Union organised learning is a great way to recruit new members and highlight the benefits of being in a union – that was the message that came out of Community Learning Day in Bristol.

Unite’s Tony Benn House in Bristol threw open its doors to host the day-long event organised by the local Unite Community Branch. It gave members, and the general public, a chance to talk to learning providers such as N-Gaged Training, the National Careers Service, unionlearn and Unite Learning Reps as well as sign up for free online courses care of Learn with Unite.

Members of the Bristol Area Unite Community Branch, with support from Brett Sparkes, Unite Community Coordinator for the South West, were on hand to explain what the branch is up to across the city and beyond and talk about the benefits of signing up to the union. They also used the day to premier a new video about the work of Unite Community Branches across the South West.

Learn with Unite’s Matt Gillett was kept very busy all day signing up people to free online courses. Matt gave demonstrations of IT Basics using Learn My Way and talked about how resources could be accessed through the Learn with Unite website.

Matt said:

When people find out the benefits of online learning and the support Unite Learning Reps can offer them they are very keen to sign up. Most people start off with IT Basics to give them a grounding on how to use computers, and then access other courses ranging from functional skills to family history. 

With a third of workers at Bristol City Council without an email address sessions like this are becoming increasing important – particularly given the drive to digital by default, when many services will only be available online. You can also save a lot by managing utilities and buying online so Unite is really happy to support members access this training."

The day offered more than IT training, with attendees able to find out about other available courses, both online and classroom based, a look at back to work skills with assessments being carried out by Tomorrows People to identify skills gaps, and also transferable skills people may not realise they have.

People could also grab a cup of coffee and look through materials provided by unionlearn, who had provided a selection of Quick Reads, Everyday Maths booklets and Climbing Frame materials.

Joining members of the public, Unite Officers at Tony Benn House took the opportunity to find out what was going on. Kevin Terry is Regional Unite Chair and Chair of the SWTUC Executive who happened to be in the office and was impressed by what he saw.

Kevin said:

The Unite community branches are doing some great work, and it’s good to see events like today happen so they can spread the word about the support available. In Bridgwater the branch holds regular learning events at the Engine Room community centre, and is now supporting the Bridgwater Carnival by providing stewards. 

Community Learning Days, like today in Bristol, support members and are an introduction to the union for many people – showing that Unite is not just a union for industry, but also a union for the community."

This is something echoed by Bristol Area Branch Secretary Steve Shepard, who added:

We now have about 800 members across the area, and for them Unite has been very important. It has supported them through learning and skills, and inspired many to become engaged in trade unionism for the first time. 

What is also important to understand is that our branch membership is very fluid – people join a community branch, but when they find work they will leave the branch. However many will then join the union in their new workplace, some inspiring others in that workplace to sign up."

The idea of using training and education to encourage people to join a union is nothing new, and in Bristol it’s working very well. 

Nigel Donnelly is a Unite Learning Rep who sits on the Regional Executive and also on Bristol City Councils Skills Committee. Nigel dropped in to explain what has been achieved at the council and how he has found the learning and skill agenda an ideal way to recruit new members.

Nigel said:

When I started in the call centre at Bristol City Council there were five Unite members, since I started organising training courses through the union that number has risen to over 50 and is growing all the time. 

This is something that is happening across Bristol. We have been working with the Council to offer functional skills and ESOL courses that support hard to reach workers - which the union is ideally positioned to help.

The Unite ICT Learning platform has been really useful and we are working on progressing learners through English and maths to Apprenticeships. A lot were not union members when they started the training, but many have signed up and joined the union since as they can see the relevance. Learning has definitely raised the profile of the union within the council."

Back at the Learning Day Brett is packing up and very pleased with the day. Brett said:

This has been a real success both for the Bristol Area Community Branch and for the Learn With Unite team. We have been able to show people the support they can receive by joining the union, lots of people have signed up for free online learning courses and had the opportunity to have a skills assessment.

They have been able to talk with organisations like N-Gaged, unionlearn and Tomorrows People and members of the Unite Community Branch to find out what else is available. A number of people have asked if there will be more events like this as they want to tell friends about them – and I’m sure they will be.

The day has shown that the Unite Community Branches are ideally positioned to reach out and use learning and skills to place unions at the heart of their community."