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ULR Sue Timthong achieves against great odds!

Sue Timthong, Unison ULR* at Barnet Council shares her remarkable learning journey, which hopefully will inspire others to follow through with their learning dreams, even in the face of obstacles. Sue demonstrates how with perseverance, guidance and a helping hand anyone can achieve.

How did you become involved in learning?

When I was 12 years old my mother became disabled through an industrial accident and I was responsible for looking after her, allowing my 13 year old sister to concentrate on her education. I officially left school aged 14 without any qualifications.

At 16 years old, my ex- headmistress helped to arrange for me to attend a basic business studies course, which I attended for 2 months but then had to leave because my mother was hospitalized. At 19 I left Coventry and moved to London.

My sister encouraged me to go to college in London, but at the time I was working to support myself and could not afford the course fees. I later married twice and was committed to raising a family, which allowed little time and attention to be spent on returning to education, even though I still had the desire.

When my youngest child was 3 years old, I signed up to a Return to Learn course which was advertised at the local community centre. The course was 1 year long and I was looking forward to it. However, my son got very sick during the course and I ended up missing about 2 months of teaching. When I did eventually go back, the tutor asked me to take a mock GCSE exam - it was literally an on the spot test and I managed to attain a B grade! However, due my son's illness I was unable to complete the course.

6 years later when my youngest son was 9, I was helping my other children with their GCSE's and I realized that I was able to do GCSE English and Maths. I spoke to a tutor at the local College of North West London, he recommended I do an access course in Social Science, which would give me the credits needed to go on to university. I signed up for the access course as well as a women's studies course. At the time I was working part time at both a dental surgery and at a hotel. I was determined to finish the course this time around and even though my husband had his concerns for financial reasons, I was adamant I was going to pursue and complete the course.

I managed to arrange my schedule so that I could attend college part time and carry on working at both places. However, like many a time before, my commitment to learning was challenged by family problems, my children were ill and life was becoming very demanding. I again rearranged my schedule, left the dental surgery, changed to the full time course and continued to work at the hotel on a casual basis.

Two weeks before the exams my mother suffered from a heart attack to make matters worse. My tutor informed me that I didn't need to take the exams and could pass based on the work I had already produced. I decided that I was going to complete the exams no matter what happened and subsequently I passed and went on to The University of Westminster and was fortunate to also be awarded a grant towards my education.

I managed to achieve a 2:1 honours degree in my early 40's which I am exceptional proud of - considering I had dreamt of it since my teenage years. I went on to do a MSC in Transport, Planning and Environment postgraduate degree at Imperial College, even though I also had to contend with being ill with cancer at the end of my MSC. Luckily I was able to overcome cancer and all the other obstacles that had plagued my learning journey for years. I managed to stick to my goals and continue to achieve.

Why and how did you become involved in ULR work?

I trained as a ULR in October 2006 because of the simple reason that I wanted to use my experience to help others achieve their educational goals. It all started from a leaflet I had seen from the TUC promoting the role of ULRs in the workplace.

In October 2005, UNISON, the College of North East London (CONEL) and Barnet Council signed a learning agreement to run a learning centre that delivered Train to Gain funded courses. The learning centre was funded by Barnet Council and our branch: Barnet Unison, as part of a Unison Return to Learn project.

Initially I had been trained as a ULR, but for a while no one really approached me and I wasn't really sure of what exactly my role was. I was subsequently contacted by Carmen Bruno, who was at the time the lead Unison ULR. Carmen asked me to consider job sharing with her as that would allow me to gain more experience and assist her with handling the Return to Learn project.

Carmen had 3 days of facility time per week, for a workforce of over 4000. I was given 2 days facility time to job share her role in February 2007. In May 2008, Carmen retired and I took the position of Lifelong Learning Coordinator on a full time basis.

How did you manage to work together with your employer?

The initial seeds for employer engagement were started by Carmen Bruno and John Burgess (Unison Branch Secretary) who started the Return to Learn project and negotiated a learning agreement with CONEL and Barnet Council.

Barnet Council has continued their overall efforts to support the learning agenda. We keep the momentum going and ensure any new managers and senior staff members are aware of the learning agreement that has been signed and allow staff time of to train and are aware of the benefits to the employer in doing so.

How did you get involved in Train to Gain?

The ICT*, Literacy, Numeracy and ESOL* training we provide in the learning centre are funded through Train to Gain. Since 2005, over 1000 staff members have taken advantage of the training offered - from pre-entry to Level 2 qualifications. It's like a domino effect - once staff start training and achieve they are then struck with the learning bug and often continue on to further learning, even up to degree level. The commitment of the CONEL tutors is essential in that they make the learning experience enjoyable by being warm and welcoming, putting staff members at ease and answering any questions they may have. The staff members that attend the learning centre are from different services and different seniority levels. It's a place where everyone is enthusiastic about learning and developing and that is the key focus.

