Trades Union Congress: About the TUC
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Unionlearn
Unionlearn is responsible for union development
in England, including the Union Learning Fund, as
well as the TUC Education Service, which covers
the whole United Kingdom. It is partly supported
through DIUS grant. The main functions of
unionlearn are to:
- provide an enhanced trade union education service for the training of
union reps and professionals
- develop the key role of union learning
representatives (ULRs) in raising demand for
learning, especially among workers with low skill levels and skills for life
needs.
- provide quality information, advice and
guidance (IAG) to learners, linked to the union
learning ‘climbing frame’ – an online tool for ULRs to
help learner progression
- assist unions to secure quality learning provision, including extending
the use of the already successful unionlearn Quality Award
- support the network of union learning centres such as U-net
- provide a support network to help unions engage with and have impact on
bodies such as sector skills councils
- establish a research and strategy function to
identify, disseminate and mainstream good practice, and sponsor research
where needed.
- build union capacity to sustain and embed
work on learning and skills so that it becomes a
core activity for all trade unions, in particular by
integrating ULRs into workplace union organisation.
- manage and administer the Union Learning Fund on behalf of the Department
for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
Unionlearn does not seek to replace unions’ own
learning programmes, but adds value to them
instead. It has its own identity and is established
under the auspices of the TUC with headquarters
in Congress House, further teams in each TUC
regional office, and project workers in the field.
Unionlearn is headed by a director, who leads a
senior team of six regional and six national
managers. The regional managers work closely
with TUC Regional Secretaries.
Visit the unionlearn
website for more information (opens in new window)