PARTICIPANTS

relationship between the Open Universityand UNISON in Scotland,” commentededucation officer Nancy Kelly.

“It is especially welcome in the Highlandsand Islands, where the geography anddemographics mean we must be creativein delivering learning.”See pages 24-25 for more on OU learning in the Northern Region

FLEXILEARN BITE SIZEUNISON has also piloted bite sized tastersessions in the police and justice sectorusing multi-media e-books on mobile tabletdevices (such as the iPad).

In May, UNISON Learning and WorkforceDevelopment Officer Paul Simpson ransome FlexiLearn bite-size sessions withmembers in the Nottinghamshire ProbationService, taking them through some OUcourse materials on the iPad.

“As the OU is making more and morelearning available online, it’s important to get members confident with the latest new technology,” says East Midlandsregional learning and developmentorganiser Gavin McCann.

The bite-size sessions complemented the offer of 16 places for police and justicemembers on the OU Openings course‘Starting with the law’ starting in June 2012.

“We filled the places well before thedeadline for applications, which shows thereis a real appetite for learning among thesemembers,” Gavin says.

FlexiLearn bite-size is expected to develop substantially as multi-media e-books and special union applicationsbecome more common and tablet devices become increasingly available.

If delivered at scale, UNISON reps could run any number of bite-sized sessions at workplaces using mobiledevices and web-based resources. ■

OPEN UNIVERSITY

For the future, UNISON will be working with the OU to continue tocreate access routes for our members and learning partnershipswith employers as a modern way to continuously improve members’terms and conditions of employment.

Different programmes will develop in each of the four nations asScotland, Cymru/Wales and Northern Ireland adopt different feestrategies to England.

A new generation of Accesscourses, which will replaceOpenings, will be availablefrom September 2013 andUNISON and the OU will beworking out how to buildsuccess with those, as we have with current Openings courses.

THE FUTURE

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UNISON has alsopiloted bite sized tastersessions in the police


In the West Midlands fire service, where more than 130 membershave already progressed through a range of OU courses, UNISONand the OU are building on the success of the partnership by runningone-day development workshops.

The workshops, which are delivered by OU tutors using resourcesand materials from their award-winning programmes, cover issuessuch as work-life balance, communication/team-working anddementia awareness.

The union is also working with the OU and the Workers’Educational Association to deliver employability skills workshops,showing members how to produce high quality CVs and helpingthem sharpen up their interview skills.

“With the public sector under threat, I keep getting out themessage that my prime objective is that members should have thebest CVs they can,” explains education officer John Routley.

“Members at risk of redundancy have asked us to help themimprove their interview skills, because they many of them may haveto apply for jobs and they haven’t been interviewed for many years.”

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The workplace learning partnershipat Mansfield District Council isgoing from strength to strength,with the UNISON branch running

two hugely successful credit crunch cookerycourses and opening a new informallearning centre in the past six months.

Workplace learning first took off at the EastMidlands local authority five years ago, whenmanagement, unions and local providers rana very successful ‘Test The Council’ schemeencouraging staff to test their Skills for Lifeand gain English and maths qualifications.

The council and the unions signed alifelong learning agreement a year later tosupport the growth of lifelong learningopportunities for all employees, with a jointunion learning co-ordinator to recruit ULRsand co-ordinate learning activities.

UNISON branch secretary Diane Howarthwas about to take up that role before herunexpected death in 2008, when anotherULR stepped into the breach and movedthe agenda forward before later leaving the council.

UNISON member Jacquie Clark took upthe mantle in 2011, after finding out aboutthe ULR role while on a UNISON course on managing stress at work.

“I wasn’t sure how much time I would beable to devote to it, but the branch werereally supportive and said I could do asmuch or as little as I liked – and after I didmy training, I got bitten by the bug and nowI try to do as much as I can fit in,” she says.

“I’m really passionate about learning and I think it’s so important that people are givenopportunities and take whatever is on offer.”

In the past six months, more than 70 staffhave broadened their kitchen repertoire andboosted their Skills for Life through theunion’s ‘credit crunch cookery’ course.

Led by the authority’s nutrition officerSandra Alvey, the sessions have allowed

Thanks to a positive learning partnership with Mansfield DistrictCouncil, UNISON lifelong learning co-ordinator Jacquie Clark is helping her co-workers develop their appetite for new skills.

Come learn with us

THE UNISON CREDIT CRUNCHCOOKERY COURSE HELPSPARTICIPANTS IMPROVETHEIR SKILLS FOR LIFE ASWELL AS BROADEN THEIRKITCHEN REPERTOIRE

I’m really passionate about learning and I think it’s so important that people aregiven opportunities


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people with a wide range of cookery skillsand different dietary requirements to try new foods and improve their cookery skills.

“The response has been fantastic: I can’tstress enough how great the courses havebeen,” says Jacquie. Within a budget thatensures meals cost no more than £1.50 per head, the sessions have also helpedsharpen people’s Skills for Life.

“The course embeds numeracy skills incalculation of ingredient costs; literacy skillsbecause we’re reading from recipes; andcommunication skills because we’re allworking together even if we’re cookingdifferent things,” Jacquie explains.

