Morning Star - 6 June 2008
Never too late to learn
GRAHAM GODDARD insists that training must be put on the
bargaining agenda.
THERE is no such thing as being too old to learn. Many of our
members have had their lives enhanced by the learning opportunities
afforded to them by Unite.
Increased and improved skills make our members more employable.
Higher skills should also lead to higher wages and more rewarding
work.
I am committed to supporting this work and would like to
congratulate head of lifelong learning Tom Beattie and the learning
team for the successful completion of our recent two-year national
learning project.
Unite continues to develop the learning and skills agenda with
the support of the government union learning fund. The primary
objective of the new Unite (Amicus) fund project is to raise the
profile of learning and skills in the workplace and engage workers
in learning and development.
The union employs a dedicated team of regional learning
organisers who will work with national and regional officers to
raise awareness of lifelong learning and to promote and encourage
worker engagement in all aspects of learning and skills
development.
We recruit, train and organise union learning representatives
(ULRs) to assist in embedding lifelong learning into the culture of
Unite. They become involved in the democracy of the union so that
lifelong learning becomes a core issue for union activity,
incorporated into the union's industrial bargaining agenda.
Latest government forecasts for skills requirements in the
British workforce predict that, by 2020, there will be a
requirement for the majority of workers to be at a minimum of level
three.
It is therefore essential that the union grasps the importance
of skills enhancement for its members and the job security that
flows from improving overall skills.
The success of the lifelong learning agenda will rely heavily
upon achieving a trained and active ULR in every union-recognised
workplace. Progress to date has demonstrated that there is demand
among the membership for developing learning opportunities.
Members are willing to become activists and take up the ULR
role.
Lifelong learning is not yet fully embedded into the union's
culture. Another of our objectives must be to ensure that it is
integrated into core union activity, thereby becoming
sustainable.
Achieving this within our own union through its workplace reps
working in partnership with employers will help address the
training issues that have been highlighted through the lifelong
learning agenda.
We need to get learning and skills issues back on the bargaining
agenda. Part of this process must be to work with employers to
deliver better skills in the workplace and to encourage workers to
undertake some form of learning and training.
Unions have criticised the current provision of learning and
training in the workplace as poor.
Workers are often forced to rely on their employer for training
provision. This can lead to training and learning being job
specific, rarely resulting in a qualification, with career
development or worker aspirations rarely considered.
Through the process of employer engagement, workers can have
more control over their personal development.
Training need not be job specific and, if the training and
learning agenda is more worker-oriented, individuals will be more
employable.
The opportunity of developing transferable skills and creating
progression routes for workers only adds value to the learning and
training that workers engage in.
Our task now is to open the door to learning for our
members.
Graham Goddard is deputy general secretary of Unite.
This article appeared in the Morning Star.
www.morningstaronline.co.uk
