Stream: Learning through unions

Co-investing in Learning - Collective Learning Fund Pilots in the East Midlands

Thumbnail Collective Learning Funds* (CLFs) are union-led initiatives to stimulate co-investment in the personal development of the workforce. They have been piloted by unionlearn in the East Midlands to test different models in different contexts. The pilots involve increasing funding from employers, obtaining greater support from unions and enhancing employee commitment. Such co-investment can help tackle skills shortages as well as providing training to hard-to-reach groups within the region. Although they are in their early stages, CLFs are establishing learning partnerships between employers, unions and providers, which are opening up learning opportunities in workplaces.

Early results from the pilots have shown enhanced contributions to CLFs leading to almost 950 learning opportunities ranging from Skills for Life* to bricklaying. Learning centres were set up in half the pilots. The Stagecoach CLF even funded the conversion of a bus into a mobile learning centre to provide Skills for Life courses to employees located in its depots. Learning partnerships between employers and unions were the key factor in the pilots' success. Five out of eight workplaces established joint union-employer learning committees to manage the funds and monitor the learning.

Download a copy of Collective Learning Fund Pilots in the East Midlands (pdf 1257kb)

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Briefing document (300 words) issued 15 Mar 2010

unionlearn
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Email ulweb@tuc.org.uk

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unionlearn
Congress House
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3LS

Telephone 020 7079 6920
Fax 020 7079 6921
Email ulweb@tuc.org.uk

This page http://www.unionlearn.org.uk/initiatives/learn-3275-f0.cfm
printed 12 February 2012 at 23:51 hrs by 38.107.179.206