MDC Principal Learning andDevelopment Adviser Lorraine Powneyagrees: “The feedback has been absolutelybrilliant – embedding English and mathswithin a fun activity has engaged morelearners, increased awareness of Skills forLife and supported the wider agenda forhealth and well-being.”

The branch has recruited new members byrunning the courses, and changed people’sperceptions of UNISON at the council.

“When I did the course, someone from the finance department who’d been amember for 21 years said she’d neverknown us to do anything like it and she was so excited she’s gone away and told all her colleagues,” Jacquie says.

“At a time when we’re all sufferingfinancially and counting the pennies, thecourse is a great way to promote UNISON

Jacquie found out about the credit crunch cookery course in the UNISON informal learning toolkit Learning For Everyone.

The toolkit, and the detailed tutors’ notes which you candownload from the LAOS section of the UNISON website, give you almost everything you need to run enjoyable informallearning sessions in your workplace.

FIND OUT MORE

INFORMAL LEARNING

THE CREDIT CRUNCH COOKERYCOURSE HAS CHANGED PEOPLE’SPERCEPTIONS OF UNISON

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and show people that we offer much more than support for grievances.”

In April 2012, the branch opened a newinformal learning space in the Civic Centre,with the council donating the room, andJacquie arranging for it to be decoratedand furnished.

“The aim is that people can drop in atlunchtimes and relax on our nice leathersofas: we’ve got a great range of fiction inour bookswap scheme and we’ve also gotcoffee table books you can dip in and outof,” Jacquie explains.

“I’m hoping to run courses in digitalphotography and deaf awareness atlunchtime and early evening as well, and set up a reading group, and we’re runningthe Six Book Challenge as well.”

Lorraine believes that the council hasbeen able to develop its workforce moreeffectively as a result of the union learningpartnership giving workers the confidence totalk about their learning needs: many of thestaff who have come forward for dyslexiascreenings, for example, would have been a lot more reluctant without union support,she says.

“The unions can reach those people whohave had an impact on the bottom line inthe past by never attending training, orgoing sick on training days: many of themare now asking when the next session is,”she says. ■

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Disadvantaged learners are peoplewho work part-time, have little jobsecurity and earn low pay; theyoften work in public services that

have been outsourced; the majority are women, and many are from black and minority ethnic (BME)communities or are migrant workers.

At Sunlight Laundries in Basildon, Essex, Slovakian workers now make up themajority of staff since Basildon & Thurrock

University Hospital out-sourced its laundry contract several years ago.

Terms and conditions in the laundry can vary depending on whether stafftransferred from the NHS or have beentaken on by Sunlight.

Language barriers often make it difficultfor workers, the union and the employer to communicate on employment issues,and can make it more complicated for theunion to recruit and organise members.

So things began to improve whenUNISON members at Sunlight met staffmembers from UNISON’s HiddenWorkforce Project to discuss a positiveplan of action.

“We talked about how we could supportthe migrant workers somehow, and wethought the best approach was to runUNISON’s English For You course forthem,” explains Adam Rogalewski, whonow works as a local organiser in the region but was part of the HiddenWorkforce project at the time.

The course is designed to contribute to individual development and to improvecommunication in the workplace, union and community.

Delivered onsite by a tutor from theWorkers’ Educational Association (WEA),the 10-week course ran for the first timelast summer and then for a second timeover the winter, attracting more than twodozen Slovakians each time.

On each occasion, one set of classestook place before the beginning of theevening/night shifts, and the other ran after the end of the morning shift, and thecourses were open to members and non-members alike.

“Thanks to the classes, Slovaks canbetter communicate with the union, knowtheir rights and know where they can go for support,” says learner Darina Janakowa.

“The English classes also showed co-workers that the union is supporting andprotecting their vulnerable colleagues.”

As a result of the courses, the branchrecruited 40 new members and three newworkplace reps (two Slovak, one British). ■

What do outsourced Essex hospital laundryworkers and migrant workers in the Scottishhighlands have in common? They’re all benefitingfrom UNISON’s work to bring developmentopportunities to disadvantaged learners.

Opening the doorsto everyone


DISADVANTAGED LEARNERSCAN USE SKILLS THEY ACQUIREON UNISON COURSES TOADDRESS ISSUES THAT AFFECT THEM AT WORK

ACCESS TO LEARNING

Delivering learning opportunities todisadvantaged workers helps givethem a voice that will empower themat work and in the community, saysworkforce development officerDavinder Kaur Sandhu.

Make sure you take into accountsome key issues that can preventdisadvantaged learners fromaccessing opportunities:• Disadvantaged learners tend to work for companies that

don’t recognise UNISON, which means they often have very littleknowledge of union-led learning opportunities.

• Large numbers of disadvantaged learners work for employerswhose priority is extracting as much work as possible from theiremployees, and have little interest in developing their staff.

• Even when disadvantaged workers are keen to improve theirskills, they can be reluctant to sign up for learning through theunion route, because they worry that taking part in anything notendorsed by their employer might put their jobs at risk.

• Disadvantaged learners are more likely to work in shift patterns or unsocial hours and many are juggling more than one part-timejob, which makes it even harder for them to access learning witha local provider or in the workplace.


