Union Learning Fund bids approved

Citation

(2002), "Union Learning Fund bids approved", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 26 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeit.2002.00326iab.009

Union Learning Fund bids approved

Union Learning Fund bids approved

Unqualified construction workers in Britain will be given opportunities to gain national vocational qualifications through new projects designed to boost learning opportunities at work.

Many others are also set to benefit, from actors and teachers to print workers and prison officers, and from technicians and journalists to community workers and health-care professionals.

The successful Union Learning Fund bids include:

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  an on-site learning centre, linked to the local college, for knitwear, footwear and clothing workers in Yeovil, Somerset;

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  a project in the Ouse Valley, which will give graphics and paper workers access to training through a local network of learner representatives;

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  the recruitment of learning representatives to promote basic skills and IT courses in East Anglia, in a scheme also involving family members; and

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  the further development of an actor's centre in the north-east of England, to improve employment and learning opportunities.

Giving the go-ahead for the 32 projects, worth more than £3 million, minister for adult learning and skills, Ivan Lewis, said: "These successful bids will enable members of 17 trade unions across England to gain access to new learning and training opportunities.

"Through the Union Learning Fund scheme, trade unions are playing a valuable role in giving their members opportunities to improve their skills and open up the world of learning.

"There are now more than 300 projects, receiving almost £25 million of funding from the scheme. The projects have been successful at reaching out to people who traditionally have been left out of learning opportunities, such as shift workers. Employers, too, are reaping the benefits of an increasingly well-trained and skilled workforce."