How do you feel the staff have benefited from Train to Gain?

The staff have benefited in numerous ways from Train to Gain, they have gained confidence in themselves, acquired and updates their skill-set, developed interpersonal skills by meeting new people and learnt alternative ways of working from each other and are generally much more focused on their work.

For example, one manager who's English was not as strong as she would have liked, took the ESOL course to improve her English. Another member of staff has become a union rep and another member of staff has been promoted as a result.

How do you work with your broker and do you find it effective?

Working with CONEL as our broker is relatively easy because they understand our needs and provide the flexibility around training that is needed.

What providers do you use and how do you liaise with them?

We use CONEL because they are so flexible, they come on-site and are part of the learning agreement we signed. We also liaise with other providers such as, Barnet College, the Open University, Middlesex University and others. We have had a successful rate of 98% completing the courses.

I have also worked with 'Move-on' who previously have provided us with materials and support at management meetings and with staff. We also ran the Unison Open University 20 week course and were very happy with the assistance and support they provided for the learners.

Why do you feel Lifelong Learning has a place on the union agenda?

It is a real shame that more people aren't aware that learning and training has always been part of the union agenda. For example, when I went on a coach trip a few years ago, I was talking to the coach driver who was an ex-coal miner, his union had negotiated his retraining when he lost his job as a coal miner and that was what enabled him to become a coach driver. This clearly shows that unions have been committed to improving the skills and opportunities available for their members for years and promoting learning is just one part of that commitment.

ULRs do a considerable amount of work to boost the image and strengthen the organisation of their unions. ULRs work to raise interest and awareness in training and development opportunities, especially among the lowest skilled workers and those with literacy and numeracy needs, champion the Lifelong Learning agenda with employers and play an important role in negotiating learning agreements.

Do you feel your life has been enriched by Lifelong Learning?

Oh yes, definitely. Succeeding in education has done so much for me, I have become more confident, have learnt so much not just educationally but also about myself, others and life as it is and was. My ability to communicate effectively has increased. I am a positive person but learning has given me a greater understanding of life and I am better equipped to take on new challenges and face the future. Up until 2 years ago for example, I had never and would never have thought I was capable of planning and running events: I have, I can, I do and I am planning events for the summer. I was inspired to take better charge of my life which included getting divorced a second time, becoming a steward and taking on the role I am doing now. I am looking forward to the future and at some point I would like to embark on a PHD.

Do you feel your employer values the work you do as a ULR?

Yes I do, even though sometimes I do have to remind personnel about the role of the ULR.

Do you feel that your members and non members value the ULR work that you do for them?

The Return to Work project is open to all who work for Barnet Council. Staff do value the work ULRs do and staff have even joined UNISON as a direct result of the training opportunities they have had.

Where can you see the future at work for Lifelong Learning and Train to Gain?

Without Train to Gain funding, the reality of the recession, budgets and the council commitments to providing services would definitely have a negative impact on the learning agenda. There have been so many changes at Barnet; we no longer have the 2 days corporate induction programme, we no longer have a specific head of training and development, this is tasked within service areas and shadowing also plays a huge role in induction training. Service areas are investing in training, there is a commitment to the requirements for job related training or NVQ's, as these are necessary and it's important to remember that basic skills underpin NVQ* requirements.

Train to Gain funding is very important now and in the future, particularly with the impending cuts to council budgets, focus on out-sourcing of services and if Train to Gain funding was lost, the council would have to rethink its learning agenda. I can see that the council are happy for us to continue and the Return to Learn project has a future but we need to be able to continue to access funding to meet the learning needs of staff. It is important to remember that ULRs are here and will always push the lifelong learning agenda regardless.

Noreen Theophile, Customer Service Manager, Barnet Council says:

'Customer Service staff have benefited in various ways from Train to Gain. They have built self confidence, updated their IT skill-set inline with new working practices, developed interpersonal skills by meeting new people (sometimes putting a face to a name!) and shared alternative ways of working with each other within the Train to Gain team whilst under the eagle eye of the tutor. All my staff have remarked that they felt under no academic pressure whilst on the course although it has enhanced their appetite for further learning.

As a manager I am committed to ensuring that during the working week staff have the opportunity to participate in learning programmes that are provided by Unison, free of charge and open to all staff, whether they are members or not. As budgets are reduced this training is imperative and without it my team of six would not have had that opportunity. Thank you Unison!'

Case studies and projects (2,300 words) issued 4 Jun 2010

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