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HOW YOU CAN HELP

Reaching out tomigrant workers

In the Highlands and Islands ofScotland, where significant numbersof migrant workers have arrived inrecent years, UNISON is hosting the

Scottish TUC’s migrant worker project.The remote and rural communities of the

Highlands and Islands require innovativeapproaches to reaching and engaging withmigrant workers, which means the projecthas visited English classes, taken part incommunity events and organised sessionsin the workplace.

“Migrant workers affected by the currenteconomic climate can feel insecure inemployment, they are highly motivated toimprove their skills and therefore the demandfor training is increasing significantly,”explains UNISON Learning and OrganisingMigrant Workers Fieldworker Marta Chaba.

The project has provided learningopportunities for more than 120 migrantworkers in the past year (courses incomputing, business English andmanagement have been the most popular),and participants have gone on to becomeULRs and safety reps a result.

In addition, the project is seeking to helpmigrant workers secure employmentmatching their educational qualifications,since the majority have degree equivalentsbut are often in low-paid, low-skilled jobs. ■

UNISON is helping meet the demand for trainingamong migrant workers in the Scottish Highlands.

MARTA CHABA

The project is seeking to help migrant workerssecure employment

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UNISON steward Nicola Johnsoncouldn’t believe it when she foundout she’d won a ‘student of theyear’ award from the college that

delivered the academic element of herSupporting Healthcare apprenticeship.

“That was a bit of a shock, to say theleast – I thought it was mistake,” shelaughs. “I kept reading the letter over andover and then I gave it to my partner tocheck I was reading it right and he said:‘According to this, you’ve won it’.”

After eight years working as a cleaner inthe haematology ward at Aintree UniversityHospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Nicola wasencouraged to undertake the apprenticeshipby her union learning rep, Marie Reece.

Marie and head of learning anddevelopment Fiona Chapman have betweenthem encouraged 250 staff to take a varietyof apprenticeships at the trust, includinghealthcare, ITQ, business and administration,hospitality and catering, customer service,clinical healthcare support and team leading.

“Marie asked if I wanted to be putforward, and I was rather nervous because I didn’t feel confident enough, but I decided to have a go and see how it went,” Nicola recalls.

The programme included literacy andnumeracy elements delivered onsite bytutors form West Cheshire College, and that was the first formal learning Nicola had undertaken since leaving school morethan 20 years earlier.

“The tutors made you feel really welcomeand calmed your nerves, and I really enjoyedthe numeracy and literacy element,” she says.

Once she finished the literacy andnumeracy qualifications, Nicola was assessedon the wards several times over a period of months by an external assessor whoobserved how she undertook her duties.

Apprenticeships like SupportingHealthcare are helping change out-datedattitudes about what domestic staff arecapable of, Nicola believes.

“People used to have the view that ‘onceyou’ve cleaned, that’s it’ but that couldn’t befurther from the truth – you have to be carefulwith cross-contamination and follow a lot ofrules on health and safety,” she points out.

“I think the apprenticeship is a way ofhelping overcome that view and getting your qualifications.”

Since she’s finished her apprenticeship,Nicola has also finished the union reps stageone course and is planning to take thestage two course later this year, as well as thinking about an NVQ Level 2.

Much of her renewed commitment tolearning is down to the Skills for Life coursesshe did as part of her apprenticeship, shesays: “I really surprised myself because Ipassed with flying colours and it boostedmy confidence to go on and do othercourses.” ■

Liverpool hospital cleaner Nicola Johnsonpicked up a student of the year award after completing her apprenticeship.

Cleaner Nicola is top student

NICOLA JOHNSON (SECOND RIGHT)COLLECTS HER AWARD FROMDAME KELLY HOLMES, FLANKED BY LEAD ULR MARIE REECE (LEFT)AND AINTREE HOSPITALS NVQCOORDINATOR FIONA CHAPMAN

The tutors made you feel really welcome andcalmed your nerves, and I really enjoyed thenumeracy and literacy element


UNISON ULRs in English regionscan use the new customised healththemes on the union learningClimbing Frame to help co-workersdevelop their health sector careers,and ULRs in Scotland, Cymru/Walesand Northern Ireland will also findlots of useful material there.

MOVE ON WITH THECLIMBING FRAME

ULR Tracy McBurnie has helped Lothian NHS workers progress their careers through the Knowledge and Skills Framework.

Tracy helps low-paid NHS staff move on

NHSTRACY MCBURNIE EXPLAINSHOW THE KSF WORKS FOR STAFF

UNISON lifelong LearningCoordinator and ULR TracyMcBurnie has made a majorcontribution to helping hundreds

of low-paid NHS staff in Lothian, Scotland,access learning and developmentopportunities through the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF).

By co-delivering a KSF Essentials coursewith the Workers’ Educational Association(WEA), Tracy helped show Bands 1–4 staffhow they could move on at work throughthe appraisal process.

“I wanted to ensure that our staff knewwhat the KSF was about, and I wantedthem to feel that it was being done withthem, not to them,” she explains.

The one-day interactive course helped staffget to grips with every aspect of the KSF

appraisal process and all its jargon, includingthe Personal Development Plan (PDP) thatthey draw up with their manager at theirPersonal Development Review (PDR).

