Beyond the stereotypes: learning for young members, by young members

Matthew Hodgson is a UNISON learning rep and branch young members’ officer for United Utilities in the North West. In this blog he talks about his own experiences as a learner and explains how branches can reach out to young workers with learning opportunities. As a young person I was sadly treated with a stereotypical […]

Help us shape the future of learning

Do working people have the skills they need to succeed? Are they getting the training they need to do their jobs properly? And are they prepared to face the future of work? We’re asking all UNISON members to help us find out by completing our Skills For The Future survey. It should take around 15 […]

Planting, growing, flourishing: using UNISON’s member learning programme to recruit

UNISON offers a wealth of learning opportunities to our members. From bite-sized online learning to improve maths and English, to our ten week Return to Learn and Women’s Lives courses, our member learning programme is an incentive in itself! Here are just a few of the opportunities on offer: Our continuing professional development workshops, run […]

“I have found my voice”

Elizabeth Cameron is a UNISON activist and a member of UNISON’s National Black Members Committee. When she was elected onto the National Executive Council she wanted to understand more about the trade union movement. She spotted an advert in Labour Review magazine for Ruskin College, and found out that she could apply for a UNISON […]

Dyslexia Awareness Week

This first week of October is Dyslexia Awareness Week. Dyslexia affects around 10% of the population, and mainly influences the way that people process, store and retrieve information. The theme this year is ’21st Century Dyslexia’, focusing on technology that can assist people in the workplace, at school and at home. Find out more at the […]

Proud to support Reading Ahead

UNISON was delighted to host the launch event for the Reading Agency‘s 2018-19 Reading Ahead challenge at UNISON Centre on 13 September. Reading Ahead is an initiative that encourages less confident readers to choose six pieces (which could be books, articles, poems, blog posts…) and write a brief review of them. It aims to get people […]

A winning partnership

‘Like lots of my people my age, I didn’t grow up in a family with an expectation that I’d go to university. I had a disastrous time in primary school and was removed from mainstream classes.  This was perhaps due to frequent spells in hospital.  Teachers also mistook my shyness and lack of confidence for […]

Cutting the cost of learning with UNISON

It’s back to school season! If shop displays of stationery and shiny black shoes are putting you in the mood to learn something new, you might well find that being a UNISON member puts you at an advantage. Members are entitled to discounts on all sorts of courses, from short and sharp to full degree length, […]

A week with Learning and Organising Services

Student Will Kitto spent a week with Learning and Organising Services earlier this summer as part of his work experience programme. Here’s what he had to say about his time with us… I was fortunate enough to have undertaken a two-week work experience placement in the Learning and Organising Services department at UNISON Centre. I […]

An autumn of learning

We have a calendar of great learning events lined up for you this autumn. Take a look – there’s something for everyone! For branch education co-ordinators… For the first time ever, we’re holding a seminar to bring branch education co-ordinators together from across UNISON. This is a chance to network, to find out what’s new […]