Case study - 31 July, 2015

Running with Rhino

Glasgow-based Rhino Training were presented with the unionlearn Quality Award for its work with trade unions and employers in the transport and logistics sectors.

Part of the Hull College Group, Rhino has in the past year developed strong relationships with employers and groups of self employed workers through its relationships with unionlearn and affiliates, the United Road Transport Union and Unite, offering Apprenticeships and standalone NVQs, cheifly through the ESF Skills Support for the Workforce funding which currently operates across regions in England.

It all began in 2014 when the URTU national ULF project made contact with Rhino after it had approached one of their linked employers, Hovis in Wigan, to offer Apprenticeship programmes for around seventy existing staff, both drivers and office based. The union was keen to ensure that staff had access to both functional skills and vocational training and was able to assist the delivery of the programmes by ensuring local ULR support for the programme and in particular in working with the employer to negotiate the necessary release for candidates with minimum disruption to the business. This successful partnership working also led to around twenty more learners benefiting from similar programmes at Hovis’ site in Bradford. URTU ULR Dean Jepson said:

It has been great working with Rhino because they were happy to combine those elements of learning which the union wanted to see with those the employer was keen to deliver. It was what we call in these parts 'a good middle order'."

Because of direct links between URTU and unionlearn, and with some ongoing capacity to deliver NVQs for the transport sector, Rhino were shortly after also introduced to Unite’s Union Learning Fund project, resulting in 21 drivers at a private hire firm in Hull, 55 Cars Ltd, benefitting from the NVQ programme. Learning organiser for the Unite ULF taxis initiative, Tommy McIntyre, said: