I am pleased to announce the release of the TUC Organising Academy’s programme of courses for 2012-13.
Renewing our partnership with Ruskin College, we are delivering a range of courses which support increasing the capacity of unions to be strong, effective and campaigning organisations.
Last week I was one of a number of trade union officials and shop stewards who took part in a visit to Germany to look at training and skills. We went with Skills Minister John Hayes MP and representatives of BIS and the UK Commission For Employment and Skills. The delegation visited the Siemens plant in Lincoln, UK and Siemens’ giant training facility and manufacturing site in Berlin.
We were also able to meet officials from a number of German training organisations – and of course trade union representatives from IG Metall, Germany’s biggest union and the TUC equivalent – the DGB. The latter meetings gave us an opportunity to discuss and assess the state of German unions and the overall economic situation in the EU’s powerhouse economy.
When the opportunity came for me to return to my home town of Wakefield I couldn’t resist. My colleagues in UCATT had raved about the work that Wakefield District Housing (WDH) had done to deliver low carbon housing developments, train their workforce and deliver for their communities in the process.
‘Seeing is believing’ as the saying goes. Wakefield people wouldn’t go that far, but seeing certainly lends greater understanding. This is a point Denis Doody (UCATT rep at WDH) was keen to impress upon the visiting party which included new UCATT General Secretary Steve Murphy and unionlearn Yorkshire regional manager, Alan Roe.
Park Dale is a brand new zero carbon (code 6, for those in the know) housing estate of 91 homes in Castleford which also includes a union learning centre with a difference.
Why we need to know what union members think about learning at work
So, what do we know know about what workers or industry and union leaders think about union support for lifelong and workplace learning in the UK? Do all workers know what Union Learning Representatives are and what they do? Do workers who have access to learning at work know how their learning is funded? Are they aware of trade union, government and employer support for learning? Is learning in their workplace sustainable in the current economic and political climate? And if not, are workers concerned about this? These questions have formed the basis of my PhD research project established in 2005.
Trade Unions were originally set up to defend workers terms and conditions of employment. However, a lesser known fact is that for more than 100 years, unions have provided Trade Union Education; normally negotiating and basic literacy and numeracy skills. In recent years trade unions are increasingly; negotiating for, supporting, and sometimes providing, workplace learning. My research attempts to explore and understand the level of worker awareness of the evolving, but sometimes almost hidden, role of unions supporting workplace learning.
Are then trade unions the ghost in the UK learning system?
The successful launch of the TUC/ Organising Academy partnership on Friday marks a new era for trade union organising. Bringing into the already successful programme will be Ruskin’s “history of educating trade unionists to organise for social justice and social justice and mobility“ Audrey Mullander, Principal of Ruskin College in this months the learning rep (page 9)
Part of the programme being delivered through the partnership with Ruskin College is the Certificate in Organising, a 16 day programme for anyone who is employed by a union.
We have enjoyed attendance from such a huge variety of union staff we thought it would be useful to use the blog to let you know the range : full time officers approaching the end of their working lives, newly appointed officers and organisers, admin workers who want to move into an organising role, project workers who want to gain more skills to support their ULR projects…… the list is endless.
As Frances O’Grady said, “This partnership marks an opportunity to shape a new generation of skilled, educated and motivated trade unionists that will create stronger and more successful unions.” Places are limited so it is really important to get any applications in a soon as possible, click on this link and get your form in by Thursday 17th December!
A quick shout for USDAW’s ‘Check out Learning’ project which has just been declared ‘Best campaign’ in the TUC’s Annual Media Awards. What’s particularly interesting about the campaign from an organising point of view is that outcomes on recruiting new members AND activists have been put front and centre by the union.
Like many union projects aimed at encouraging members to get back into learning, USDAW’s achievements are impressive – in 2008 alone 333 members returned to learning and a further 2395 expressed an interest in learning activity. But of even more significance from an organising point of view is the fact that the project recruited over 400 new members and found over 250 members who were interested in becoming an USDAW rep.
As the Awards panel said “…the campaign will have significant long term benefits for the union”
I was over in Dublin yesterday representing the TUC Organising team at an event organised by Union Learning Skillnet a network created by three Irish unions – IMPACT, TEEU and SIPTU – aimed at developing the skills of members in the workplace. This particular conference looked at how this work could contribute towards efforts by unions in Ireland to organise and build stronger unions.
I had been asked to speak about the link between training and organising in the UK – specifically the Organising Academy and the Activist Academy. Also speaking where David Begg, General Secretary of the ICTU, Liz Smith, Director of unionlearn, Christine Hardacre a Regional Director with Community Trade Union and Michael Crosby who works for SEIU as their Global Partnerships Director.
The event was a continuation of the relationship that the TUC has with both the ICTU and unions in Ireland. Irish unions have nominated attendees for the TUC’s Leading Change programme and both Liz Blackshaw and I have recently trained reps from Mandate Trade Union.
Becky Wright
Tony Burke
Richard Blakeley
Ian Stewart
Liz
Carl Roper
