UNISON was delighted to host the launch event for the Reading Agency‘s 2018-19 Reading Ahead challenge at UNISON Centre on 13 September. Reading Ahead is an initiative that encourages less confident readers to choose six pieces (which could be books, articles, poems, blog posts…) and write a brief review of them. It aims to get people […]
‘Like lots of my people my age, I didn’t grow up in a family with an expectation that I’d go to university. I had a disastrous time in primary school and was removed from mainstream classes. This was perhaps due to frequent spells in hospital. Teachers also mistook my shyness and lack of confidence for […]
It’s back to school season! If shop displays of stationery and shiny black shoes are putting you in the mood to learn something new, you might well find that being a UNISON member puts you at an advantage. Members are entitled to discounts on all sorts of courses, from short and sharp to full degree length, […]
Student Will Kitto spent a week with Learning and Organising Services earlier this summer as part of his work experience programme. Here’s what he had to say about his time with us… I was fortunate enough to have undertaken a two-week work experience placement in the Learning and Organising Services department at UNISON Centre. I […]
We have a calendar of great learning events lined up for you this autumn. Take a look – there’s something for everyone! For branch education co-ordinators… For the first time ever, we’re holding a seminar to bring branch education co-ordinators together from across UNISON. This is a chance to network, to find out what’s new […]
UNISON is working with Unionlearn and Wranx to support members by providing free bite-sized functional skills and GCSE maths and English revision online. The content for each module has been written in conjunction with Gateshead College (rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted). The maths and English revision modules, as well as other courses, have been […]
UNISON is delighted to announce a partnership with e-Careers that will allow our members to claim a discount on online courses across a whole range of subjects, from accountancy to web design. Visit the e-Careers site For countless numbers of our members, the way to improved career prospects is through learning, whether they want to […]
When Learning at Work Week (LaWW) began on Monday 14th May, all eyes were on the mezzanine at Blackpool Victoria Hospital to see how union learning reps (ULRs) Bev Herring and Jane Eyre would be launching this year’s packed programme of events at ‘the Vic’. Expectations were high after dancing drag queens kicked off proceedings […]
In his years working with UNISON member learning at Birmingham City branch, Donald McCombie has organised a huge range of creative activities. In this blog he talks about that. I have always believed that within the membership of UNISON there lies a vast wealth of creativity. Mostly people are just lacking the opportunity to use […]
Learning At Work Week is an ideal opportunity for union learning reps and other UNISON activists to promote learning in the workplace, to raise the union’s profile, and to start conversations about training needs with the employer and with colleagues. It can also be a lot of fun! Co-ordinated by the Campaign for Learning, it […]
We’re six weeks into 2018, and many new year’s resolutions have faded to a distant memory. But it’s never too late to think about changes you want to make, or to take steps towards making those changes happen. Where do you want to go? Maybe you want to apply for a promotion at work, or […]
Jo Southern, steward at UNISON Blackpool Health branch, has worked at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for 33 years as a healthcare assistant. In May 2017, she approached the branch’s union learning reps to see if she could get any help to improve her literacy and numeracy skills. They suggested that she attend assessment […]
Teresa Donegan, head of UNISON Learning and Organising Services, and Jane Shepherd, national education officer, gave evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee at Parliament on Wednesday morning. The focus of the session was on recruitment and reskilling of older workers. The panel answered questions on addressing conscious and unconscious bias in the recruitment process, […]
The National Extension College (NEC) has launched a campaign to make GCSE and A levels more accessible to adult learners. The five-point plan identifies barriers faced by independent learners and proposes ways of removing these. These barriers exist because the system is geared towards mainstream students studying in a local school or college. They include: […]
The three organisations share a common goal: to widen access to education and training and to extend learning […]
