Donald McCombie has a history in training and was a branch education officer for 26 years. He is now a lifelong learning coordinator for UNISON covering mainly local government and across a few private companies. 

Birmingham UNISON is one of the biggest union branches in the country and although some training is delivered in the workplace, most of it is done at the branch office, four times a month. The offer is very varied and includes Get that Job, Facing Change and Planning for Retirement, alongside workshops in mental health, stress management, wellbeing, and awareness sessions on dementia, menopause, disability etc.

A key element of the training offer is that it is free to everyone. Much of current training delivery is geared towards supporting school staff such as teaching assistants, administrators and ancillary staff who are experiencing staffing reductions due to cuts in government funding.

Many of the staff involved have worked in their school for many years and need to understand the new landscape of skills audits, interviews and requirements for qualifications that did not exist when they first started work.

In order to provide a good level of support to staff, Birmingham UNISON encourages all stewards to become ULRs. The type of support offered to staff (90% of school support staff are women) includes familiarisation and experience of a skills audit and a Positive Working workshop. While learning about the skills audit, staff are also able to identify what skills gaps they might have, and sometimes this allows them to upskill themselves before their work interview (for example where they need to show an understanding of digital packages rather than achieve qualifications).

UNISON ULRs make use of unionlearn’s Value My Skills cards in the Skills Audit workshop. An important aspect of this is talking about positivity and valuing skills as well as looking at qualifications.  Staff are taken through the skills audit that will be used by the employer so that they are familiar with it and prepared for the questions and for the interview.

This helps them to stay positive as they have more knowledge about what they will be asked about.  One of the things that works very well in these workshops is encouraging staff to work in pairs as it is often the case that colleagues can help with identifying issues, gaps and strengths. English, maths and digital skills are specifically covered as these are often areas where members need support, along with how to prepare for an interview against a person specification – particularly so where a member is having to apply for their own job but may not have stepped back and looked at the personal spec for many years.

The ULRs prepare to provide members with referrals onto lifelong learning opportunities and qualifications, in particular the WEA with whom Unison has a partnership agreement.

Members often need time to reflect as the ground has shifted while they have been employed and qualifications are now expected where once they were not. This can mean that even though members have the required skills, they do not have the qualifications to prove it.

However, ULRs will also refer to other options in the community depending on the individual’s ability to access learning, the time constraints they have and what their own personal preferences are. In particular, skills support can be offered where qualifications are not needed, such as peer support in learning IT packages.

Tips - general

• Listening to what members want is vital so that a ULR knows what members are likely to need.
• Make sure that the individuals affected by change understand that the changes and processes are political or structural and are not personal. This can help them retain a positive outlook.
• Be aware that people react differently to imposed change – some will welcome encouragement but others may have a more fatalistic approach or rely on other strengths such as their faith.
• Positivity can also be encouraged through simple exercises such as mind mapping where you are now, where you want to be and what you need to do to get there. This gives a plan, a direction and helps individuals to think more creatively about what they want (and not just what is imposed on them).
• ULRs will need the skills to deliver workshops to groups of individuals, and this is different to giving one-to-one support. Where possible, ULRs should get training to deliver to groups and do some peer shadowing to gain confidence and learn good practice.
• There is a lot of information and support available online but this does not replace the personal touch. Some people do not have the digital skills or the inclination to find information online and if information is only disseminated this way, it may not reach those who need it most. Take hard copies of key materials to workshops and talk about other workshops/support on offer. A personal conversation remains the most effective means of communication. 
• Make sure that affected members who might want to attend workshops or further learning have the time off or flexible working hours to come along.  Talk to employers about duty of care, equality of access and the requirement to provide reasonable adjustments if they are reluctant to offer time off for staff under threat.
• Workshops can be promoted through self-organised groups (SOGs) who can also advise about integrating areas of priority into the content.  Such groups in Unison included Black Member’s SOG, Women’s SOG, Disabled Member’s SOG, LGBTQ+ SOG and the Retired Member’s Group.

Tips – skills and qualifications

• Members often identify English, maths and digital skills as areas of skills or qualification gap, so it is useful for ULRs running workshops to do a bit of research in advance so that they can refer effectively onto learning and development activities.  This will include the learning offer from unionlearn (such as the Climbing Frame) or the individual union, other learning providers in the local area or online learning opportunities.
• Skills support can also be offered where qualifications are not needed, such as peer support in learning IT packages.
• Suitable referrals onto learning will depend on the individual’s ability to access learning, the time constraints they have and what their own personal preferences are.
• Individuals may also want to talk about alternative jobs or careers so having contact details for the National Careers Service and a knowledge of the support available on their website will help.  It can also be very useful for members considering a change of career to talk to other union members already in those roles. This personal contact means they can talk to a peer about the realities of these careers, and members can support each other.
• Having a range of options to talk through can help individuals feel like this is not the end and that they still have choice.  Options might include retaining their job, taking redundancy, looking for alternative employment, early retirement, flexible working or volunteering.  They can also have some control over what happens next by taking responsibility for developing their own skills.
• Members will need support on how to prepare for an interview against a person specification, even if they are applying for their own job.
• During workshops, individuals may be more inspired by their colleagues so it can be useful to get individuals to pair up so that they can support each other, make suggestions on CVs, life plans or interview answers and make plans about how to move forward.  However, on other occasions, an external person can provide independent advice and a different perspective.
• Be aware of confidentiality and over-sharing of personal details. Some people are happy to share whereas others might not want more personal details to be discussed in public or included on plans that are shared with others.

This case study links in with the Smart choices: preparing for the third age publication.