Celebrating our winning learning reps

UNISON Learning and Organising Services were proud to watch as two of our learning reps received awards at last week’s Unionlearn conference for their work supporting learning. Jayne Barry from Derbyshire County branch was recognised for her achievements in ensuring that apprentices are supported and receive quality training. A few years ago, as a result […]

Council’s Chief Executive meets with Apprentices for National Apprenticeship Week 2019

We’ve been following the Apprentice Learning Network at Poole Borough Council for a while now, and we’ve been consistently impressed by the way that the apprentices have supported each other, made use of the resources available to them, and promoted learning opportunities. In this piece Freya Kendall, one of the founder members, explains how the […]

Starting strongly: mentoring for apprentices

UNISON and the TUC believe that all apprentices should have a mentor: to help them acclimatise to the workplace, to support them as they think about career options and progress, and pass on their skills and knowledge. And this has been shown to improve apprenticeship completion rates. It’s even better when that’s linked to support from […]

A learning network for apprentices

A few months ago we reported on the apprentices learning network that had been established in Poole Local Government branch. At the 25 Years of Learning ULR event we had the chance to hear from the apprentices themselves as well as ULR Pete Stratford who was instrumental in getting things off the ground… As part of jointly working as […]

Making the case for high quality apprenticeships

With recent figures suggesting that the number of people starting apprenticeships has fallen by almost 60% since the Apprenticeship Levy came into effect in April this year, it’s more important than ever for UNISON branches to understand the issues and make the case to employers. National learning and workforce development organisers Jon Tennison and Oreleo Du […]

Apprentices pool their knowledge in Dorset

Apprentices in Poole local government branch, Dorset, have been meeting to discuss learning opportunities open to them. Union learning rep Pete Stratford was instrumental in setting up the group. Pete says, Our Apprentice Learning Network came about following my experience as a public service manager employing apprentices. I was aware that apprentices were often isolated […]

An introduction to apprenticeships: UNISON’s new e-note

UNISON has launched a new online training module to introduce activists to the topic of apprenticeships. Following the story of ‘Josh’, a fictional apprentice, it explores the obligations on the employer, the rights of the apprentice, and the opportunities for UNISON. It will provide you with some essential information about UNISON’s approach to apprenticeships, give […]