Life Long Learning agenda
Lifelong Learning
Learning is the key issue facing unions today.
It is important to our members in the same way that decent pay or reasonable hours of work are important.Put simply, with lifelong learning our life chances are better. Without it we are at risk in the labour market and disadvantaged in the community.
Change is happening all around us
The rapid development of new technologies, and the acceleration of economic and industrial change have had enormous effects on the labour market. The modern labour market demands the constant improvement of existing skills and the acquisition of new skills, throughout our working lives.
With education and development we have more choice, and hence control, over the way we earn a living and the way we live our lives. With greater choice we need not be the victims of change. Indeed we are in better position to understand and influence the course of that change. We can feel more secure.
Research shows that people with relevant skills are more likely to stay in employment and are paid better for what they do. The benefits of learning, both in terms of job security and in terms of lifetime earnings, are huge.
Learning and Trade Unions
Learning has been at the heart of the trade union movement almost from the very beginning. The trade union movement was founded on self-help, self-improvement and collective action. Knowledge, skills and education were always central to that.
Unions always emphasised the value of education and trained their own members and representatives. They were instrumental in setting up workers educational institutions, mechanics institutes, and went as far as founding Ruskin College, Oxford.
Unions have always campaigned for a well resourced education and training system, with financial support for learners. They fought hard for a public library system, for state schooling and for quality vocational education and training.
Unions do make a difference
Research shows that where unions get involved in education and training they do have an impact:
* Encouraging employers to invest in training
* Encouraging employers to provide a greater quantity of training
* Helping members to get training
* Helping to develop employer strategies on training
* Ensuring that training and development is available and accessible to all groups of workers, including those who had unequal access to it over the years.
People in unionised workplaces are more likely to receive training. It is also true that the involvement of trade unions greatly increases the likelihood of people taking up learning opportunities.
Find out more about becoming a union member at www.tuc.org.uk