“We took them through what a PDR is not– it’s not about being told you’re no good atthis or that, it’s not about listening to yourmanager and agreeing; it’s a two-wayconversation where you can talk aboutwhat’s not working for you,” Tracy explains.

“We talked about how the job descriptionis what you do, the KSF is how you do itand your PDP is how to fill the gaps, whatyou don’t know.”

Tracey helped make sure that the courseswere interactive. There were breakoutsessions where they could talk among theirpeers; a chance to look at good questionsto ask during a PDR; and exercises thatgave participants a chance to role-play an appraisal.

Tracy loved seeing how people could getto grips with something they thought wasbeyond them. “You could see them at thebeginning thinking they couldn’t get theirheads round PDPs, and then halfwaythrough the morning you’d get a lightbulbmoment,” she says.

The courses have proved hugelysuccessful. Now not only do a majority ofstaff have a PDP, but 80 per cent are alsoenrolled on the e-KSF web-based tool,which allows them to record evidence fortheir next appraisal online as they go. ■

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Close to 2,000 health and socialworkers in the Northern regionhave improved their skills throughBridges To Learning (B2L), the

three-way partnership between UNISON,the Open University (OU) and the Workers’Educational Association (WEA).

That would be a pretty impressiveachievement by itself in the three yearssince the project got off the ground.

But what is even more significant is thatB2L is enabling low-paid, predominantly

Low-paid health and social care workers aredeveloping their careers through a uniquethree-way partnership in the Northern region.

Social care workers aim higher

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BRIDGES TO LEARNING IS HELPING HEALTH ANDSOCIAL CARE STAFFPROGRESS THEIR CAREERS

You’re looking at different staff at theend of this: they walk taller, they talkwith more confidence B2L manager

female, members in residential anddomiciliary care to start training to becomesocial workers with no loss of earnings.

“We’ve created a very exciting routethrough to a social work qualification thatlow-paid members would have had to loseearnings to undertake before,” explains B2LDirector Anne Hansen.

“Employers sometimes give people thechance to take this sort of qualificationwhile remaining in employment but taking a cut in pay, whereas we’re finding a routethrough which means that nobody is losingpay – a major achievement in terms ofequality and access to learning.”

In all, 1,898 members have taken part in just under 3,000 learning opportunities,thanks to the efforts of the union learningreps in eight major employers in theregion, including Newcastle, Gatesheadand South Tyneside councils and fiveseparate NHS Trusts.

In addition, more than 5,600 people haveaccessed information, advice and guidance(IAG) through the project.

And 1,000 health and social care staffhave attended around 20 different regionalUNISON FlexiLearn workshops over the past18 months, improving their understanding ofsome key topics for the sector, such asmental health, diabetes and death anddying, and boosting their own self-confidence through assertiveness training.

Since creating progression pathways wasalways the name of the game for BridgesTo Learning, Anne is very happy thatUNISON members are now workingtowards social work qualifications throughthe project.

“The progression routes are reallyimportant: that’s what we were set up todo, and although they’re embryonic in


UNISON ULR Maria Alberts helped persuade the Gateshead HealthNHS Foundation Trust to join Bridges to Learning when the QueenElizabeth Hospital laundry services were contracted out to a privatecompany based outside the Gateshead area.

With 65 staff facing the loss of their jobs, Maria held one-to-oneinterviews with all of them to identify the skills they needed to improveto boost their chances of finding alternative work.

Nearly 40 staff signed up for an introduction to IT course in a newinternet café set up in the laundry department, and Maria securedtutors from Newcastle College to deliver literacy and numeracy coursesin the Trust’s education centre.

In addition, as part of the Trust’s induction programme, Maria hasspoken to new staff about the learning and development opportunitiesopen to them as UNISON members.

With the help of Bridges to Learning, Maria has helped convincedozens of staff that development is not just for other people.

“It’s about talking to people and getting them engaged in education, many for the first time in many years: most of them justthought they weren’t clever enough and we have shown them that they are,” she says.

‘WE’VE SHOWN STAFF THEY CAN LEARN AGAIN’

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many ways and times are becomingincreasingly hard in HE, the fact is thatUNISON ULRs are working so well withemployers that we’re continuing to get staff onto these courses,” Anne says.

But what makes her most proud is that60 per cent of B2L learners who progressonto OU courses are from the mostdeprived sections of the community.

“What that means for them and theirfamilies is incredible: these are mainlywomen working in domiciliary care and theirchildren are seeing how much it means totheir mums to be learning,” Anne says.

“Our learners are showing the value oflearning not only to the rest of their familiesbut also to the wider community as well,which is a wonderful legacy.”

With another two years’ financial backingguaranteed from the Union Learning Fund,Anne says the project will be concentratingon further developing the progression routes.

“I’d like to get more employers involvedso that we create a regional way ofincreasing opportunities for people in lower-paid jobs to be able to improve theircareers and deliver better care throughaccessing HE,” she says. ■

BRIDGES TO LEARNING

HUNDREDS OF UNISON MEMBERS ARETAKING THE CHANCE TO PROGRESSTHROUGH BRIDGES TO LEARNING

Sometimes you get yourself in a mindsetbecause you’ve been doing the samething for years and now I find I take adifferent approach B2L learner

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Harnessing the growing interest in family and local history toengage more members inlearning activity, UNISON is

developing the research skills of membersand activists who want to investigate howprevious generations responded to keyissues of the day.

