The green green grass of work

Sustainable Workplaces is the theme of this year's National Learning at Work Day, and the idea is that ULRs use the day to help their colleagues and employers learn new skills and working practices to help sustain the planet and benefit their business.

By coordinating this one day of workplace learning, on Thursday 22 May in Adult Learners' Week*, the Campaign for Learning* (CfL) hopes employers will begin to see the business benefits of staff development.

'Learning new skills and recognising those that already exist creates a loyal and motivated workforce leading ultimately to business success,' says the CfL.
'And Learning at Work Day provides the perfect platform for ULRs to tackle many of the barriers to learning in the workplace for both employees and employers.'

By leading on the planning of Learning at Work Day events within individual organisations, ULRs can offer the peer support to encourage staff participation and the influence with management to ensure they buy into the event and give it their full backing, increasing the longer term benefits of taking part.

Under the umbrella theme of Sustainable Workplaces, the Campaign is providing resources around three different strands to help workplaces make positive changes, both internally and externally, to benefit organisations, employees and the wider community and economy.

• The environmental strand will look at what organisations can learn about green issues and how employees can learn by interacting with the community they live and work in.
• The work/life balance strand will help employers develop good practice and procedures that can lead to healthy, productive and motivated employees.
• And the learning throughout life strand will explore how to develop transferable 'soft' skills and the vital Skills for Life* needed by everyone in the workforce.

For more ideas, resources and materials to help make the day work, visit the Campaign for Learning's website, www.learningatworkday.com or call 020 7766 0001 for more information.

If you have more ideas about about this years theme, please take part in our discussion board at http://www.unionlearn.org.uk/discuss/index.cfm?frmForumID=6&frmThreadID=1722

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