Kent firefighters all fired up for Learning at Work Day
Kent firefighters will be celebrating Learning at Work Day (Thursday 22 May) with a range of educational activities. Part of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) union learning initiative, they will join Fire Brigade stations and workplaces across five counties in the south. The taster courses and activities will include basic numeracy and literacy, health, mind and body, and deaf awareness, which have been supported by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) through unionlearn*, the TUC's learning and skills organization. The FBU has been running a number of Deaf Awareness courses throughout the country, which have been extremely successful.
At the Service Headquarters and Training Centre in Maidstone, staff will be able to benefit from practical deaf awareness centres, well being checks, Yoga for relaxation and basic numeracy and literacy assessments. Learning at Work Day is run by the Campaign for Learning* and Adult Learners' Week* is organised by NIACE*, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education.
Trevor Shanahan, FBU National Project Manager said: 'Although the FBU tries to create a culture of learning all year round, Learning at Work Day is a fantastic opportunity for Fire Brigades staff to try something new. Our deaf awareness programme is growing, as interest is sparked all over the country and this is really helping us to reach out to the deaf and hard of hearing communities.'
Barry Francis, unionlearn Regional Manager said: 'Union learning reps (ULRs) at the FBU are creating fantastic opportunities for staff to return to learning and discover new talents through taster courses. We know that when people have a taste of learning then they want to continue and they gain more and more confidence. They benefit, their families may benefit and the organization certainly benefits.'
NOTES TO EDITORS:
All unionlearn press releases can be found at www.unionlearn.org.uk
Media enquiries:
Wanda Wyporska T: 020 7079 6950 M: 07795 844728 E: wwyporska@tuc.org.uk
Press release (400 words) issued 22 May 2008