“This is another way for ULRs toencourage members into learning,” saysUNISON membership development officerDonald Cameron, who is running the newHistory Project.

The project held its first workshop inSeptember 2011 at Warwick University’sModern Record Centre (MRC), whichhouses the archives of UNISON and itspredecessor unions COHSE, NALGO and NUPE within its vast strongrooms.

The learners on the day includedUNISON activists from the West Midlandsand members who had recently completedReturn to Learn and Women’s Livescourses.

“We wanted the first workshop to bearound a history of campaigning, and the struggles that had gone on for publicservices that were either ongoing or meantsomething to people now,” explains MRCarchivist Helen Ford.

The workshop focused on the periodfrom the 1960s on, since most participantswould have their own memories of thattime, even if many of them would still havebeen very young at the beginning of it.

“I think a lot of participants were reallyquite surprised that this stuff had beengoing on 20 or 30 years ago, like ThePeople’s March For Jobs in the 1980s,”Helen says.

“I think it went really well: there was a reallygood atmosphere, everyone thoroughly

UNISON Membership Development Officer Donald Cameron wasintrigued when he found a newspaper article by former Times editorWilliam Rees-Mogg re-telling the story of a Royal Navy pay strikenear the place where he had spent many holidays as a child.

The Invergordon Mutiny of 1931 was sparked by the coalitiongovernment of the time attempting to slash the pay of the majority of the men in the lower decks by 25 per cent as part of a package of austerity cuts to balance the books.

“My father was brought up in a small croft which overlookedInvergordon and the Cromarty Firth, where the fleet was at anchorwhen the mutiny took place, and I spent many holidays by the Firthwhen I was young,” Donald recalls.

The 15,000 strikers refused to obey orders for two days,contributing to a run on the pound that forced the government toleave the Gold Standard – after which, according to Lord Rees-Mogg, “recovery became possible.”

Donald did most of his research online and in London publiclibraries. “It was fascinating and enjoyable looking at Hansard,Cabinet minutes and newspapers from the ’30s: it brought the whole story to life and I learned a lot more about the historicalbackground,” he says.

Bringing the past to lifeA new UNISON project is giving members and activists the research skillsto find their own personal connections to union campaigns of the past.

MUTINY ON THE FIRTH


enjoyed themselves and they learnt a lot –considering it was a pilot and we crammed a lot in, it was a great success.”

Many participants were particularlyimpressed by the tour they went on withHelen – not surprising, since the MRC isbiggest trade union archive in the country,with all its documents occupying a massive13km of shelving.

“They enjoyed seeing how the MRCworks behind the scenes,” Helen says.

Another workshop at the archive for Eastand West Midlands members is plannedthis autumn, where Helen will be showingparticipants how they can find out aboutwhat has happened in their local area inthe past.

“You can pick up quite a lot of material at local libraries or local authority recordoffices, so they’re often a good place tostart,” Helen points out.

“But they don’t tend to hold specificunion records, so if people want to go intoa bit more depth about what their union has done, they’re usually going to end upcoming to us.”

Donald Cameron also hopes branchesacross the country will organise local unionhistory workshops with their local librariesand local history archives.

“We’ll run formal courses to pass on theskills people will need, but we hope there’llbe lots of informal learning that will comeout of it as well: ideally, we’d want peopleto be able to do this themselves locally,”he says. ■

HISTORY

UNISON members are welcome to contact the Modern RecordCentre by email, by phone or to arrange a visit by appointment.Email: [email protected] Tel: 024 7652 4219/

The MRC website offers a range of online resources, including aseries of topical documents which offer historical perspectives oncurrent topics such as the benefits system, public expenditure, and recession.www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/

You can also search the MRC online catalogue to look for particulardocuments, people or events.

FIND OUT MORE

UNISON is developingthe research skills of members andactivists who want to investigate howprevious generationsresponded to keyissues of the day


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THE HISTORY PROJECT IS ENABLING MEMBERS TO EXAMINEPAST CAMPAIGNS SUCH AS THE PEOPLE'S MARCH FOR JOBS

Spreading the word about basicskills through a new onlineresource is going to help ensuremore people get the message

at a time when budget cuts and timepressures are making it harder toorganise courses in the workplace.

That’s the aim of a new basic skills awareness module developed in a partnership between UNISONCymru/Wales and the Learning Pool,the e-learning specialists who work with

public sector organisations across the UK.The module will help UNISON reps and

learning reps, public sector workers andtheir colleagues identify and supportindividuals in the workplace who couldbenefit from basic skills development.

“With the public sector facing a hugebattle with finances during the currenteconomic climate, it is getting incrediblymore difficult for staff to be released for anykind of training,” explains Learning To Makea Difference Project Manager Hazel Marsh,who has steered development of the web-based tool with her colleague Kate Smith.

“In addition, changes to the EmployerPledge basic skills initiative have resulted infewer organisations signing up and thereforebasic skills support has declined somewhatwithin the public sector.”

