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	Negotiating learning agreements
	Union learning reps\|Negotiating learning agreements\|Model agreement Supporting Learners (IAG)\|Working with providers\|Skills for Life\|Union Learning Fund\|U-Net\|Learning and organising\|Learning & skills initiatives\|Information Communication Technology\|Equality and diversity\| Add a comment to the discussion. See all discussion topics. Find related Negotiating learning agreements training courses. See all courses. Union Learning Representatives South East Network Meetings Skills and Recovery the way forward - unionlearn Conference Subject Search term Advanced search We can alert you by email about anything new in your chosen subjects. Register your interests now.	Negotiating learning agreements Negotiating learning agreements While more and more people are gaining access to learning at the workplace, the only way we’re going to close the skills gap with our competitors is by putting training on the collective bargaining agenda. Here is how maximizing union involvement in the skills agenda pays off economically and socially. Greater investment in training benefits employers and employees Unionised workplaces invest more in training Union involvement in training increases its impact on workforce development Union involvement in training closes the gender gap Union involvement in training leads to high performance practices Greater investment in training benefits employers and employees Increasing training has an even greater impact on productivity than it does on wages in the private sector, according to industrial relations specialists Lorraine Dearden, Howard Reed and John Van Reenen. Their research found that an increase of one percentage point in the proportion of employees trained improved productivity by about 0.6 per cent for a 0.3 per cent increase in wages. Unionised workplaces invest more in training Union recognition goes hand-in-hand with private sector training, according to an analysis of the Workplace Employee Relations Survey by Rene Boheim and Alison L Booth. It is associated with reduced labour turnover and reduced wage dispersal, which helps maximize the return on investment in training. Union members get more training than nonmembers: 39 per cent of workers with a union card had done some training over a sample three-month period, compared with just 26 per cent of non-members, according to the Labour Force Survey 2003. This “learning premium” attached to the union card has strengthened in recent years, with the “training gap” between unionised and nonunionised employees widening from 11 to 13 percentage points since 1998. Over 2.5 million union members have undergone training over a sample three-month period, compared to over 2.2 million in 1998, according to the latest figures. And workers get more training when the issue is put on the negotiating table, and not just consulted about. In workplaces where training is negotiated, almost 40 per cent organise an average of five or more training days a year, but when it’s only subject to consultation, less than 25 per cent match that figure. Union involvement in training increases its impact on workforce development Moving training up the collective bargaining agenda can further boost the positive union effect, according to a study published by one of the leading economic research groups in Europe. The trade union movement could increasingly influence the ways in which people develop their productive capacity through education and training in the UK, forecast Francis Green, Stephen Machin and David Wilkinson in a discussion paper for the Centre for Economic Performance. And training is more likely to deliver benefits to members when unions not only secure recognition from the employer but also play an active role in decisions about what is provided, according to Jason Heyes and Mark Stuart in the British Journal of Industrial Relations. Union involvement in training closes the gender gap Unionisation increases women’s access to training, mirroring the way unionized workplaces have done more to close the gender gap on pay than the national minimum wage, according to David Metcalf, Professor of Industrial Relations at the London School of Economics. And while more training tends to lead to increased wages, the pay-off for union members is far greater: male trade union members tend to get 21 per cent more in their pay packets after training, while non-members get just 4 per cent more, he points out. Union involvement in training leads to high performance practices When unions are directly involved in training policy decision at company level, firms are more likely to adopt practices which contribute to high-trust, high-performance workplaces, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s 2001 Training and Development Survey. These include: staff attitude surveys workplace consultative committees job rotation mentoring train-the-trainer programmes quality circles. 16 September 2009 Minister impressed by Sefton MBC's skills partnership Workers and management from Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, attended a unionlearn reception at the TUC conference (Wednesday 16 September) in Liverpool's Convention Centre where they told Pat McFadden MP, Business, Innovation and Skills Minister, how their trade union and management are working together to build the skills base in their workplace. North West 19 February 2009 Birmingham University signs an agreement to work in partnership with unions on learning The signing of a learning agreement and skills pledge in partnership with Birmingham University Hospitality and Accommodation Services (HAS) and the unions UNISON and Unite is ground breaking in the higher education sector. It will open the door to learning and skills for people who may not previously have accessed learning opportunities, and possibly for a variety of reasons. Midlands 31 October 2008 Barry Sheerman MP sees Centrebus Ltd sign National Learning Agreement and Skills Pledge at Huddersfield Bus Company The Huddersfield Bus Company will host a visit from local MP Barry Sheerman today (Friday 31st October) as its parent company Centrebus Ltd signs the Government's Skills Pledge and a National Learning Agreement. This event represents a real commitment by Centrebus Ltd to developing the skills of its employees across the country, not only just in Huddersfield. Peter Harvey, Centre Bus Managing Director and Harish Patel, Regional Industrial Organiser for Unite, will sign the National Learning Agreement, which will support the learning opportunities provided through Unite's union learning reps and unionlearn, the TUC's learning and skills organisation. Yorkshire and the Humber 8 May 2008 Fire fighters in Gloucestershire are to sign a learning agreement with their employers. In the run up to Adult Learners Week (May 19 - 24), officials from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) will on May 15 meet senior managers from Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) at Gloucester Community Fire & Rescue Station to sign a Learning Partnership Forum Agreement. South West 29 October 2007 Unistar Learning – from Tees to Thames North East company, Tristar Homes, are really proving that their workplace learning initiative, Unistar Learning, has legs as they take their project launch to unionlearn's HQ in London on Monday 29th October. Northern 6 August 2007 Fujitsu focuses on lifelong learning All employees at Fujitsu Services now have access to lifelong learning following the signing of a learning agreement. Unionlearn teamed up with Fujitsu and Unite (Amicus section) to sign the agreement, which will promote a culture of learning and development within the company's Manchester premises. North West 29 July 2007 About ULR agreements Some of the problems that ULRs experience could be overcome by a learning agreement. A formal agreement between a union and an employer on time off can avoid misunderstanding and ensure fair and reasonable treatment. The agreement will form the basis of your organisation's learning agenda and include rights of access to training and learning. 20 July 2007 Dawn of a new learning era as Corus staff steel themselves for skills improvements Today (Friday 20th July) Phil Hope, MP for Corby and East Northants and Minister for the Third Sector will visit Corus to witness the signing of a Learning Agreement between Corus and unions Community and Unite (Amicus section). This Learning Agreement is one of over 1,400 throughout the country, which have been drawn up between union learning reps and a variety of organisations in order to establish a framework for increasing skills levels through workplace learning. Midlands 24 May 2007 Agreement brings learning home Sunderland Housing Group (SHG) have recognised their continued commitment to promoting learning and development across their business and added another accreditation to their expanding portfolio by signing a learning agreement. Northern 13 October 2006 Northern Foods shows appetite for learning Northern Foods shows appetite for learning Northern Foods' commitment to promoting learning and development across the organisation has received a boost today with the signing of a groundbreaking multi-union National Learning Agreement. In partnership with the Bakers, Food, and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), the Transport & General Workers Union (T&GWU) and the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), Northern Foods has developed the National Learning Agreement to give employees easy access to a wide range of courses from numeracy and literacy through to languages and the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL). 1 Older documents top of page
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