This report sets out to show the impact of unionlearn in widening opportunities to take up learning and skills by tackling disadvantage, identifying and removing barriers and implementing effective strategies. Further detailed statistics and data analysis can be found in unionlearn’s comprehensive annual reports.

We aim to answer these questions:

• how does unionlearn identify barriers to learning and what are the most significant?
• what is the unique contribution of union learning and its specific approaches and techniques to breaking down these barriers?
• what conclusions can we draw from the unique contribution of union learning?

The report looks at some of the barriers to learning and the disadvantages created by them. An important starting point is that union learning is not based on a ‘deficit’ model which locates the problem of low skills with workers, but a ‘removing barriers’ model in which everyone can learn and develop and make a contribution.

The report goes on to look at the specific methods and techniques which make union learning a unique success.

The last part of the report looks at conclusions we can draw and what more must be done.