But the need for large-scale basic skillsawareness remains vital in Wales, where 12per cent of adults have poor literacy skills,and 51 per cent poor numeracy skills.

Going online was the obvious way forward.“It just suddenly clicked – this is a good wayof getting to a lot of people with minimumoutlay, since many people live in remoteareas and travel can be difficult,” Hazel says.

Kate and Hazel worked with Learning Poolthrough most of 2011 before the site wentlive early in 2012.

The basic skills awareness module on theUNISON Learning Pool has been designedto help convince the target audience ofUNISON reps and learning reps about whyit’s so important to prioritise literacy andnumeracy skills in the workplace.

It’s also relevant to anyone in a frontlinejob where they might encounter serviceusers with basic skills needs, Kate andHazel point out.

It’s important that basic skills awarenessisn’t left to learning reps – it’s vital that allunion reps know how to spot the signs ofpoor literacy or numeracy, so they cansupport members whose basic skills issues may be the root cause ofdisciplinary problems.

“UNISON deals with a number ofdisciplinaries that can be attributed to

How it all adds up online


Kate Smith

UNISON Cymru/Wales has developed a ground-breaking online resource to help raiseawareness of basic skills in the workplace.

To access the module, follow the link and provide an email address forregistration. The module then takes you through an awareness of whatbasic skills are; how to support individuals in the workplace; and looksat important issues such as dyslexia and health and safety.

SIGN YOURSELF UP

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poor basic skills because an individual isunable to read and understand health andsafety notices and therefore followprocesses and procedures,” Kate says.

And managers need to take the basicskills agenda onboard as well, Hazel argues.

“Basic skills awareness is vital in helpingmanagers to understand what basic skills are,what impact poor basic skills can have for anindividual and organisation; and why it is soimportant to allow staff time off to enablethem to receive basic skills training,” she says.

“Without this level of understanding,managers are highly unlikely to agree staffrelease time for basic skills training.”

Feedback from the Welsh governmenthas been positive, according to Kate andHazel. “The reception so far is very good,feedback has been very positive – they’requite excited really!” Learning providershave given an equally warm reception tothe new resource.

The aim is to get as many UNISONactivists as possible to log into the site andtake the basic skills awareness module, andlook into the possibility of developing furthermodules alongside it in the future.

The UNISON Learning Pool is a greatexample of what can be achieved throughpartnership working, says UNISONCymru/Wales Secretary Margaret Thomas.

“UNISON Cymru/Wales and the Welshgovernment are working together via thisproject to support improvement of basicskills in the workplace, skills which areincreasingly recognised as the building for a better society and a skilled adaptableworkforce,” she says.

“With changing job roles and theintroduction of new technology, demands onworkers are ever shifting: this tool will helpto empower workers and build theirconfidence in the workplace.” ■

CYMRU/WALES

HAZEL MARSH PRESENTS THE NEW UNISON ONLINE RESOURCE TOLEARNING POOL’S COMMUNITY DAY IN CYMRU/WALES EARLIER THIS YEAR

UNISON Cymru/Wales and the Welshgovernment are working together viathis project to support improvement of basic skills in the workplace


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UNISON must continue to help allits members develop the literacy,numeracy and computer skillsthat will enable them to play a full

part in their work, home and union lives,according to a new report based on asurvey of 27,000 members.

Based on the members’ survey by adultlearning organisation NIACE, ‘Skilled ForWork: Report 2011’ revealed that:• more than 50 per cent of respondents

wanted to expand their computer skills;• 33 per cent said they would like to be

more confident with numeracy;• 25 per cent were keen to improve their

reading and writing.In addition, 16 per cent also said lack of

confidence in their literacy or numeracy hadstopped them from applying for promotion

and 14 per cent that it prevented them fromtaking on extra responsibilities at work.

“I just get very nervous when I have towrite anything other than general emails andnotes,” reported one administrator in theirlate 40s who responded. “I look at otherroles or vacancies but always worry that I can’t apply due to poor exam results inmaths and English.”

Unaddressed Skills for Life issues cancontribute to work-based stress. A managersaid: “My role requires me to be assertiveand I find this very difficult: senior managershave picked up on my poor grammar.”

Lack of confidence in their communicationskills can prevent members from playing abigger role in the union. 20 per cent ofrespondents (one in five) reported that theyfound speaking in groups difficult,

Getting all theskills we need

OVER HALF THE UNISONMEMBERS WHO COMPLETEDTHE SKILLS FOR LIFE SURVEYWANTED TO IMPROVE THEIRCOMPUTER SKILLS


We all need good literacy, numeracy and computerskills if we are to get the most out of our work,home and union lives, according to the latest survey of UNISON members’ Skills for Life needs.

something which is not only likely to impacton their work but also influence theirdecisions about activity in UNISON.

With these results in mind, the reportargues that the union should:• develop greater awareness of Skills for Life

issues among employers, members andthe union as a whole;

• increase accessibility of its writtencommunication;

• promote more learning opportunities to members;

• further develop its ULRs.

“UNISON has a key role to play withemployers, regions, branches and membersto raise awareness of Skills for Life and toencourage members to improve their skills,”says Skills for Life lead Davinder KaurSandhu.

“If a member’s skills are preventing them from challenging things at work,participating in meetings or taking a moreactive part in the union, UNISON cansignpost them to appropriate provision.” ■

Bristol recycling workers havebeen improving their Skills forLife, thanks to the sterlingwork of their ULR Andy Taylor.

Knowing many of hiscolleagues at waste andrecycling company SITA hadSkills for Life needs, Andyopened talks with management with the support of UNISON areaorganiser Doug Varney and regional education organiser Kay Mackenzie.

Since the company was looking to secure Investors In People (IIP)status as part of its commitment to staff development, it agreed theworkforce could have paid time off to undertake Skills for Life andbasic computer training using the onsite training room.

“This was a big commitment from the SITA management team,” Kay says.

Andy then organised a survey of his members in the recycling centreto see who would be interested in taking the opportunity to learn atwork, but nobody wanted to be the first to put their name down.

So he found a room onsite where people could return their surveysto him and have a one-to-one chat in private about what they wantedand what UNISON and SITA might be able to offer them.

The new approach netted Andy more than 20 surveys, which revealedhis colleagues were interested in brushing up their English and maths,taking a range of computer courses and more on-the-job training.

Further talks with the company then secured Andy paid time off sohe could run a weekly surgery in which to talk to staff about theirlearning needs.

With financial help from the Union Learning Fund, UNISON was ableto invite nearby Filton College to deliver an onsite literacy course, withseven out of the nine participants passing the Level 1 literacy test.

The college then delivered a basic computer course for some of theother staff, with tutors running two-hour sessions over five weeksusing laptops they brought onsite so that learners could fit the coursemore easily into their schedules.

“Andy was a credit to the depot and worked tirelessly to get thistraining going,” says South-West learning and development organiserEdna Warwick.

“SITA were a pleasure to work with throughout this whole processand helped enable these members of staff to achieve training thatthey may not have ever got had it not been provided in the workplaceand funded by the LEDU project.”

BRISTOL RECYCLING STAFFBOOST SKILLS FOR LIFE

SKILLS FOR LIFE

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People withinadequate literacyskills earn on average11 per cent less thantheir better skilledcolleagues, whilepeople withinadequate numeracyskills earn on average6 per cent less


The Reading Agency is promotingThe Six Book Challenge with thehelp of a case study of YvonneHirst, while Leicester College has

profiled Ann Reeder in an attempt toencourage more adults to enrol on Skillsfor Life courses like the one she took.

“Yvonne and Ann both recognise thattraditional education passed them by inearly life, but they are now catching up onlost time,” explains proud DMU learning repAndrew Jennison, who has supported bothwomen on their learning journeys.

“Not only have they rediscovered the joysof learning, but they are finding real benefitsat work and at home.”

Now in her early 50s, Ann moved aroundthe country so often when she was growingup that she missed out on a solid groundingin the educational basics.

But after more than 20 years working as a cleaner at DMU, she signed up for a Skills

for Life course at Leicester College with Andrew’s encouragement.

Although she was apprehensive abouttaking her first steps back into learning, Ann says the tutors made her feel welcomeand put her at her ease.

“I was worried that the topics might beover my head but the teachers at LeicesterCollege were really helpful: they seemed toknow my needs and conducted the courseat a pace that was comfortable for me.”

Improving her literacy skills has helpedAnn perform better at work. “Work-wise, I now understand more and do not have to keep asking questions,” she says.

After completing her course, Ann joined the Six Book Challenge at DMU, the Reading Agency scheme in whichparticipants who commit to reading sixbooks and recording their thoughts aboutthem in a reading diary are entered in anational prize draw.

Two different educational websites have chosen UNISON membersof the De Montfort University (DMU) campus cleaning team to helppromote learning in the workplace.

Uni cleaners spreadthe (written) word

DMU CLEANING SUPERVISORYVONNE HIRST (ABOVE) HASDISCOVERED THE JOYS OFREADING THROUGH UNISON

Ann Reeder


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And now she wants to improve hernumeracy, so that she can extend herrepertoire in the kitchen. “I can now readrecipes, but I have a problem with weighingand quantities, so I would like to go on and do maths,” she says.

Cleaning supervisor Yvonne Hirstdiscovered she was dyslexic when shesigned up for a Skills for Life course at DMUin 2010, which meant she wasn’t sure abouttaking part in the Six Book Challenge whenULR Andrew suggested it the following year.

“At first, I thought I couldn’t do it becauseI wasn’t very good at reading,” she says.“But putting down what you read in a diaryand the thought of maybe winning a prizesounded fun.”

What really helped was when Andrewintroduced Yvonne to Quick Reads, with the help of one of the several sets he’dpersuaded HR Training and Development to buy to help encourage more staff to take part in the Six Book Challenge.

Discovering titles written and designedwith emergent adult readers in mind wasjust what Yvonne needed to build herconfidence, and her favourite was RaWVoices, the inspirational stories of realpeople brought together by the BBC’sliteracy campaign, Reading and Writing (RaW).

“I’ve been very fortunate that I have hadthe opportunity to learn and take part in theChallenge while working at DMU: I’m veryproud of what I’ve achieved over the lasttwo years,” she says.

After signing up nearly 100 colleagues lastyear, Andrew encouraged more than 150 totake the challenge this year – even though25 per cent of last year’s participants hadsince left through voluntary severance.

One of the reasons for his success is that his job in the post and porteragedepartment means he’s in and out of nearlyevery building on the single-site campus allthe time.

“Most of the people around the universityknow what I do, it’s as simple as that, and ITweet as well – if you want to know what’sgoing on at DMU, you have to be onTwitter,” he says.

It also helps enormously that Vice-Chancellor Dominic Shellard also Tweets hissupport, and not only calls the Challenge “a superb initiative” but also takes part everyyear. “It’s nice to have support from thetop,” Andrew says.

The arrival of a new HR Director at DMUthree years ago gave a major boost toUNISON’s learning work, Andrew says.

“Three years ago, our new HR director,Ben Brown, stopped me in the street and said ‘ULRs have got a place at DMU’ and that made all the difference:from that day on, we’ve had a greatrelationship with HR Training andDevelopment,” Andrew says. ■

You can run the Six Book Challenge whenever you like, although manyunion branches plan their work to culminate around the same time asthe prize draws run by The Reading Agency on Friday 29 June.

Workplaces that run the Challenge and take part in Learning AtWork Day on Thursday 17 May 2012 can enter the draw for achance to win an author visit courtesy of Transworld Publishers.

SIX BOOK CHALLENGE

SIX BOOK CHALLENGE

UNISON ULR ANDREWJENNISON HAS ENCOURAGEDDOZENS OF CO-WORKERS TOJOIN THE SIX BOOK CHALLENGE

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Spread the WordBecome a ULR, help encourage co-workers back intolearning and get involved in your local branch. StockNumber 1893 or download from:www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/Spread_the_Word_Apr09.pdf

U-TrainPlan your learning journey as a member or a rep with thisuseful map to guide you through the developmentopportunities available.www.unison.org.uk/utrain/ Or download from: www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/17837.pdf

Organising for learningRun a short event in your branch to plan recruitment andorganising activity around the learning agenda.Download materials from:www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/Org4learning.pdf

10 things you need to know about UNISON and learningRecruit and organise around learning issues with thisrecruitment leaflet. Stock number 2373 or download from:www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/20155.pdf

ULR HandbookThis short guide sets out your rights as a ULR, how to getstarted and what’s available for members. Stock number2345 or download from:www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/17751.pdf

Branch Guide to Lifelong LearningCheck out how to tackle inequality, build your membersconfidence and skills, and build your branch in the process!Stock number 2098 or download from:www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/18677.pdf

Learning for EveryoneULRs can use this toolkit to engage members and organiseinformal learning at work.www.unison.org.uk/laos/publications.asp

Learning AnglesULRs can use these briefings to promote learning aroundcurrent issues in the branch. Download from:www.unison.org.uk/laos/publications.asp

Return to Learn, Women’s Lives and English for YouThese award-winning courses will help members developnew learning skills and get back into education and training. Contact your Regional Education Officer for more details.

EVERYTHING YOU NEEDto get active around learning

Download these publications and many more resources from the LAOS website:www.unison.org.uk/laos

Follow us on twitter @unisonlearning


RESOURCES

dyslexiain our own

words

Developing and Supporting Workplace RepresentativesThis branch guide on buddying and mentoring workplacereps includes ideas about encouraging reps to get active.Stock number 2883 or download from:www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/19013.pdf

Dyslexia – In Our Own WordsThis will help UNISON activists understand dyslexia, supportmembers and organise around dyslexia in the branch.Download from: www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/Dyslexia%20-%20In%20Our%20Own%20Words%20ACT185.pdf

Or email Learning&Organising [email protected] to order copies – Stock No. ACT 185.

Skilled for Work Report – 2011A survey of the literacy, numeracy and computer skills ofUNISON members. Download from:www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/SkilledforWorkReport2011.pdf

Your Rights as an ApprenticeFind out what an apprenticeship is, what they offer and whatapprentices are entitled to. Email Learning&OrganisingServices to order copies.

Guidance for ULRs, Learning Coordinators & EducationStaff on Using the Skills for Life ResearchHow the Skills for Life research can be taken forward in your branches and with employers.Email Learning & Organising Enquiries to order: Stock number ACTS 192. Or download from:www.unison.org.uk/laos/publications.asp

Hints and Tips for Getting a Job A pocket-sized booklet with tips for job hunting, writingapplication forms and CVs and interview skills. Email Learning & Organising Enquiries to order: Stock number ACT 196. Or download from:www.unison.org.uk/laos/publications.asp

UNISON Quick Reads Reading Groups ToolkitULRs can use this toolkit to organise reading group n their workplaces. Email Learning & Organising Enquiries to order: Stock number ACT195. Or download from:www.unison.org.uk/laos/publications.asp

To find out more and how to join contact:UNISONdirect TELEPHONE 0845 355 0845textphone users FREEPHONE 0800 0 967 968Lines open 6am – midnight Monday to Friday; 9am – 4pm Saturday

Or visit our website www.unison.org.uk

Stock No: ACT198 UNP Print ref: 92785

ulearn summer 2012

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